I had the chance to attend the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) national conference.
The first day of the conference included speakers from San Diego and other parts of the country. Here’s a recap of my takeaways:
Greg Rubin, President and Founder of California’s Own Native Landscape Design
Greg has been working with native plants since 1985. He kicked off the conference and introduced the first speaker.
Responsible, ecological gardening has never been more important.
Greg Rubin
Obi Kaufmann, Naturalist, Writer, Illustrator
Obi Kaufmann is a naturalist, writer, and illustrator. I was intrigued by his poetic speech style, his beautiful hand lettering and illustrations, and his optimism for our future.
The poet is someone who can imagine creative spaces and then shares them with their community.
Obi Kaufmann
Your applied vocation interfaces with tomorrow.
Obi Kaufmann
It’s more important to tell a story than to make an argument.
Obi Kaufmann
I’m excited to order his book “The California Field Atlas” as my first read, which will likely lead to me collecting the full set!
Carol Bornstein, Author and California Native Plant Specialist
Carol Bornstein encouraged review of maps of indigenous vegetation to project sites as a first step in landscape design projects.
She recommended creating habitats for reptiles and birds within the landscape, providing year-round sources of food, water, and shelter.
She suggested using a 30% minimum biomass of native plants.
Richard Hayden, Senior Director of Horticulture at the High Line in NYC
Richard walked us through his landscape design journey, and how that path led him to his current role at the High Line in New York City.
His early projects included some residential projects for renters in Los Angeles. That made me think of one potential avenue to go with a one-day business, as more and more people can’t afford to buy homes.
His experience with the High Line, and my own experience there and on the 606 in Chicago, made me think about what abandoned infrastructure we have in San Diego that might be repurposed into community space as the High Line and 606 have been.
Recommended reading:
“Nature’s Best Hope” by Douglas W. Tallamy
I loved Richard’s rephrasing of garden maintenance to “ecological landcare”.
Nan Sterman, Waterwise Gardener
I’ve been acquainted with local legend Nan Sterman for a long time, since joining the Facebook Group “San Diego Gardener” that she moderates along with John Clements.
I’ve learned a lot from Nan over the years, and love her enthusiasm for native plants.
I wasn’t familiar with the soil survey map she mentioned in her talk. I found 2 resources for that:
I also learned that San Diego has 267 sunny days per year, and that pastel colors really don’t do well in landscapes here because of our harsh sunlight.
Pamela Berstler & Rosalind Haselbeck, Dwelling on Carbon
I was fascinated by Pamela’s and Rosalind’s talks. Living in San Diego since 2013, I’ve seen many people rip out their lawns and put in hardscapes. Their ideas to “rewild” lawns are a great alternative that keeps the temperature much cooler and provides habitats for pollinators and more.
Design for all of life—from microbes to the atmosphere.
I loved Rosalind’s approach to environmental justice projects, tackling small urban park strips and working in underserved communities.
