Scapes Recognized with 9 Awards in 2008

 5 National Awards and 4 Local Awards For Atlanta Residential Projects

 October 15, 2008 – We are pleased to announce that Scapes, is the recipient of five PLANET awards for residential projects completed in the Atlanta area. The Environmental Improvement Awards, presented each year by The Professional Landcare Network, are given to landscape professionals who execute superior projects which reflect a commitment to creating and preserving the beauty of the landscape.

Congratulations to the Scapes team which won PLANET awards for the following properties:

Grand Awards

Grote Residence, Cumming, Georgia - Designer: Mark Dobbs

Block Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designer: Jim Lesti

Surface Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designers: Adam Ardoin and Tracy King

Merit Award

Buchannan Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designers: Jim Lesti and Chris Higdon

Distinction Award

Hibbard Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designer: Chris Higdon

November 19, 2008 – On behalf of MALTA’s Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce that Scapes, is the recipient of four MALTA Grand Awards for residential projects from the Atlanta area.

Congratulations to the Scapes team which won MALTA awards for the following properties:

Grand Awards

Grote Residence, Cumming, Georgia - Designer: Mark Dobbs

Block Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designer: Jim Lesti

Surface Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designers: Adam Ardoin and Tracy King

Hibbard Residence, Atlanta, Georgia - Designer: Chris Higdon

“We are very excited to be recognized by both PLANET and MALTA for our commitment to creating beautiful landscapes that meet the high expectations of our clients throughout Georgia and the Southeast. The unmatched technical expertise and resources of our team ensure that we do the best work for our customers and the environment,” according to Ken Thomas, General Manager of Scapes.  

Scapes Designs Classroom Gardens

Scapes lent its design experience to help First Montessori School of Atlanta create plans for 5 new outdoor classrooms.  First Montessori School of Atlanta, located on Long Island Drive in Sandy Springs, opened 5 new classrooms in 2008 and the school wanted to create dynamic learning outdoor classrooms as part of the curriculum.  With input from the teachers, Eric King, ASLA and Tracy King (no relation) created a series of unique garden spaces that include an outdoor café seating area, organic gardens to support the Plant A Row for Hungry program, and natural areas to attract and study wildlife.  The gardens will be installed over time by parents and students.

By Danny Holt

Concrete pavers can be a great alternative for your next outdoor project.  The advantages of using pavers for patios, walkways and driveways include: a wide choice of colors and sizes to blend with most architectural styles, lower cost of installation than stone, and its versatility to be removed and replaced if there were ever any need for access underground or simply to replace a few pavers due to an oil stain from a car.

 Another advantage of this material that is seldom noted is it’s flexibility to our clay soils that are always expanding and contracting with our weather patterns.  Pavers that are placed on “Crusher Run” bed (compacted granite sand base) are not subject to the cracking that can occur with concrete, because its flexibility allows for subtle soil movement.  Actually, with all of the joints that make up a paver pattern, a paver patio is already cracked!

 So ask your Scapes Professional if pavers can be a good choice of material for your next driveway, walkway or patio!

Chris Higdon, Scapes

Landscape Coordinator and Designer 

Now is the time to make landscape improvements.  It may be more important than ever to consider what improvements you should make in your landscaping.  Needless to say the media has painted a gloomy picture of home sales and home construction.  Whether you are planning to move in the near future or have no plans to ever move, it is still important to consider your outdoor spaces.  If you are looking to sell your home you may need to find a competitive edge over the other homes for sale.  If you are not planning on moving or have decided not to move you should be looking for ways to improve the enjoyment of your property for the long term.

Regardless of whether you will be selling your home or not, there are certain landscape investments that can give you the greatest impact and return on investment. 

Some of these improvements you should consider are:

    Landscaping areas that have high visual impact

    Resolving minor and major problem areas

    Creating New useable outdoor living spaces

 The best way to start is to meet with a landscape designer to discuss what needs and possibilities you have on your property.  One of the most important steps is to develop a landscape master plan and a short and/or long-term budget.  In addition to giving you a much better finished product, having a well designed plan will save you money by helping to eliminate costly mistakes.  As a bonus, if you sell the house, you can use the master plan as a sales tool.

When implementing a landscape plan you need to be able to manage the needs and desires of your project along with the overall budget.  This is where having assistance in determining the “best bang for your buck” comes into play.  At Scapes we consider that part of the design process.

When we talk about high visual impact areas this often includes both front landscaping and privacy.  Front landscaping fits easiest into the description of “curb appeal”.  It is often the greatest return on investment and is often most important particularly consideration when you are thinking of selling a home.  Landscaping for privacy usually involves eliminating views of neighboring property.  Not only does privacy planting help to create a more comfortable environment both inside and outside your but properly designed this can greatly increase the feeling of space. 

Addressing problem areas on your property including issues ranging from drainage and erosion to broken driveways is not always the most enjoyable way to use your budget.  Fixing these problems; however, can go a long way to eliminating obstacles in selling your home and can save you money down the road if you are not planning on moving.  These problems almost never go away and usually cost more the longer you let them sit.

Creating new useable area in your landscape is important whether you are looking to sell your home or just want better use your property.  This wide ranging category includes anything from building an outdoor entertaining patio to creating more useable space through grading and/or retaining walls to more elaborate spaces like outdoor kitchens or swimming pools.  With all the possibilities, your landscape plan should take into account everything from how you want to use these spaces, whether they are for you or future owners of your home, and the specific attributes of your property and home.

Rosa ‘Radsunny’ P.P.A.F.    USDA Zone 4 – 9

A new variety of the most popular shrub rose, Sunny Knock Out®, will be a great addition in any garden! The fragrant blooms open bright yellow and fade to a light creamy color. This deciduous, disease resistant shrub has a slightly larger (4-5ft.) upright habit. The Sunny Knock Out® Rose is perfect for full sun country gardens or in highbrow formal settings.

Africa, it’s not as far as it seems!  Scapes and Pete Wilkerson have been participating and supporting on a volunteer and financial basis an organization called Heart for Africa.  As a faith based organization initiated by Bruce Wilkinson in 2004, HFA partners with existing homes in the countries of Kenya and Swaziland.  Currently with 6 homes HFA is working along side, HFA and its director, Janine Maxwell, continue to reach out and provide sustainable solutions by providing food, water, shelter, and education to those orphaned by aids or kids who have sought refuge in the streets of Nairobi.  As the title of Janine’s book states “It’s not Okay with me”, seeing these deplorable conditions were not Okay with her. 

Fast forward to today, Pete has visited and worked at 4 of the six homes over the past 2.5 years. Original involvement was sparked in Pete’s heart because the focus was on plants and gardening. The program titled “never ending gardens” was a great way to use our landscape talents in service work. Work consists of planting rotational vegetable gardens to stem the tides of malnutrition, building and equipping schools and support staff facilities such as houses and kitchens, and raising funds to donate milking cows to widows for a sustainable income to feed their kids and provide for their community. 

While on one trip in the fall of ’07 in Naivosha, Kenya, word got out that Pete is a Landscape Architect.  One thing lead to another and now Pete has developed along with the Scapes team, a long term site plan for 2 of the homes including, clinics, schools, dorms, and water collecting and retention areas.  Currently, HFA has been presented the opportunity to acquire 2450 acres in Swaziland that could provide sustainable income once developed for all the homes that are being supported by HFA.  This land will also provide orphanages for those kids who are left behind by the aids epidemic.  Pete and the Scapes team are providing land use & site planning studies to assist in developing this property to the fullest potential.  Currently, a Alpharetta based company, MedAssets Inc. is supporting this mission along with its employees to help raise awareness and help raise funds to see this project come to fruition.

We look forward to hearing more from Pete upon his return from his next service trip to Africa this fall.  More can be learned by visiting www.HeartforAfrica.org

Scapes and Gary’s Nursery in Marietta teamed up to help the second grade classes at Sope Creek Elementary with their Environmental curriculum this fall.  Together with Evan Rogers from Scapes, ten classes planted ten trees and gained some hands on knowledge that reinforced the lessons on Earth and Science so far this year. 

Some of the trees (and shrubs) that were planted also fell into the Farm to School program that has already been underway this year.  We planted Apple and Pear trees as well as Blueberry bushes and Fig trees as part of the school garden to better emphasize the wide range of ways that food is produced in our society for consumption.   

The plan is also to continue to utilize these plantings in the lesson plan throughout the rest of the school year and in the coming years.