Memorial designer and landscape architect Bob Horsley, left, and VIFR assistant chief Bob Larsen, right, watch carefully as the first column is lowered into place.

image credit: Natalie Martin/Staff Photo

Vashon Island Fire & Rescues 9-11 memorial has gone from plan to reality, as the first of its pieces was set in place on Thursday.

Chief Hank Lipe, who has driven the project since the fire station obtained a piece of steel from the fallen World Trade Center (WTC) three years ago, was on hand for the long-awaited occasion.

You can see me pacing. This is how I feel when my daughter is just about to race, said Lipe, whose daughter is a rower. Its nerve wracking. Weve been working on this for three years.

The anxiety Lipe referred to was due to the logistics of actually building the memorial, which is comprised of multiple pieces of columnar basalt from the Columbia River basin that will stand vertically to represent the New York city skyline. One of those columns will have the steel piece embedded in it, representing the destruction caused by the attack.

We wanted to make this interactive, said Bob Horsley, a landscape architect and the memorials designer. Its not just something to look at; there will be a bench and sitting stones in among the columns so people can actually be a part of it.

There will also be a special fire hose coiled around the bottom of one of the columns to represent the firefighters.

The construction of the memorial has been delayed primarily due to slow county permitting processes and fundraising needs, but theyve now cleared the biggest hurdles, Lipe explained, although there are ongoing expenses.

People may not realize that there is no public or taxpayer money involved in this project, Lipe said. The entire project has been privately supported through gifts and donations.

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Construction begins on 9-11 memorial in town

Dunedin-based business Design and Garden Landscapes recently received a swag of awards at Landscaping New Zealand's Landscapes of Distinction awards. Business reporter Sally Rae speaks to the company's founder and director Wayne Butson about the path to success.

Wayne Butson

Perched on the edge of the estuary, and complementing what was already an award-winning house, it was what he described as a special garden.

''Sometimes you get the scope to do something that really comes together well. You don't always have the scope to do that.

''I knew it was a good garden. I loved the plantings and overall design and the location of the house. It had all the elements,'' he said.

What Mr Butson did not expect was for his business to win the landscape of the year national award at Landscaping New Zealand's biennial Landscapes of Distinction awards, courtesy of that garden.

Mr Butson, his wife Ella and their staff had gone to the awards function in Wellington for a ''fun time'' as he was standing down as president of Landscaping New Zealand after a two-year term.

Judges had visited 26 gardens from Whangarei to Wanaka, ranging from tropical to alpine, and the Thoms' ''naturalistic'' garden, which combined native and exotic plantings.

Design and Garden Landscape's team at Landscaping New Zealand's recent awards in Wellington (back from left) Matt Aberdein, Kent Pollard, Simon Greenall, Emma Taylor, Ella Butson, Grant Wassell, (front from left) Bud Law, Wayne Butson and Paul Gillies. Photo by Brian Sheppard.

It was the second time the business has won the title; it previously won in 2010 for the Kunac garden on the Taieri. Design and Garden Landscapes, with its staff of seven, has come a long way since the business was established by Mr and Mrs Butson in 1991.

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Landscape design business building on success

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

For an environmental issue as big as climate change, the smallest things still do matter. Homeowners can take these five simple steps so that they can do their share in reducing the carbon footprint human activities leave on this planet. The carbon footprint is a measure of how great an activity has toward contributing to greenhouse gases, a major component of climate change.

Inquirer Property recently asked a landscape architect, a civil engineer and its resident green architect for their practical suggestions.

1. Reduce energy consumption via light. Landscape architect Dickie Altavas suggests that homeowners switch to outdoor LED (light-emitting diode) lighting to reduce energy consumption.

Even if you hardly see the difference in your bills, at least youre doing your part, Altavas said.

A few other energy-saving lighting tips, according to 365 Ways to Live Green, are:

Avoid opaque light shades that require stronger bulbs; use light-colored paints and flooring to reflect light; clean dust from light fixtures so their light will shine through; and when reading or performing tasks requiring focused lighting, turn off background lights and rely on a small focused lamp.

Choose compact fluorescent lights over incandescent light bulbs. The former is four times more energy efficient.

2. Choose white for your roof. Use white-colored roof and roof insulation to cut down energy use by preventing heat transmission, said Inquirer Property columnist and architect Amado de Jesus of the Green Architect Movement.

3. Surround your house with greens and birds.

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5 things you can do to reduce global carbon footprint

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The new Prebbleton Community Park is open to the public and ready to use.

Selwyn District Councils Landscape Architect Derek Hayes says now that construction and landscaping for the park is complete, it is ready for everyone to enjoy.

"Its fantastic for the community to have a central place to come where they can get some fresh air and stretch their legs," says Mr Hayes. "There have already been a number of people using the park over the last few days which is great to see."

The park on Stationmasters Way in Prebbleton has a range of areas to suit all age groups including a colourful playground with swings, a large train and a 7.5 metre climbing net. There is also a skate and scooter area, as well as a walking and cycling track.

"The park has something for everyone," says Mr Hayes. "It will be a place where the kids can come to play as there is a variety of playground equipment including a rotating tire swing called the Rocktopus, and a covered area for winter which also provides shade in the warmer months."

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New Prebbleton Community Park opens

Lyle Aten: Landscape Architect

By: Joshua Edmonds

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Allan Broadbent, landscape architect and project manager for the LaurelRock Co. in Wilton, was honored with the 2014 International Landscape Design Award for a property in Darien.

The residential landscape design award, for the project "Balance Restored," was presented by the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

The Gold Award was for his work directing a two-year landscape development project at the Darien residence. According to a news release from the LaurelRock Co., the 1932 brick residence on 1.8 acres was plagued by many landscape challenges, including flooding problems, poorly managed wetlands and tired foundation planting. In addition to overcoming those challenges, the program included the addition of a motor court, full-size pool environment and ornamental planting areas.

Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a graduate of Brigham Young University, Broadbent has been with the LaurelRock Co. for nearly a decade. He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-accredited professional.

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Darien property redesign garners national award

CARLO AND Lalie Scandiuzzi have renovated their garden and 1947 stucco home in Madison Park several times over the more than two decades theyve lived there. A 1995 kitchen addition wings out to create a sheltered courtyard that catches the morning sunshine. Fragrant Daphne odora Marginata makes sitting outside and sipping coffee on a warm spring morning pure heaven.

The couple hired landscape architect Keith Geller in 2000 to create more such sublime scenes and vignettes in their garden. He designed a major renovation, front and back, and has been tweaking the garden ever since. I pretty much did everything but the fig tree, says Keller of the big, old fig that overhangs the back patio to create a shady canopy for the outdoor dining table.

The hardscaping was mostly in place; Geller was tasked with designing the softscaping. Lalie and Carlo, who is executive director of ACT Theatre, use the garden for entertaining and to host events. Space for outdoor dining, pathways for strolling, and fragrant plants were high on the agenda.

The garden is part of the house; we live out here. We remodeled the house so we could best see and interact with the garden, says Lalie.

The property is a lot-and-a-half settled comfortably into a hillside. Keller gave the front garden a pastoral meadow feel with grasses and shrubs cascading down the slope. He softened the stair railing with a climbing hydrangea and added punctuation points of Italian cypress to reflect the style of the home.

Being an experienced gardener, Lalie asked not only for beauty but also for low maintenance. Keller obliged by planting evergreens such as boxwood and pittosporum. He chose mostly drought-tolerant plants, and massed them for effect and easier care. Lalie and Carlo both grew up in Geneva; Carlo is Italian, and the cypress are a nod to his ancestry. Lalie spent her youth in the country, and she loves how the informality of the front garden and the plants arranged like an Impressionist painting remind her of her childhood landscape.

Its not a Northwest garden, says Geller, who designed the plantings to go with the homes architecture. He plays around with rounded clumps and masses of rockroses and small evergreens for texture and flow through the gardens, and ornamental grasses for softness. Hes planted plenty of scented flowers, including lavender, daphnes and an oleander that has made it through the winters in its sheltered spot near the back deck. Geller also planted a lot of Lalies favorite chartreuse foliage, and blue, white and orange flowers, including crocosmia, iris, hellebores and agapanthus. Rhododendrons, boxwood and beautyberries lend structure and bloom through the seasons.

Masses of willowy white Japanese anemones light up the far reaches of the garden. When the couple and their guests sit outdoors around a fire late into the evening, the anemones glow in the reflection of the moon, and seem to dance along the back fence.

I love how Keith brings mystery and intrigue into the garden, says Lalie. Geller added boulders with curved paths around them and planted shrubs so you cant see the entire garden at once. Flowery vignettes draw guests along the pathways for a closer look.

The creative dialogue between Lalie and Geller has been going on for 14 years now. Heres how Lalie describes their creative collaboration: I have a vision. Keith and I discuss it, and Keith sees what I mean. With his mastery of plants and architecture, he makes it come alive. And then we play around with it.

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A European country garden on a Seattle city lot (and a half)

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WGHP NEWSMAKER: RANDAL ROMIE - Video