Public landscapes

I'm really tired of cookie-cutter commercial and public landscapes. It's SO refreshing to bumble on a business with an interesting landscape or a public area that's actually creative and reflective of the surrounding region.

This legal office in Portland, Oregon had a lovely landscape.

I've found that there's a bit of synergy that can work in a community. If one business starts to do something different, then their neighbor catches on, just like in residential communities (which can be equally unimaginative).

How about this oil change place in Asheville, North Carolina?
(click on the photo for a larger version)

Up and down this busy street, there are now pockets of truly nice plants, in front of offices, furniture stores, quick check places, etc.

Parking lots don't have to be a monoculture.

A new bank in my town features an elaborate new landscape of lawn, crepe myrtles, Japanese hollies in rows, and purple-leaved heucheras in full-sun (hmmm). It's a contrast, to be sure, to the nicely developing and diverse 'Gateway Park' put in by the city several years ago. I guess I should be glad that our small city requires landscaping at all, since it does result in green, but I just wish that landscapers (and developers) would be a bit more creative in their approach.

I think that landscaping creates a mood that creates a better environment for businesses of all kinds, from banks to groceries to doctors' offices. I know that I, for one, enjoy visiting my current dentist with his dental cubicles looking out into gardens and bird feeders a lot more than previous dentists that I've had.

A recent visit to a medical specialist found his office surrounded by lovely plants (several substantial white oaks, very nice shrub plantings, and a recently installed pond that he put in himself). What's not to like about that?

Recent travels have found me noticing out-of-the ordinary parking areas and streetscapes, container plantings, and office entrances. Why shouldn't this be more the norm?

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Too Much Rain.

It's been pouring with rain all day. The met office gave out a severe weather warning this morning and overnight there was a tornado in Stornaway and a waterspout seen this morning in the Bristol Channel. (Couldn't find any pictures to post of the waterspout.) So I've been forced to do housework all day long. Peter had to go to Exeter for a work interview which is all a bit stressful. I decided to tackle the tidying of the kitchen In our family there is always lots of stuff lurking in every corner. Five people's stuff totals a lot of clutter and mess. Every work top or cupboard top collects piles of important but unidentified objects which might come in handy one day. I started my work by writing a list on the whiteboard of each area to be tidied. Then I could have the satisfaction of crossing the jobs off. I didn't quite make it through today's list but as there is nothing on tv tonight perhaps I'll get a bit more done. I did get to de-clutter the mantelpiece and even polished it with some bees-wax polish. How very domesticated of me ! I also hoovered the stone wall which tends to accumulate cobwebs and lots of dust. As nothing else has happened today I'll give a run down of the things in the picture. First there's the obvious LOTR interest, that's me. The banner was a 50th birthday present from our close friends and the flag was a present from me to me. The card is one I drew for Peter from Alan Lee's designs. The bronze is one of my mother's and the painting came from her house as did the dutch inkwell. The antique candlesticks were a wedding present from a lovely couple . She was a concert pianist and he was an architect. They lived in a beautiful house in Chichester with at least 3 baby grand pianos. The boggart money box is Romas' and is full of coppers. The blue glass vase and the flowery jug came from car boot sales and the old blue jug probably came from my mother's house. I love the shape of jugs and have quite a few around the place. The small brown thing is a carving of a scarab beetle brought back from a holiday in Egypt by our friends' daughter. Removed in the de-cluttering process were: photos of Vytas' graduation, models of Minas Tirith, The Argonath, a witch king, Pippin on a pony, a big fat elephant money box assorted sewing needles and a craft knife. Just shows how cluttered our place is.

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Creative furniture ideas part 2

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