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The Los Angeles area will soon be facing a severe drought. As a result, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently asked residents and businesses to voluntarily cut their water use by 10 percent. The SmartScapes project responded to the mayor’s initiative by creating a residential sustainable landscape in Van Nuys, Calif.

The Irrigation Association (IA) has made a strong push in recent years in terms of promoting “Smart” irrigation technologies and Smart watering practices. To get an inside perspective at the topic of Smart irrigation, and the irrigation industry as a whole, Landscape and Irrigation magazine recently spoke with Irrigation Association President Douglas W. York.

Crabgrass, a warm-season annual grass, has two common forms: smooth crabgrass and large, also known as hairy, crabgrass. Both forms of the weed are light green in the seedling stage, progressing to a dark green as true leaves.

Mini skid-steers have transformed the landscape. Yes, in a literal sense, these tiny machines -- also referred to as compact utility loaders or mini track loaders -- have altered the terrain during multiple design/build projects. But perhaps the more lasting impact is how mini skid-steers have modified the entire business landscape.

Smart Water Application Technologies (SWAT) is a coalition of water purveyors, equipment manufacturers, and irrigation practitioners with shared interests in Smart technologies. According to the Irrigation Association (IA), reducing landscape water demand -- which can account for up to 70 percent of water use in some parts of the country -- is a critical way to help address the seasonal scarcity, and is the reason SWAT was created.

Situated in the thriving Capitol Riverfront section with a view of the nation’s capitol and the Washington Monument, Nationals Park has been worth the wait. In addition to the sights and activities offered, there is an attraction unique to Nationals Park synonymous with the Capital Region itself -- cherry trees. Adorning the entrance ways and the left field bleachers, Nationals Park is the first Major League Baseball ballparkto have the signature Washington D.C. tree on site. But the cherry trees present some unique challenges for Head Groundskeeper Larry DiVito and his crew.

Tanya Tolpegin resigned her position as CEO of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), effective June 27, 2008. In a statement released by PLANET, Tolpegin chose to submit her resignation “after much soul searching over the past six months.”

Pick up a few new clients this season? Inherit a nightmare or two along with them? I think my favorite was a vest-pocket park with an eight-zone controller mounted on a giant cottonwood. The power cord and station wires twisted around the trunk and disappeared into the ground below. It’s amazing what’s out there, and how “out-there” some folks are.  

Pavers and hardscape projects have been gaining popularity in the United States during the past two decades. Compared to Canada and Europe, the installation of pavers and retaining walls is relatively new for the United States landscape industry. “Originally pavers migrated from Europe into Canada and then spread throughout the United States,” said Gretchen Spear, director of marketing and communications for Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI).

Senior landscape designer Fred Southard loves incorporating groundcovers and creeping perennials into his commercial and residential landscape projects to reduce noise and maintenance while increasing his customers’ satisfaction. According to Southard, who works for Green Thumb Landscaping and Maintenance in Salem, Ore., these options reduce the number of annual maintenance visits from 38 with turf-only projects to 12. “The more urban the area, the more this sort of thing comes into play,” he said. “Ultimately, it requires less maintenance and it is less noisy for the site owners.”