Designer Profile - Association of Professional Landscape Designers

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CALENDAR Aprll29, 1995 -- The Institute of Ecosystem Studies holds workshop for landscape professionals on "&ological Alternatives to Lawns." Landscape Architect Ruth Parnall and Donald Walker of the Conway School of Landscape Design will speak. Held 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Institute, Route 44A, Millbrook, NY. Contract (914) 677-9643. May 6,1995 - The Institute of Ecosystem Studies holds workshop on "Restoring Nature to the Residential Landscape." Landscape Architects Neil Korostoff and Stacy Levy to speak. Held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Institute, Route 44A, Millbrook, NY. Contact (914) 677-9643. July 26-28,1995 -- Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) holds Summer Convention and Field Days in Omaha, NE. Call (708) 705-9898 or (800) 405 TURF. July 27-30, 1995 --APID Membership meeting and Summer Convention will be held in Minneapolis, MN. For more information contact APLD headquarters at (312) 201-0101. November, 1995 - APID Board Meeting in Chicago, IL. Contact (312) 201-0101. New Plants for Spring Stephanie Cohen, Education Director of Waterloo Gardens in Devon, PAhas released this list of new plants for spring: Hemerocallis 'Moon Traveler' is a new rebloomer. Slightly taller than 'Happy Returns' and more floriferous. Monarda 'Jacob Klose' is a gem. It is being touted as one of the "most mildew resistant" cultivars on the market. Heucheras - there are always a plethora of them, but this one is slightly different. This dwarf selection called 'Fairy Cups' is 10 inches tall with leaves that are cupped upward on the edges. It has reddish orange flowers that appear to be coming from a miniature water lily. Discover Hosta 'Sun Power' which is touted to take more sun than most. It's two feet to three feet tall on golden yellow leaves and conspicuous veins. Dianthus 'Frosty Fire' is a great double red on blue green leaves. This plant has handsome foliage, dainty flowers, and a long bloom season. Perovskia atriplicifolia, is a sure fire late season winner 'Felagrin's a very fine textured, large plant at 42 inches tall. It has very good foliage with blue flowers in August and September. Combined with grass, goldenrod, or asters it makes a season finale with a flourish. 10 APID News LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY Publications • Portfolio Stock Images East64f Street, New York, NY 10021 • (212) 371·3596 Bidding ... continued from page 3 overhead. Examples of indirect costs are: taxes, overhead, profit, contingencies. Direct Costs are determined by doing a quantity take-off. Here are some guidelines: Use preprinted forms for an orderly sequence of descriptions, dimensions, quantities, extensions and totals. Be consistent when listing dimensions, for example, always describe length by width by height in the same sequence. Use printed dimensions where given. Portions of a landscape plan may be schematic or curvilinear, it may be difficult to scale a drawing in order to determine accurate quantities. Convert feet and inch measurements to decimal feet. A plant bed of six-feet-sixinches should convert to 6.5 feet. Typical categories for landscape construction are Site Work, Hard Construction and Plantings. List each of these broad categories separately, they are summarized later. At this early stage no costs or' prices are listed on the estimate. The task at this stage is to list every item that is a direct cost to this job. For each category, systematically list materials that are noted or indicated on the plans. When doing a takeoff from a plan, read and make notations in a planned sequence. One method is to always begin at the upper right quarter of a plan, listing the plants in this part of the drawing. Continue working around the drawing in a consistent clockwise pattern. Complete the takeoff for each group or category of materials by making separate searches around the plan. Be methodical. Locate all lawn seed areas, then all sod areas, followed by all paved walkway areas of similar materials. If quantities are difficult to determine, the estimate may be qualified by stating certain assumed dimensions. For example, 42,000 square feet of sod installed, may be stated, rather than simply "grass sod installed" Field verification of measurements will be helpful, and is recommended if possible. When completing the takeoff, look over the quantities and compare the pieces of information that have been collected. Man items are a "natural check" against each other. For example, if specifications call for three inches of topsoil under grass sod, the relationship between square feet of sod and cubic yards of topsoil can be known. There are many relationships between materials, work areas, and equipment and installations costs, and these are cross referenced by the experienced estimator. After all the takeoff is completed, the next step is to extend and summarize the quantities. Takeoff units should be converted to "pricing units". For example, requirements for depths of topsoil or mulch over a given area can be converted to cubic yards (or cubic feet) of material - the units in which the material will be priced and purchased. Following such method through all categories, prices are applied and overhead and profit added, to arrive at the final estimated cost. For greater detail the reader is referred to "Means Landscape Estimating", second edition, by this author, Sylvia Hollman Fee -. The book may be order by calling 1-800 448-8182. Sylvia Fee is an Albuqerque, NM Landscape Designer and isfeatured as this issue's Designer Profile.
Profits ... r:ontinued from page 7 string trimmer. He invented it in 1972 n a popcorn can, some fishing line, and old edger with the blade removed. He named is the "~eedEater®." By 1976, Ballas's company was doing over $50 million in sales annually, and string trimmers now rank with lawn mower sales in numbers sold. • Due to this author's years spent advising people about their properties, he innovated a program to teach homeowners how to put their personalities into their properties. The program developed was called LERNSCAPINGTM. it has garnered a great deal of media attention and keeps a steady flow of consultations and designs coming in. The way LERNSCAPINGworks is that property owners pay a Landscape Designer to generate ideas, draft a design, and install the landscape. The client fills out a LERNSCAPEChecklist, meets with a Landscape Designer to get guidelines and :.-leas,then the designer takes the ideas eloped during the LERNSCAPETM ~nsultation and generates a Landscape ign. The above examples have one thing in common. They were an innovation or improvement on an existing product or service. If one develops a product or service that there is a demand for, there is a bundle to be made on it. Invent a market. Be first on the block. Innovate. SpecialiZe in a new field -- edible gardens, affordable gardens, anti-cacophonous gardens, employee gardens for corporations, there's even a garden in a can. In answer to Pine's observation that, "Landscape DesignerS need to learn how to market their businesses and increase their profits," analyze operating costs, make money on everything; keep pushing up rates and trying (0 get what the market will bear. Develop a gimmick that will make the company fresh, new and exciting. "Hit a nerve," and strike "pay dirt." APID Members Participate in Trade Shows and Flower Shows All members are encouraged to participate in local events. Many APlD members are participating in trade shows, flower shows, and local activities around the country. APLD'sJock Lewendon of Warren, NJ and nine other members displayed a booth at the New Jersey Rower Show. lhis show's attendance exceeded 60,000. Existing members have gotten jobs directly from this show and attracted many new members. APID's Colibraro Also Exhibits APLD's Associate Member Michael Colibraro of Colibraro Landscaping and Nursery, in Horsham, PA is participated in the 1995 Philadelphia Rower Show as a major exhibitor. This year's show them is "Moments in Time .... A Galaxy of Gardens." Colibraro's exhibit, "Magical Memories" featured a garden of an Italian farmhouse, with antique terracotta pots, vine-covered 'pergola', herbs and indigenous plants of the Italian countryside. News Notes Robin Williams and His Son Win Awards APlD's British members, Robin Williams and his son, Robin Templar Williams, were honored recently with two prestigious national awards. The British Association of Landscape Industries Awards presented the elder Williams with the Garden Scheme Award and younger with the Principal Award for a Garden Scheme for Private Gardens. APID Establishes a Speakers Bureau APLD's Education Committee has established a Speakers Bureau of members qualified and willing to speak on various landscape-related subject. The committee's aim is to have a central data bank of those interested in speaking to groups which can then be made available to botanic gardens, educational institutions, garden clubs, trade and professional associations and which can also be used as a resource by the APLD. For more information, please contact: Anne Radway 531 Bennetts Farm Road Ridgefield, CT 06877-2226 203-431-5784 or fax to: 708-657-7917 Over 40 Years of Service I 200 ACRES LANDSCAPE SIZE MATERIAL 20 ACRES CONTAINER MATERIAL Excerpted from Landscape Professional's Marketing & Sales rcebook byJoel M. Lerner, APLD '45).Forfurther Information, coU 1) 495-4747. Joel Lerner is a past president of the APID. He is president of and author of general books. ti\UHANSEN JfLAl NURSERIES P.O. Box 350 Sassamansville, PA 19472 610/754-7843 Fax 610/754-9750 APLDNewsll
Page 2 and 3: PRESIDENT'S The Steady Growthof API
Page 4 and 5: BOARD UPDATE by Tim Christie The Bo
Page 6 and 7: INDUSTRY TRENDS by Timothy N. Thoel
Page 8 and 9: Natural Design: Incorporating Nativ
Page 12 and 13: CLASSIC ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTAL ME
Page 14 and 15: Licensure Of Landscape Designers by
Page 16: Designer Profile by Meg Wolfe Sylvi

Designer Profile - Association of Professional Landscape Designers

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