Category Archives: Plants

Rooftop Farming Goes Mainstream

Lauren Mandel on the future of urban farming.

A European honeybee (Apis mellifera) cared for by Urban Apiaries, in Philadelphia. The hives live on the roof of the SHARE Food Program in North Philly. Photo by Lauren Mandel.
A European honeybee (Apis mellifera) cared for by Urban Apiaries, in Philadelphia. The hives live on the roof of the SHARE Food Program in North Philly. Photo by Lauren Mandel.

Lauren Mandel is one of rooftop agriculture’s more ardent cheerleaders, but also one of its most helpful handicappers. Her new book, Eat Up: The Inside Scoop on Rooftop Agriculture is a complete guide to making rooftop agriculture work at various scales, and she’s not afraid to let people know about the challenges as well as benefits. We talked with Mandel about what’s going on in rooftop ag today and how farms are showing up in the most unlikely places. Continue reading Rooftop Farming Goes Mainstream

Sold Out

Courtesy Nelson Nursery
Courtesy Nelson Nursery

After a recession, a brake on plant production, and widespread nursery failures, finding the plants you want for a project could be tough.

By Anne Raver

After four long, slow years, the housing market is picking up, and landscape architects are beginning to get more calls about work. But after such a long slump, there’s a potentially big problem: Where are they going to find the high-quality plants they need? Continue reading Sold Out

A Trail of Stumps

Ipe is the most common tropical hardwood decking material in the United States, but the way it is harvested has raised concerns among ecologists. 

By Jane Hutton

Photo by Jane Hutton.

“This John Chipman bench was planted 500 years before Columbus sailed for America,” reads a Landscape Forms ad from a 1973 issue of this magazine. The familiar slatted bench is shown towering over a forest canopy. Its base is anchored to a colossal redwood stump. “When you have a site furnishing job to do, think about Chipman in 1,000-year-old redwood,” the ad says. “Even if your benches only have to last another 100 years.” Continue reading A Trail of Stumps