Craig Richmond Landscape Architects

For years, as I walked this stretch, I never noticed the ugly powerlines and the butchered street trees. It was because I was always so busy admiring the Star Magnolias on the right. Even when they weren't in bloom, they broke up the building's scale. But now, someone has sheared the Yews into blocks, the Azaleas into blobs, and totally mangled the Star Magnolias.

It's a shame that this landscape look has become the standard. I'd bet money that the people maintaining the plants couldn't tell you the name of a single shrub. It doesn't matter because every shrub will get the same treatment.

I'm Guilty!

I confess that I'm guilty of specifying the prettier, more showy varieties of Magnolias. It has always been Janes, Stars, Saucers, and Southerns out front, and then I'd stick a native Sweetbay Magnolia in the background for fragrance.

No, they're not 'OMG', but they're nice. And there's nothing like walking in an urban environment and getting that sweet scent lofting through the air. They're sneaky, and you have to look hard to find where the smell is coming from.

It's nice to see the County planting them in the ROWs under power lines.

Woodside Park, Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland

This was a missed opportunity; I would have killed to have this project. This had the potential to be a great project for the firm that designed it. It's such a unique site, serving as the terminus of an urban bikeway that cuts through an upscale apartment building with a skyway. The coolness factor is off the charts on this one.

I really like what was done with the hardscape, but the plantings are where the project falls apart. What I predicted would happen a year or so ago is happening now. The Boxwood shrubs are suffering from being planted too close together and from not being the best plant for a walkway with heavy dog traffic.

I've preached this my entire career. The plants are just as important as the hardscape and the building. And unlike the built elements, the plantings are living things with their own needs and don't work with what impatient humans desire.

I'm not going to point any fingers, but I'm going to bet that a local landscape architect or designer didn't do the plantings. Just because you can arrange circles and hatch areas in AutoCAD to produce plans that get approved by planning department reviewers doesn't mean you can create a landscape project that improves over time.

It will cost around $200,000 to redo the plantings for a brand-new project.

Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland

This was a tennis court renovation for Suffolk County Community College in Selden, Long Island, New York. The existing courts needed to be demolished, the area regraded, and drainage structures installed and rebuilt. We have lots of experience in grading and drainage design. Contact us for your next project!

Call: 301-920-0424
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