Mr. Porter’s Recess

a sabbatical with Mother Nature

So how does a landscaper unwind and relax?

You would think go on vacation. Well not this landscaper. Some things just run through your blood and no matter how hard you try to get away from them, you end up right smack dab in the middle of something new yet the same. I go for a “WILD WALK”

Visiting the “Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks” is a great place to go to see Mother Nature at work. The museum is set on a 32-acre site that includes frontage on one of New York’s most scenic rivers. The WILD Center is a new natural history museum for New York’s Adirondack Park, the largest park in the United States’ 48 contiguous states.

The pictures above demonstrate how Nature blends with Architecture. The natural wood bridge just seems to blend right into the environment. Notice how the pond water runs right up to the building almost making it seem that the building is submerged. It is! Inside you can view the water from eye level which is spectacular view. Inspiration comes from many different areas.

This is just one of them.  A good landscaper designer should always try to blend different elements of design such as combining beauty and function with a natural touch. Not easy in suburban Bergen County N.J.

After walking a few hours I found this little nook and cranny, all surrounded by Lupines. Notice the strategic placement of the benches within the canopy of the large overhead trees.

Perhaps my most favorite and inspirational part of this stop was the “Green Roof “ exhibit.

It is such a good idea that it might become the standard roof of the future. Plants insulate. Studies show that the insulating benefits of green roofs can reduce annual heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent. In a typical Adirondack town; rain running off roofs can overwhelm sewer systems, causing them to overflow and spill untreated waste. Green roofs retain as much as 80 percent of the rain that falls on them.

A well know botanist perhaps said it best. “What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning how to display it.”

It just so happens that I need a roof on my garage and this method of roofing is perhaps the most attractive to me. I wonder why!

As good Stewards of our planet, we need to keep in mind how we treat it and what each of us can do to preserve it.

And yes even though I seem to be sitting, by no means are things as they always appear. I am always thinking and designing in my own head.

That is the passion of becoming a Landscaper designer…..

So yes, it was a wonderful and enlightening adventure in the Adirondacks and I came away from it with a renewed sense of “mother nature” and a rejuvenated “spirit”.

encouraging you to help the environment – almost PERFECT Landscaping of Bergen County