Reviews Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Proper Landscaping Inc.

Dec 16

0

Vancouver Tree Book

By Vas Sladek | Arborist Insights, Books, Reviews | No Comments

Vancouver Tree Book by David Tracey is now available in bookstores. Normally I would wait for Amazon to ship the book but I didn’t want to wait. Not for a new tree book. I picked it up from Chapter’s for $21, tax included. Not bad.

It’s pocket-sized and features 100 trees. It will easily slip into your backpack. One nice touch is that we are given actual City of Vancouver spots where the trees can be seen. There is also a list of 10 treasured trees in the city.

The illustrations are very nice. Since this is a pocket guide, only basic information is presented. After scanning the guide, it’s clear I still have some work left to do on my tree identification skills. Not to worry. I will get there. I’m an arborist just like Tracey.

Having discovered Acer campestre in Langley and nowhere else, I was relieved to find out that there are plenty of specimens in Vancouver. My favorite tree, Albizia julibrissin is also in the guide, which means the guide automatically gets a passing grade.

The guide makes references to an earlier book on Vancouver Trees. Trees of Vancouver by Gerald B. Straley we learn is now out of print (I have a copy!) . Sadly, the author has passed away. That makes my copy that much more precious.

Unlike Tracey’s pocket guide, this is a bigger book that covers over 470 trees and includes leaf drawings. In the middle are 86 beautiful color photographs. Location information is also given which makes it easy for you to locate your favorite species. Tracey obviously copied this handy approach.

New and pocket-sized, 100 trees

Information on 470 trees, now out of print

Summary

This is a handy guide for all green professionals. It’s well worth $21. I will now go through it and scan it for the species I don’t yet know well. I hope you do the same.

Dec 09

0

Crazy about gardening: Des Kennedy

By Vas Sladek | Books, Company News, gardening, Reviews | No Comments

Crazy about gardening

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes. Walking back to my car after returning bottles for deposit, I noticed a used bookshop sign. Closing, Final day, 70% off all used books. Aha. A very pleasant detour on my way to discovering Des Kennedy.

Half an hour later I walked out with the BC garden writer’s book. At $1.30 it was a steal. Kennedy is an award-winning writer and it shows. “Crazy about gardening” is a funny book. It’s subtitled “Reflections on the sweet seductions of a garden“. So we know this isn’t a technical manual. The lessons are subtle, mixed in with jokes and stories. If you let him, Kennedy has plenty to teach you.

There were also many spots where I almost reached for my dictionary. I also enjoyed the odd poem:

Life’s a short summer, man a flower.

He dies-alas! how soon he dies.

Obviously, just like stand-up comedy, your enjoyment is directly related to your age and experience. If you are an experienced gardener, you will definitely be entertained. If you are new to gardening, read and learn. Your vocabulary will also improve.

Some highlights

Kennedy hires a water diviner to find water on his property. A water witch. I find this fascinating because my own grandfather did this with outrageous accuracy just outside Prague. As a little city kid, visiting the country, I found it amazing. Grandpa would pick a branch, slice one end in half, grab one end with each hand and walk. Once he hit water, the top uncut end of the branch would dip down towards the ground. Success. Grandpa also made money by digging wells. The hard way.

Dog days droop. Kennedy makes fun of the late summer period when what was beautiful is all of a sudden dreary and desiccated. Pests multiply. April energy is long gone. The gardener temporarily loses grip.

Lawns. We know they use water, fertilizers, herbicides, and require time and effort to maintain. It’s a bizarre fetish. Once the lawn is nicely cut Kennedy admits to feeling a “bizarre little thrill of satisfaction, of emotional well-being.” I concur. There is something to this.

At $1.30 this book was a steal. Des Kennedy is worth whatever Amazon charges for his books. Give him a try.

Oct 25

0

New STIHL BR700 blower

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping Equipment, Reviews, Strata Maintenance | No Comments

Fall is incredibly busy for landscape companies. Now there is extra help in the form of a new Stihl blower. Introducing BR700.

It helps to have a good relationship with your dealer. That’s how my employer recently got hooked up with a test unit of this brand new backpack blower from Stihl. Personally, I get more excited by plants than machines but product testing can be fun. Testing this bad boy was fun. So was writing a blog post about it.

Big gun

Stihl’s brand new backpack blower BR700 is a big gun! It’s their biggest, most powerful blower. This is the kind machine residents in Vancouver’s West End, where blowers are banned, have nightmares about. Landscapers will be asking Santa for one unit under their trees.

You will notice the huge adjustable telescopic tube with an adjustable control handle. This allows workers of different heights to adjust the unit. It’s quick and easy. I love this feature.

The air volume at the nozzle is 30 percent more than for its older sister blower BR600. 1550 cubic meters per hour vs. 1150 cubic meters per hour. This is why the blower is ideal for large properties and tough landscaping tasks. Nozzle attachments are available for more directed flow.

One word of caution. Blowing out leafy beds with this beast might lead to soil loss. The BR600 might be better suited for this. If you have to push leaves down a road the BR700 is great.

Other features

adjustable support harness
anti-vibration system helps reduce operator fatigue
semi-automatic choke for smooth and easy starts
fuel-efficient engine

testing, testing…..Stihl’s new BR700

Handle adjusts easily with a quick-release lever; the tube telescopes after a few twists

Nozzle attachments are available; there is less power at nozzle end compared to BR600

Conclusion

After testing, every crew got one of these big boys to help out with leaf clean up. The BR700 is powerful and a pleasure to use. I highly recommend it.

Oct 23

0

All about Japanese Hasegawa landscape tripod ladders

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping Equipment, Reviews | No Comments

Hasegawa landscape tripod ladders are beautiful! In late September, while strolling through the CanWest Horticultural Show trade floor, I ran into a Hasegawa ladder booth. Then it hit me. Vancouver Sun’s Steve Whysall had written about these ladders and how he dismissed them because of the cost. Now I had them in front me to try out. Great!

My observations

1.These ladders are really light. The ten foot version was easy to move.

2. The steps (rungs) are doubled which reduces the chance of slipping, and increases the chance of mud clearing from your boots

3. The third leg adjusts easily with a spring-loaded pin in 6″ increments and connects to the body with a chain. This works great when working on uneven ground.

4. There are no bolts to tighten; all joints are hand-welded.

5. The ten foot version retails at $435, which is expensive. Steve Whysall was right. I would worry about this ladder going missing off my truck.

6. Designed in Japan, production has now shifted to China. What hasn’t? Allegedly production conforms to Japanese Industrial Standards.

7. The only landscaper I know who has a Hasegawa tripod ladder attached to the side of his trailer is Japanese!

8. Rubber boots are available for the clawed feet ( set of 3 for $50)

Brochure notes

no wobble
no screws
welded by hand
extendable back leg
extremely light weight
platform ladder available
Hasegawa has the reputation for making the best quality and safest tripod ladders in use today
incredibly safe and easy to use

Vancouver distributor

Steve Osmond 778-988-7303, gogostevo@gmail.com

beautiful wide base, stable and note the rubber shoes for hard surfaces

no screws! hand-welded

Third leg articulates with a spring-loaded pin in 6″ increments, the pin moved easily

handout photo

Bottom of clawed foot; rubber shoes available for work on hard surfaces

Hasegawa ladder on a trailer owned by a Japanese gardener

Conclusion

If your budget allows, buy this tripod ladder for your tree, garden and landscape work. I will. In the future. Call Steve at 778-988-7303 with questions.

Disclaimer: always use ladders safely! I am in no way associated with Hasegawa ladders or their distribution. The review is based on my observations at CanWest.

Sep 30

0

Stihl Lawngrips shoe review

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping, Reviews | No Comments

The Stihl Lawngrips shoes for landscape professionals are great shoes! And yet, it’s ironic that as I finally sit down to write this review blog post, my latest pair is falling apart. I’ve bought at least ten pairs of these shoes without experiencing any major problems. As a busy landscape professional I “killed” the shoes through heavy use.

My last two pairs, however, suffered from a manufacturing defect. See picture below. My dealer kindly exchanged the shoes and the replacement pair lasted barely two weeks. Then the dealer refused to hand over a third new pair. He called Stihl and their response was that they wanted to see the shoes. Great! I get a refund but I’m without my favorite shoes. I will buy a pair from another dealer and hope they last longer. Stihl will get to examine my shoes.

Having gone through at least ten pairs, I feel qualified to review the shoes. (Disclaimer: I’m in no way associated, compensated or sponsored by Stihl. The opinions expressed here are mine and I stand by them.)

Pros:

the shoes feel great for working boots (light weight)
you barely notice they have steel toe and steel plate in sole
they really don’t slip on grassy slopes
they look good and sport the Stihl logo
the retail $99 plus tax cost is good if you compare it to other work boots on the market
specifically designed for landscape professionals
CSA approved
available in shoe and boot style

Cons:

my recent bad experiences make me wonder about the manufacturing quality control
as you wear out the sole, you will reach a point where the shoes make “sucking” sounds when on hard surfaces
the shoelaces must be double-tied otherwise they come undone
many dealers in the Lower Mainland don’t carry the boot version

This was my first-ever hassle with these shoes. Note the crack after only a few weeks.

On the last day….

This is how your Lawngrips will show their age

I love these shoes! Considering my recent hassles, I give them 8/10. If you are a landscape professional you owe it to yourself to test one pair. Good luck.

Aug 26

0

“Lab girl” book review

By Vas Sladek | Arborist Insights, Books, Reviews, Species | No Comments

“LAB GIRL” by Dr. Hope Jahren is a fantastic book! That is, if you like plants, science or you are considering a career in academia. I purchased the audio version and listened to the book during my weekend work sessions. Dr. Jahren’s Ph.D. dissertation was about a tree. Her work focuses on plants and their longevity. Paleobiology.

The chapters nicely alternate between personal life and science. I openly confess to enjoying the science chapters more. It seemed like there were too many lab set-up references. But this connects to Dr. Jahren’s constant side-kick, lab researcher Bill. The two are inseparable. After finishing the book you might feel the urge to visit with Bill. He is a pretty interesting character.

Key idea 1: If you want to make it in academia as a female Ph.D., get ready for a bumpy ride. Male professors have doubts, funding and grants are a constant headache. This book should be required reading for any female considering a career in US academia.

Key idea 2: Plants, especially trees, are incredibly fascinating. I already knew that. You will, too, after reading “Lab girl”. Consider the case of resurrection plants. They are so brown and dry, we would consider them dead, and toss them. But wait. A bit of moisture brings them back to life. This can repeat many, many times, until eventually they do die. These are the only plants that have figured out how to grow without being green!

Seeds are also amazing. Alive, they can wait for hundreds of years before taking a chance and emerging. Their one chance. What exactly triggers it?

Key idea 3: The book closes with a personal request from the author to plant a tree at your home. If you can. The planet is losing green cover every year. This small act of planting a tree or two will help.

Key idea 4: To learn more about trees, Dr. Jahren recommends Peter A. Thomas’ “Trees: Their Natural History“, about $50 from Amazon.ca. By the time this blog post is published, I expect to have it finished. In paperback form.

The book has a happy ending. Hope marries, has a child and the family settles in Hawaii. So does Bill. Of course. I love plants so I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Feb 26

0

Reading about seeds, scandal and Darwin

By Vas Sladek | Company News, Reviews | No Comments

Reading about seeds, scandal and Darwin

The February 2016 Alive magazine (alive.com) has an interesting story on reading, “A good read” by Vanessa Annand. The article mentions research which credits reading with making us better people: more empathetic, less stressed and even healthier.

Some article highlights:

Reading just 30 minutes per week led to greater life satisfaction and enhanced social connections

Literary fiction helps us “read” people better in real life

Reading may delay the onset of dementia

Those who read for pleasure feel less stressed

Fiction scored better than non-fiction but this is a green blog so let’s take a chance. I am about to share my recent green reads. And they were a blast to read. I would disagree with the conclusion that non-fiction is for loners. Find your own favorite books and share the titles in the comments below.

The Triumph of Seeds Thor Hanson

If you drink coffee and eat breakfast you already have an intimate knowledge of seeds. What I find fascinating is that seeds contain everything they need inside and some can survive dormant for hundreds of years! Then somehow conditions become just right and a new plant emerges.

Some seed coats are extremely tough to crack; some seeds open up from forest fire smoke, not the fire itself. This book is fascinating.

The Scent of Scandal Craig Pittman

This is a true story about a rare orchid and an international scandal that erupted around it. Personally, I think orchids are OK. They are interesting and play a huge role in the plant kingdom. I am not in love with them. I love epiphytes, those plants that live up high in the trees, not rooted in the earth. And I love good stories.

One scandal over a rare orchid species crushes people financially, personally and some even end up in jail. It’s unbelievable. And well worth reading.

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin Charles Darwin

We know about Darwin’s work on the theory of evolution but what about his life? Until now I knew very little about the man and his life. This book fills you in on the interesting details of his life. His other book on the Voyage of the Beagle is more exciting; full of adventure. I am satisfied that I now know some details about Darwin’s life. Another recommended title.

What are YOU reading?

Jan 22

0

Review: HortusTV, Television for Gardeners…….

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Reviews | No Comments

After seeing ads for HortusTV in Garden Making magazine, I decided to give it a try. The website www.hortustv.com offers a seven day trial and you don’t have to hand over your credit card information to enjoy your free week. Most episodes are in the 20 minute range and lots of different topics are covered. The selection looks limited as I write this but the episodes are shot really well. You will learn lots of interesting stuff, guaranteed. Once the number of shows increases it will make sense to pay monthly. For the moment I will keep my cash for Netflix.

Once you get your free 7-day trial, log in and first go to the Small Town Gardens series hosted by Rachel de Thame. She is easily the world’s prettiest horticulturist!
If the number of her episodes doubles, I will subscribe to HortusTV. I watched an episode about a windy apartment patio. The owners needed more privacy and heavy winds were an issue. It was an interesting problem for the landscape architect.

The Earth’s Garden series examines the connection between people and plants. In the Kew Gardens episode you will discover an interesting tree, Amorphophallus titanum. Kew is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It is on my “Live it” list.

Another interesting series was about spring around the world. All of these episodes are worth watching, especially South Africa.

My recommendation would be to do the free seven day trial and then wait for the number of shows to triple before paying monthly.

unnamed

Oct 02

0

Book Review: How plants work by Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D.

By Vas | Plant Species Information, Reviews | No Comments

As a fan of Linda’s work my book review is bound to be slightly biased. I had this book in my wish list months ahead of publication. As the back jacket says, if you read and study the book, you will

understand your garden and landscape better. You will learn how to weed less, how to fertilize and prune more effectively and you will see reviews of products that could potentially save you money.

Linda shows you the inner workings of plants. The magic happens when hard science is written for gardeners and green professionals in easy to understand language.

Now, a warning. I said easy to understand but you will have to make your way through some biochemistry. Just go over the sections twice, like I did. It’s fascinating stuff. The most interesting part of the book is the chapter on how, HOW, plants tell time, how they know it’s time to push out their leaves or pack it in for the winter. It’s all about phytochrome, a pigment for all seasons. If I said any more, I would ruin it for you.

There are many side bars. Some I already knew about, like what a waste of cash installing landscape fabric is; and how we should water even in the fall; and how to bare-root trees and shrubs for planting. Other side bars were new to me, like aeration tubes.

Another warning: you will get inspired by Linda to try new stuff, like bare-root tree planting I did as a helper with a municipal gardener. Not only was it a fun experience, the trees are doing well.

Wash off the root ball and inspect the roots

Ensure proper planting depth

Don’t throw away the soil from your root ball

Done, staking may or may not be required. This dogwood (Cornus) required staking.

Don’t forget to check out the suggested reading list on pages 219-220. I want all of those books in my library!

My only complaint would be the length of this book. I wish it was ten times as long, fat enough to press flowers with. Second edition perhaps?

Five stars!

Sep 11

0

Book Review: The Gardener of Versaille

By Vas | Arborist Insights, Books, Reviews | No Comments

This French best seller, written by Alain Baraton, gardener-in-chief at the palace of Versaille, is fantastic! It will appeal to all gardeners and green professionals. Baraton offers us an intimate look at his career path and the history of the famous grounds. His job is not easy. Working under him are eighty gardeners, and they manage 350,000 trees, flowers and plants, plus thirty miles of walkways on 2,100 acres of land. No more enthusiastic amateurs; all new gardeners are required to pass standard government exams.

The gardens have been frequented and loved by kings and queens. Baraton includes many paragraphs on young French kings and their many escapades. Versaille is frequented by lovers looking for secluded spots and this leads us to an interesting quote: “A garden capable of attracting lovers is a success”.
Totally unexpected were the hordes of grandmothers making secret cuttings to take back home.

I was personally fascinated with the details of a gardener’s life and the many great gardeners who worked on the grounds before Baraton. If you like French history or just good stories, you won’t be disappointed. The absolute best story, well worth the price of the book, is that of Louis XIV and his new Superintendent of Finances, Fouquet. Fouquet created an amazing garden at the chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte and threw the party of all parties. Some guests received horses as door prizes! In one account, the young king Louis XIV got very jealous and poor Fouquet was stripped of all of his possessions. Court judges wanted him exiled but that was too mellow for the young king. He threw Fouquet into prison and he died there! Another account says Fouquet was set up. It was his predecessor who abused the treasury.
I highly recommend this book. Five stars.

Reviews