This summer I have been interning with an excellent landscape maintenance company in the Portland Oregon area. Pacific Landscape Maintenance is a very young but fast growing and strong company. The company was started about 9 years ago when TruGreen bought out Northwest Landscape Industries. The company now has 3 offices in the Portland area with the main headquarters being located in Hillsboro, OR.

As an intern I have been learning the in's and out's of the maintenance industry. I have been doing things that range from pushing a 21" mower to going to lunch with the companies bark dust vender. The experience thus far has been exactly what I was looking for when I decided to intern in maintenance instead of design/build. Chris Weaver, the East branch manager and my supervisor has been very good about making sure that my needs along with his are being met.

As many may know PLANET 2009 was held at Cal Poly Pamona March 27-29.  As a team of 16 participants we were each given 2-5 events of which we came to master.  I was given Woody Plant ID and Construction Cost Estimating.  The preparation and training for these events paid off.  We took first place as a team and of course had to celebrate by going to disneyland!  This was a great experience and I look forward to participating next year as I will be more educated and experienced.

The following are examples of some of the designs I created during the Winter of 2009 in my Advanced Design class. This class was designed to:

1. Hone and refine all design principles.

2. Elevate proficiency in computer programs such as Dynascape, Dynascape Color, Google Sketchup, Google Layout, and Adobe Photoshop.

3. Learn and adapt different design styles.

In my construction materials class we watched a clip of HGTV's Designers Challenge. In the clip partners Scott and Dalton had some specifics needs and wants to be addressed. Scott and Dalton are very well traveled. Among their favorite places to which they have visited is Bali, a small indonesian island. Their house was decorated with many Balinese style sculptures and statues and they wanted to carry that feeling into their yard. We were assigned the challenge of creating the Balinese paradise they were looking for.

Using the provided base map I was asked to produce a planting design using Dynascape. The major requirements of the design were:

1. Use at least two planting details which are specced out on separate plans.

2. Create a screen blocking out the neighbor who has a second story deck located directly East of the grassy knoll.

3. Preserve the view of the Temple located directly South of the grassy knoll.

4. Incorporate the concept of a 'Living River' created by using unique and contrasting plants.

These are two planting details that correspond to my 'Living Rivers' design. The goal of these two planting details was to incorporate four main principles:

1. Accentuation- boldness of leaf

2. Exclamation- vertical emphasis

3. Punctuation- unexpected color

4. Repetition- of color, form, line, texture

Planting Detail #1

Planting Detail #2

During the Winter of 2008 a took my first computer aided design class.  In this class I reviewed design principles, sketching techniques, functional diagrams, form compositions, and planting plans.  I was also introduced to a few of the most important computer aided design programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Dynascape, and Dynascape Color.

This was my final project for my intro to computer aided design class. The objective of the project was to create a functional landscape for a family home located on an 'awkward' corner lot. For this project I used Dynascape for the design and then rendered the design in Dynascape Color.

During the Summer of 2008 (from July-September) I was able to work for Greenspace Landscaping Inc. Greenspace is a well-known company based out of Jackson Wyoming. The job that I worked on for the entirety of my time with them was an 19000 sq. ft. cabin located on an 1800 acre ranch in Tetonia Idaho. All 1800 acres of the ranch are planned to be landscaped over the next 6 years.

Some of the skills I was able to obtain on this job were operating a front end loader, mini excavator, and bull-dozer. I was assigned to do a lot of the irrigation work for about 10-15 acres that we were concentrating on. This involved laying out the heads at proper head spacing, pulling pipe, wiring valves, and setting clocks.

From December 2006 - April 2007 I packed up my things and moved to Hemet California. I made the move to be able to work for one of my uncles good friends Dave Mackie. Dave has been in the landscaping industry for over 20 years now working in golf course maintenance and as owner and operator of Mackie Landscaping. Mackie Landscaping has become one of the most sought after companies in the Inland Empire area of Southern California for residential design/build and enhancements.

I was able to obtain many useful skills while working everyday with Dave such as custom concrete finishing, custom boulder work, custom water features, retaining walls, and proper planting techniques. Working with Dave and seeing his passion towards his work is partly what inspired me to study landscape design/build.