Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy

The images in the slide show (link below) are all Cornucopia Sustainable Designs’ unmodified and unretouched photos from actual work sites. (The only exception is the image of the McMansion on a hilltop surrounded by grape trellising. That image is illustrative of what NOT to do in sustainable design.)

If you’re expecting pictures a la Better Homes & Gardens, you’re going to be disappointed. This is not HGTV. The images depict the nitty gritty of gardens at all stages from start to establishment – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ecological design sometimes requires a leap of faith of potential clients and those who are not ready to take a comprehensive approach to solving their garden/landscape and urban farm problems are not going to be ready to work with Cornucopia Sustainable Designs.

The clients who refused to follow the system that Cornucopia Sustainable Designs uses to facilitate ecological sustainability were and are not successful. These individuals are still struggling with their landscapes and are mystified as to what causes their problems, which are mostly self-generated. On the other hand, the clients who are currently enjoying thriving gardens were willing to follow Cornucopia Sustainable Designs’ lead and advice. The key is always matching what a garden site provides with what the plants need. Intentionally or inadvertently working against natural patterns guarantees unanticipated problems which are often expensive and/or time consuming to fix.

Although the slide show is an unorthodox way of showcasing past and present client work, we have chosen this format because: 1) you’ll learn from mistakes other people have made and 2) you will see images of successful client projects with annotations.