Every year the firm places an order for oversized poinsettias that we personally deliver to clients & peers. The time has come, and yesterday our office was flooded with 70+ 4 foot poinsettias. Unfortunately, our 36 year tradition of delivering enormous poinsettias to our favorite clients each year has come to an end, as all good things do. Several factors led us to this decision, the main reason being that the greenhouse team that grew these gems for us recently retired.

Poinsettia Care:

DO place in indirect sunlight for at least 6 hours a day
DO provide room temperature of 68 to 70 degrees F
DO water your plant when the soil feels dry to the touch
DO fertilize your plant after the blooming season
DO use a large shopping bag when transporting the plant
DON’T place plants near cold drafts or excessive heat
DON’T expose plants to temperatures below 50 degrees
DON’T over water your plant or allow it to sit in standing water
DON’T expose your plant to chilling winds while transporting
DON’T fertilize your plant when it is in bloom

How To ReBloom Your Poinsettia:

By late March or early April, cut your poinsettia back to 8” in height. Continue watering program and fertilize your plant with an all-purpose fertilizer. By May, you will see new growth. Place plants outdoors for spring and summer. Continue watering program and fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks. Begin pruning after late June; be sure not to prune later than September 1. Around June 1 you can transplant your poinsettia into a larger pot, no more than 4 inches larger than the original pot. Use a soil mix with a considerable amount of organic matter. Poinsettias will naturally come into bloom during November or December. Starting October 1, the plants must be kept in complete darkness for 14 continuous hours each night for 8 to 10 weeks.

We are very excited about the Green Infrastructure Wiki. Taken from their home page, “The term ‘green infrastructure’ has been used to describe a vast array of landscape types, from backyard rain gardens to regional open space networks. Fundamentally, green infrastructure is just a framework for recognizing the valuable ecological services that nature can provide for the human environment.” This wiki has sections that include case studies, the four layers (habitat, people places, water & mobility) as well as discussion forums. The founders have high hopes that this will become a strong resource for a multi-disciplinary movement.

Recently launched, this site will allow people to add content directly or make comments to the site. They will offer page templates for those people interested in adding green infrastructure elements and case studies.

Piles of leaves spelling out “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL” at Cal Anderson Park. It was late at night, making it hard to photograph.

Bates Technical College South Campus Expansion in Tacoma just recently won a Southwest AIA Honor Award. The project was completed this year and we send congratulations toMcGranahan Architects. Landscape design included a plaza and courtyard. The plaza acts as a connection between buildings and a gathering space for graduation and other ceremonies and the courtyard was designed to act as a rain garden.