In Progress: Red Butte Water Conservation Garden

March 23, 2016 Studio Outside

We've received some beautiful aerial photos recently from Greg Boudrero at MGB+A: The Grassli Group, showing the construction progress made at the Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah. These aerial photos are immensely helpful during the construction progress to track progress on the entire site and visualize the design implementation as a whole, but it's also just really fun for us to see a project come together from the bird's eye view.

The Water Conservation Garden is the newest garden expansion at Red Butte Gardens. The Water Conservation Garden is approximately 3 acres in size and climbs over 80 vertical feet from top to bottom of the site. The steep topography across the site made grading the site challenging; however, we were able to keep the main trail handicap accessible without the need for handrails. The main trail snakes from side to side across the site, stopping at various trellises that frame views of Salt Lake City and the surrounding mountains.

Smoke, Fire, and the Southern Post Oak Savanna

January 29, 2016 Studio Outside

"Historically, a blanket of bison covered the savanna landscape of southeast Texas. Large herds consumed vast quantities of grasses and their hooves disturbed the soil, and dispersed seed. Though the grazing was intense, the bison moved, allowing the savanna time to recover.

Fires regularly spread through the savanna. These fires were typically very large and continued until stopped by a change in topography or storms smothered them. These fires stimulated growth of the grasses and forbs, suppressed invading woody plants and ultimately contributed to the incredible species diversity of the grasslands." (Houston Wilderness)