Somebody else's. Actually, two somebody else's. Full time in a land planning office (Falmouth) that can find me doing a lot more civil engineering than landscape design. A lot of the landscape design is conservation revegetation or mitigation. Some of it is ornamental. Some of it is getting people out of jams from their illegal alteration of wetland buffers (usually cutting trees or shrubs for a view). It is a small office where we all do everything and each of the licensed people check the work of the others, but might work on the entire project without anyone else drawing on it. Some projects are condominium developments, affordable housing, banks, police stations, fire stations, and a lot of big homes, many of which include the razing of the old one (add in the conservation issues on waterfront houses). The closer to the ocean, the more the land is worth, the more the owner feels the house has to justify the lot, the more wetland resources,.... On Saturdays I do plans for a high end landscaper (Orleans)at the othe end of the Cape. That is lots of stonework, custom pools, large homes, lots of plants, and not a lot of budgetary woes. And the engineers already have the work limits permitted (usually). The limiting factor is that I have to work within the style of the company, but it is very much in context with the market it is in. Wetlands regulations in my area are growing a cottage industry that moves a lot of money. Landscaping is a diverse field as I always say. But you may be surprised how diverse the landscape design field is as well. It has been an interesting past five years when my career path had a detour when I found myself in a civil engineer's office. I had no idea I'd do what I do. Coming up with strategies to satify the regulations and help the client get what he wants is interesting. I never knew that psychology was actually going to be relevent when it was a requirement in landscape architecture. My task resume is pretty broad (and everyone likes a pretty broad, irrisistable joke, sorry).

My house was built in 1916 as a parsonage for the United Methodist-Episcopal South Church. No real owners - just transient ministers, so nothing interesting garden-wise. The most interesting features are an intricately-designed 15-ft.-deep cistern, and the brickwork of 3 chimneys that serve 6 fireplaces. I tilled most of the flower beds and ran across enough broken dishes and silverware to conclude that many a bad meal was served here over the decades! Also beds of used coal, garbage and antique bottles, even a piece of petrified wood. For reasons unknown to me, I found many old and very small horseshoes. Also found a silver Deutsche Mark minted in nazi Germany (complete with nazi symbol imprinted on front). But my very best find was while tilling up the front yard for sodding. Underneath several inches of soil I discovered a ruby Mason's ring. Many months later I found the owner. He was in his late 70's and had lost it while roofing the house several decades ago. He replaced the ring some time after losing it, but "retired" the replacement after getting the original ring back. He sacked groceries at the local grocery store and always raised his hand to my face to let me know he was wearing the original ring whenever I came in. In short, I love my old home so much that almost everything I have unearthed goes on display!

Image is too small. However you can apply a per-emergent herbicide such as XL or Amaze mid-Feb., mid-May and mid- September to prevent them germinating in the first place. Here is a link that might be useful: XL

I live in Vermont where we like to say "We were green before green was cool". We use renewable resources. And I know a lot of people won't like our choice, but we burn wood. We have the largest per capita use of woodstoves than any other state. And our air is the cleanest in the northeast. I use a woodstove as my main heat source. The stove is certified by the EPA and burns clean. Our local school district just built a new middle school and it uses a wood fired furnace. Now I'm not talking about someone throwing logs in a pot belly stove, but a modern furnace that uses wood chips left over from the logging operations and sawmills. A number of Vermonters are "off the grid" and have solar panels and woodstoves. But eating toast is a special event. Riding a bicycle to work when it's 20 below isn't an option so we do drive cars too. And unless it's a 4x4 we stay home 5 months a year. So a Prius isn't practical unless you live in a subdivision. A garden is mandatory. So we compost. That's self explanatory. You see, a lot of "greenies" talk the talk, but won't actually do the nasty stuff. Like chopping wood, or composting or even gardening. They talk about insulation, electric cars, etc. We call that window dressing. You want to be "green"? Think about what you would do if the power went out for 2 weeks during winter. And live that lifestyle.