Eco Designs and Landscapes

The Importance of a Tree

2012-01-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

The Most Unique Sculpture Garden in the World

2011-11-26T17:37:00.001-08:00

This is the most unique Sculpture Garden on the Plantet. Please see a short (2.44 min.) video of Jason de Caires Taylor underwater sculpture garden

The Principles of Permaculture

2011-07-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Pikake Garden Revisited

2010-05-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you who remember Pikake Gardens, on May 13th of this year I was allowed into Pikake for the first time in many years. I took hundreds of pictures and uploaded them into a Flash slide show on my Eco Designs and Landscapes web site. For those of you who have been to Pikake, you may want to go and take a look, perhaps to remember the Garden as it was.

For starters, I loaded all of the photos. Some areas such as the Protea Gardens and the Arid Garden have grown beyond expectation and are more glorious than ever. The Pan Asian Garden has been very well maintained and the water in the two large ponds is crystal clear so that the Koi are shown off very well.

The Rose Garden is Incredible! Almost overwhelming!

The Jungle Garden on the other hand looks under watered. The plants are stressed and the ponds are no longer circulated. The bottom or large pond was down one foot in elevation.

The slide show can be found HERE. If you are using a 64 bit operating system, you need to open the slide show in a 32 bit version of Internet Explorer to watch it.

Michael Jackson's "Earth Song"

2010-04-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Listen to Michael Jackson's "Earth Song". This is an incredibly powerful plea to save the Planet

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, it is time to reflect on the damage we have done..

Michael Jackson's Earth Song Lyrics

What about sunrise
What about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth its weeping shores?

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

What have we done to the world?
Look what we've done.
What about all the peace,
That you pledge your only son?
What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams,
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice,
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice,
This crying Earth its weeping shores?

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

Hey

what about yesterday
(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are falling down
(What about us)
I can't even breathe
(What about us)
What about everything
(What about us)
I given you
(What about us)
What about nature's worth
(ooo, ooo)
It's our planet's womb
(What about us)
What about animals
(What about it)
We've turned kingdoms to dust
(What about us)
What about elephants
(What about us)
Have we lost their trust
(What about us)
What about crying whales
(What about us)
We're ravaging the seas
(What about us)
What about forest trails
(ooo, ooo)
Burnt despite our pleas
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man
(What about us)
Can't we set him free
(What about us)
What about children dying
(What about us)
Can't you hear them cry
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boy
(What about it)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
(What about us)
What about the man
(What about us)
What about the crying man
(What about us)
What about Abraham
(What was us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn

Aaaaaaaaah Ooooooooh

The Eden Project

2010-03-11T05:40:00.000-08:00

The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world. The project is located in a reclaimed Kaolinite pit, located 2 kilometers (1.25 mi) from the town of St Blazey and 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the larger town of St Austell, Cornwall.

The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant species from around the world, each dome emulating a natural biome. The domes are made out of hundreds of hexagons plus a few pentagons that connect the whole construction; each of these is a transparent cushion made of tough plastic. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, the second a warm temperate, Mediterranean environment.

The project is constructed in an unused china clay pit. Once into the attraction, there is a meandering path with views of the two biomes, planted landscapes, including vegetable gardens, and sculptures that include a giant bee and towering robot called RSA WEEE Man created from old electrical appliances.

The domes provide diverse growing conditions, and many plants are on display.

The Eden Project includes environmental education focusing on the interdependence of plants and people; plants are labelled with their medicinal uses. The massive amounts of water required to create the humid conditions of the Tropical Biome, and to serve the toilet facilities, are all sanitized rain water that would otherwise collect at the bottom of the quarry. The only mains water used is for hand washing and for cooking. The complex also uses Green Tariff Electricity — the energy comes from one of the many wind turbines in Cornwall, which were among the first in Europe.

Natural Swimming Pools

2010-02-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

Natural Swimming Pools (NSP’s) or Swim Ponds have become a phenomenon across much of Western Europe. Dozens of companies are actively promoting this hybrid form of a swimming pool and public enthusiasm for NSP’s is increasing every year. In Europe, this technology has been proven and is in wide use. In Germany and Austria there are many public NSP’s that service in excess of 4000 visitors a day. German Water Purity Standards are extremely strict, these pools have been regularly tested over years of use and found to be completely safe.

A Natural Swimming Pool is a pool that is filtered and clarified by plants instead of Chlorine. On our sister site we have included useful articles, diagrams and links to sites around the world dedicated to the development and implementation of this technology.

Our Sister company Expanding Horizons is the only company in California actively promoting this alternative to a chlorinated swimming pool. Please follow the link for much more information.

Who we are

2010-02-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

Bryan Morse is an Environmental Artist-Contractor with over thirty years experience in Environmental custom landscape design and construction. Morse's projects have been featured in numerous articles in Magazines and Newspapers, on H.G.T.V. and on the Spring Tour of the San Diego Chapter of the Landscape Architects Association.

Passion for Botanical Gardens: Morse (and his associates) have recently completed the Design for the new Children’s Garden; and in 2005 designed the Master Plan for Alta Vista Gardens which is a young Botanical Garden under development in Vista, CA. He is also the designer and builder of Pikake Gardens, which is a world class privately owned Botanical Garden located on twelve acres in Valley Center, CA. Morse also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Alta Vista Gardens.

Kevin Norton is an Eco Innovation and Sustainable Design Consultant with ten years of experience specializing in the integration of innovative technologies with nature in order to conserve water and improve the environment within the communities he serves. His unique consulting prowess provides options and insight for his clients to reduce wasteful practices, save money and create beauty in the world.
His “Techno-Organic” approaches to improving building’s efficiency to reduce water waste, incorporates professional environmental practices and products like microbial brewed organic solutions derived from Wormcastings and Mycorrhiza designed to maximize root growth and structure, improve water holding capacity in soils while enriching soils with microorganisms while minimizing our impact on nature without the use of chemical fertilizers that harm the environment and pollute our regional water supplies.This approach is designed to maximize the quality of life while minimizing their impact on nature.
He is a passionate advocate for the use of greywater reuse and rainwater capture and delivery systems to further reduce the strain on potable water uses for commercial and residential clients in drought stricken Southern California communities.

Israel Montiel is a master mason from the old school. Taught by his dad to use a trowel when he was a young child, Israel has an innate connection the organic building materials of the Earth. Israel specializes in the construction of rock walls that look like they were always there. His Flagstone installations are a work of art. Never using a saw to make a fit, he feels the connection of each piece to its surroundings as he places it in its home. Israel also has vast experience in the exacting installation of pebbles, glass and semiprecious stones. He has worked with recycled glass bottles and adobe.

Environmental Landscape Services

2010-02-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

What we "do"

Rainwater Harvesting- Systems to keep rainwater from going "down the drain."

Natural Swimming Pools - Southern California’s only builder of organically filtered and cleaned swimming pools.

Green Roof: A green roof is the ultimate insulator. It will greatly reduce your heating and your cooling costs

Greywater Recycling Systems -collect the greywater from your home, filter it and reuse it.

Home garden designs and planning- Grow your own produce, even with little land.

Water conservation- Improve irrigation systems to save water, not waste it.

Home composting- Systems and techniques that make composting easy and fun.

Sustainable soil improvement- Learn techniques to improve your garden soils safely.

Drought tolerant landscaping- Planting ideas, designs, and techniques.

Mulching- How to create and use your own quality mulch.

And more!