With spring approaching, we are beginning the installation of the landscape designed by Nate Bradford of EcoArt.  While the landscaping plans from the horticulture class at Clemson gave us lots of great ideas, Nat took them a step further to design a way to harvest rainwater from the entire property to use in irrigation.  We have a very large vegetable garden, and Nat’s plan not only takes care of all the installed plantings, but the veggie garden as well.  The major expense and feature is a pond at the bottom of the hill off our deck.  While this is a bit more expensive than just installing plants, the end result is a huge reduction in our water bill and not having to worry about watering restrictions.  The pond is designed for a worst case drought scenario.

We have begun some of the things we can do ourselves-the permeable patios and walkways, for example.  Off of the downstairs guest room, Harry installed a pea gravel base on which we will float flagstone.  This gives us a nice spot for the French doors to open out on and prevents mud from coming in the house when guests use this door. The gravel, a several ton pile delivered on site, was our Valentine’s Day gift to each other.  OK, so we’re not romantic, but we’re very practical!

In other news, the LEED forms computer issue has been solved and submission for certification is proceeding.