Mind Space Company

What a project-packed year 2024 was. We worked in your front, rear & side yards. On your front porches and rear decks. We discovered, dug up and (hopefully) destroyed white grubs by the spades-ful in traditional turf lawns, ground covers and no-mow Eco-lawns. We dug drains in clay soils, begged some of you to water more often and begged some of you to PLEASE stop watering so often. One day I’ll sit down and calculate how many yards of soil amendment we worked into the ground but I know for sure we added about 30 yards back into 1 large project and took away countless yards of compacted, debris filled soil from that same project. I canceled and shortened work days more often for heat than for rain again this year, not surprising since the hottest year on record was 2024, supplanting 2023 as the title holder. Yes, the world is still going in the wrong direction on that front. Although there has to be something between being too hot and way too frigid like what we worked through in early December, predictable extended weather patterns are elusive and challenging to accommodate even when using a broad plant palette.
We don’t put plastic into the environment so no artificial ‘turf’ or rubber mulch installations but we do replace failing or hard to manage lawn areas with natural stone, herbaceous and woody plants, and sustainable wood mulch. There’s never just one answer, but if finding the right one were easy and always obvious, it wouldn’t be called “work”, right?
You’ll see photos of 2024’s projects posted over the next couple of months as I rest up and plan for the coming season. If you (or a neighbor) want your space designed for enjoyment in 2025, the time for that starts in January, not June, so send me an email.
Stay tuned!

This is an upgrade project for a townhome association in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The homes are arranged around a centralized common outdoor space with shared activities including sports courts, paths and some mature landscaping. This area started out as a circular paved patio where residents gather for quiet activity. We built the broken circle seat wall and cleaned the existing pavers. There may be a fire pit added in the future.

If stone were a salad ingredient bluestone would be kale. Even though I personally think kale is a dish best served HOT, the correlation is the overuse of bluestone as a hardscape material even when it isn’t always the best material choice for your hardscape project. Kale is used in every dish now. It’s in your salad and smoothie, on your sandwich, wrapped around your wrap, under the avocado on your toast and stuffed inside your hand pie. But it’s sometimes out of place and doesn’t always compliment the other ingredients in the dish. Why is kale a pizza topping?
Bluestone (domestic) is sourced from the eastern US, along the seaboard mostly. Its coloration is primarily shades of smoky blue with grey shadings. There is a color variation called ‘full range’ that expresses the colors of the minerals contained within the mountain. The shades range from oranges to blues to rusty ochres, all within the same slab. It’s considered less desirable than evenly colored ‘blue’ bluestone which is the most expensive coloration. But I love it for the wide ranging colorful movement expressed in each slab. If you’re considering a hardscape project please take some time to discuss stone options with your designer. There’s a wide, wide, wonderful world of stone options that can converse more easily with the cladding of your building, can add color to your landscape and impart texture to the palette. The pictures shown here are examples of different stones, including bluestone installations, that are regularly available in this area, if not all domestically/regionally sourced. In general, regionally, the center of America produces limestone types which are softer and porous, harder granites and shales come from the east, red tinged stone is quarried out west. Add in the surface treatment options (natural cleft, sanded, honed, thermaled, polished) and you have a plethora of choices. So belly up to the salad bar. But don’t start with the kale.