“Water-conscious” is my way of saying xeriscape, a good word that has developed the connotation of sad, sparse, dull design. A garden can be lush and beckoning without abusing scarce resources. I create inviting spaces by judicious use of hardscape, strategic creation of shade,and deployment of appropriate native species – plants which thrive in your weather and soils.
Drylands are fragile and tough at the same time. With sound planning from ridgeline to ridgeline, protection of watersheds, managed grazing, thoughtful afforestation, and understanding of a landscape’s history we can plan for its sustainable future. I am particularly interested in tracking long-term vegetation change in data-poor settings.
Sound site analysis is the foundation for good design and planning. Understanding what exists and how a site came to be what it is allows us to keep what’s working, remediate what’s not, and make a workable plan for the future. My training as an historian and landscape architect help me to understand the trajectories that have converged
to create a particular site, forecast what it might become, and how to sustain that vision.
Cultural heritage sites are landscapes where we move through both time and space. While there is a well-developed discipline for the conservation of cultural remains, their landscape context is often neglected. Buildings may often be rebuilt, but frequently their landscape contexts are have changed, are changing, irrevocably. My work combines site analysis and historiography with user-sensitive design to plan for landscape interventions at cultural heritage sites such as Petra,the Citadel of Amman, and at-Turaif.
