LAM Blog Love

The latest issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine featured an article by Daniel Jost, ASLA, that was nice enough to include our fair blog in it's pages: "The Dirt on Blogging: How can blogs change the way we communicate about landscape architecture?" offers examples and advice on how landscape architecture professionals can utilize this simple yet effective technology for information, dialogue, and marketing.


:: June 2009 Cover - image via LAM

The opening excerpt, via the LAM page: “I had always been anti-blog,” remembers Jason A. King, ASLA, of Portland, Oregon. Like many, he equated blogging with keeping an online journal; he didn’t think the medium had much to offer him professionally. But about two years ago, King’s opinion changed dramatically. He was working on a design competition and needed a way to manage all the ideas, images, and web links he was gathering through his research. He realized blogging would be the perfect way to organize himself while giving him a chance to share his research with others. Today, King’s Landscape+Urbanism Blog has readers around the world. In the past year, it has been viewed nearly 500,000 times."

But it is only one of the many landscape architecture-themed blogs that have sprouted up in recent years. There are blogs focusing on many different facets of the profession, from garden design to parks, from sustainability to playgrounds. Some of these blogs are managed by landscape architects, some are managed by professionals with related degrees, and some provide a unique opportunity to hear opinions from people outside the profession—to hear from the people we serve.

What benefits does blogging offer landscape architects?"

:: image via LAM

The story goes on to cover a range of blogs, including Christian Barnard Landscape Architecture, Design Under Sky, Studio G, Sprout - A Green Blog, Playscapes, Places and Spaces, and of course Landscape + Urbanism. While not the entire pantheon of landscape blogging by any means, a cross section - and an indication (as two years ago, there were but a few). A few of these show up on the sidebar of links for L+U - both some others don't for very particular reasons. I make it a point to only link to sites that are not aiming for being a portal to a specific landscape architecture firm - for the simple desire that I want to avoid any potential perception that I'm 'advertising' for anyone. My company that I work for started a blog, and this is absent as well for the same reason, as L+U (and the new Veg.itecture blog) is a singular work on myself and just meant as a resource, not a clearinghouse of all things landscape (there's some good ones of those emerging as well).

Thanks Daniel from LAM for including this site in the article. If you'd like a sneak preview of the full article, check out the new online version of LAM (and subscribe to the digital format) to see and read more. Here's a snapshot:

:: image via LAM online edition

And as it was, what seemed to me, a large omission to the article, Pruned - which has been the inspiration for a number of bloggers in the landscape realm and beyond - is celebrating an amazingly productive and thoughtful 5 year birthday. Congrats Alexander Trevi on the amazing work and inspiring longevity.