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Jekyll Island Convention Center Video

I thought this was a really neat video of Jekyll Island Convention Center. I love seeing the finished product...

Architect Mike Chatham on the design and function of the new Jekyll Island Convention Center

Jekyll Island: The Finished Product

Hello Friends! Please forgive me for being so behind in my blog posts. Spring struck early this year and I have hardly had a moment to catch a breath. This post is overdue, seeing as I received these photos well over a month ago. If you remember, way back, we started a project down in Jekyll Island, Georgia. This project, the new Jekyll Island Convention Center, brings new life to the historical vacation spot. This legacy project has been an exciting journey, and I am excited to share the photos of the finished product with you today. In case you want to read about this project from the beginning, you can check out the saga of Jekyll Island and our work there on our blog posts here, here, here and here.

And now, without further adieu... The new Jekyll Island Convention Center in all its glory!

check out the awesome turtle!

the awesome turtle is surrounded by majestic Canary Island Palms

have a seat, stay a while!

not to brag or anything, but we have the best hardscape team money can buy...

Gibson Landscape is proud to have been a part of this historical project. Our hardscape team delivered beautiful hardscapes; including oyster shell concrete, sea shell paving, intricate paver designs and even a custom turtle formed by pavers and colored concrete. Our landscape team executed the installation of thousands of plants within a constrained schedule, including 9 16' clear trunk Canary Island Palms and nearly 600 Sabal Palmettos. The new Jekyll Island Convention Center, which earned silver-level LEED certification, is a beautiful destination. But don't take my word for it... find out for yourself by visiting Jekyll Island this summer!

It's performance on projects like this that has placed Gibson in the Top 150 Contractors in the United States. In one of the Nation's toughest regions, Gibson Landscape has established a track record for delivering outstanding results to demanding clientele desiring a contractor who simply "does what they say."

Special thanks to MG Photography for the incredible photos.

A Green Space is a Clean Space

Amanda Culver, one of our very own, recently wrote an article about the effects of indoor greening for The Living Architecture Monitor after moderating a panel at the CitiesAlive Conference in Philadelphia. Check it out, Download "A Green Space is a Clean Space", and imagine how much better you would feel if you were surrounded by green walls in your office!

Want to check out the whole publication? Find it here.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Bradford Pears. You either love them or hate them. Here's one good reason why you should hate them:

Dirt Therapy: Why I don't recommend Bradford Pears.

Jekyll Island Convention Center

Believe it or not, we'll be calling this project complete at the end of the month. We have lots to do between now and then. Thousands upon thousands of plants to install, some hardscape work to finish up... are you excited? We are... we can't wait to share the final product with you!

photo taken today...our guys are doing a great job!

Read about it from the beginning: The Tale of Revitalization at Jekyll Island, Jekyll Island Convention Center: From Oyster Shells to Turtle Shells, Life's a Beach... No Really...

Danger, Murderer on the Loose!

I just received a wordless text message. All it contained was a photo... and that's all it really needed. I didn't need any further explanation. A picture is worth a thousand words. It was the kind of message that leaves you reeling. You know the type... after you look at it you have to stop... take deep breaths... and count to ten. Before I got to ten, I knew that I needed to warn you immediately of the impending danger. Apparently it is here... and it is here early. Yep... you guessed it... the crape murderers are out and in full force. They're on the loose! What a shock... these heinous crimes right before Christmas. Here's a photo of the first fatality I am privy to this winter...

If you're wondering what the big deal is... you must be new to this blog. Why don't you take a few minutes and read my plea, "Choose Life... Don't Commit Crape Murder." Or take a look at other mentions that have been made about this atrocious crime here, here, here, here and here. Whatever you do, don't let your crape myrtles fall victim to this nasty crime. Be vigilant. Set up a neighborhood watch. Unfortunately, it is too late for these poor Lagerstroemia. But let this be your warning... don't let your crapes end up like these!

Life's a Beach... No Really...

I thought today would be a good day to tantalize you with some delicious pictures from our project down at Jekyll Island. The hardscapes are moving right along and we've even begun installing some of the trees. Before we know it, the project will be complete and we'll have great "after" pictures to enjoy. Until then, I'm all for looking at some "during" pictures. Let's face it... while the weather is pretty mild right now... it will soon snap back to the cold, windy, dreary days of winter and we will only be able to dream of warm sun and white sandy beaches. So while we have the chance, let's take a little adventure to Jekyll Island and take a peek at some eye candy that we can dream about the next time we have to scrape ice off of our windshields...

Check out that beautiful sawcutting action!

Do you see it? The turtle...?!

Here's the turtle again...

As always, thank you, MG Photography, for the amazing photos! You rock!

Toomer's Corner Tradition: Keep it Sentimental

A friend recently sent me a link to a website about Toomer's Corner in Auburn. As the whole world knows, a crazy Alabama fan poisoned the Toomer's Oaks and they are not doing well despite a number of measures that were taken to save the trees. In brief, the Committee to Determine the Future of Rolling Toomer's Corner is asking for input. They have some popular options that you can select, or you can submit your own... so I wanted to voice my opinion on the matter. First, please visit the website to read up on the options and the considerations/supplemental information. You can visit the website here.

And here's what I think...

If the Toomer's Oaks succumb to their injuries, I think that they should be replaced with a combination of Option 1 (Replant small oak trees of a different species in the same location as the current trees, which eventually will grow large enough for future generations to roll) and Option 3 (Move the rolling tradition to the intersection of Toomer's Corner -it's original location- by building a professionally-designed, permanent structure conducive to rolling, which would become part of the village atmosphere downtown). That being said, I do not think we need to resort to using another species of oak. I think we need to use a seedling from the existing Toomer’s Oaks. I have 2 seedlings from the Toomer’s Live Oaks that were planted in Northeast Alabama about 5 years ago. Ok people, I know now that it was wrong, but I was very young then and I had not had my aboriculture class yet. I didn't know they weren't supposed to survive that far north. Without any care, they have performed very well so far, and they didn’t even suffer freeze damage during the horrible winter last year. They might have been 2-3' tall when I got them and now they are 10-15' tall. Here's a photo of one of them...

Even if the lifespan will be less than the lifespan of live oaks in better conditions, they will still have a long and happy life. This time, let’s not pave on top of them and let’s make sure there are bollards or something around so that cars don’t crash into them. For goodness sakes, the Toomer’s Live Oaks would probably have a long life ahead of them if a long list of things hadn’t shortened their lives (poisoning, car accident, fires, paving on top of their poor little root zones). Give them a good, safe area to grow. It would not be difficult to re-design the corner to allow more space for the oaks, maybe locate them a bit farther from the street. I mean come on... there's a live oak near Funchess Hall on Auburn's campus that looks good... it has survived all these years...

I think it would be a poor decision to replace the Toomer's Oaks with another type of oak, they would just look like every other tree on campus and would be deciduous trees instead of evergreen ones like the Toomer’s Oaks. No other oak has the same form as a live oak. They are special trees with lots of character. Using another type of oak would be a big change... and I don’t think it would be a positive one, regardless of hardiness.  Think about it, anywhere you see an outline or drawing of the Toomer’s Oaks, you know exactly what oaks they are because Live Oaks have a characteristic look. Change it to another type of oak and it could be any tree in the world that is pictured on a t-shirt or on Auburn marketing materials… I think there will be less “brand recognition” if you want to call it that. So plant new, smaller oaks… but make them live oaks. Make them the Toomer’s Oaks’ babies. These trees are of sentimental value… let’s keep it that way.

While we wait for the smaller oaks to grow large enough, it would be nice to have something else to roll… whether that’s a permanent structure or trees in another area of campus... maybe even the Live Oak near Funchess Hall...

What are your thoughts on what should happen at Toomer's Corner? Feel free to copy and paste my thoughts and send them to The Committee if you're of the same opinion...

Oh Mo! Where Does The Time Go?

Well, we have reached the end of Movember Madness. Today is the last day of moustache mania and our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas are looking nice! On this last day of Movember, we encourage you, once again, to donate to a great cause, men's health awareness. You can find out more information about the cause and how to donate here and you can read more about our Movember Madness efforts on our previous blogs here and here.

And now... without further adieu... Team Gibson and the Crusty Musties!!!

We must admit that one of our Mo' Bros fell off the wagon at some point during the month of Movember, and you have our permission to make him feel guilty.

Happy Movember Everyone!

For Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn), There is a Season...

Now that you know almost everything there is to know about pruning (which you learned from our blogs here, here and here), I would like to stress that it is not time to get out there and start cutting things willy nilly. There is an important rule you need to remember. This rule is called The May Rule, and remembering this rule will help you get the most bang for your buck year after year.

This is what happens when you don't follow the May Rule...

So what's the May Rule? Thanks for asking!

If a plant blooms before May 1st, it should be pruned as soon as the flowers are spent. Shrubs that bloom before May 1^st produce flowers on last year’s woody growth, so cutting them in the early spring will leave you without flowers for a season.

Examples: Azalea, Forsythia, Spirea

If a plant blooms after May 1^st, prune it before it flowers. Summer flowers are produced on new woody growth, so pruning them just before the new growth starts in early spring will ensure greater flower production.

Examples: Gardenia, Crape Myrtle (this is not an excuse for crape murder)

HOLD YOUR HORSES… because like most rules… this one has an exception! Hydrangeas. Though hydrangeas flower after May 1st, different hydrangeas need to be pruned at different times. So if you are wondering about when your hydrangeas need to be pruned, click here to visit an excellent website that shares all the deets about pruning hydrangeas!

Even though there are rules to follow when pruning, it is okay to remove dead or diseased branches at any time… so don’t let your husband use the May Rule as an excuse to watch football on the couch all day…