‘Uncle Joe’ Shows Chelsea Kids a Thing or Two About Landscape
Offshoots has been working with The Neighborhood Developers on crafting an urban & drought-tolerant landscape for the North Bellingham Veterans Home (NBVH) in Chelsea, MA. The Neighborhood Developers has converted Massachusetts’ first American Legion Hall from a...
Kate’s Upcoming Speaking Engagements
Interested in Phytoremediation? Catch Kate speak and offer highlights from her new PHYTO book at one of these upcoming events this fall: 9/28- 3:30pm International Phytotechnologies Society Conference, Manhattan Kansas http://phytosociety.org/ 10/1- 4pm University of...
Offshoots Wins Boston Public Schools Green Infrastructure Project
Offshoots is pleased to announce the recent win of the green infrastructure design services for the Boston Water and Sewer Commission as part of Boston Public Schools' 10 year Green Infrastructure Master Plan. The project will entail extensive soil and stormwater...
Harvard GSD Releases News of PHYTO Book
The Harvard Graduate School of Design just released the news of Kate & Niall's recent PHYTO Book publication. Check it out! http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/news/kennen-mla-05-kirkwood-coauthor-book-on-power-of-plant-based.html
PHYTO Book Published
"PHYTO: Principles for Site Remediation and Landscape Design" is now published! Check it out!! http://www.amazon.com/Phyto-Principles-Resources-Remediation-Landscape/dp/0415814154
BSLA Spring Fieldbook
Check out Kate's interview in the latest BSLA Spring Fieldbook highlighting the careers of local BSLA members. http://www.joomag.com/magazine/bsla-2015-spring-fieldbook/0565921001429708781/p48?short#.VTpGe1X_Ix4.mailto
BSLA Merit Award
We are extremely excited to hear we just won a Merit Award from BSLA (Boston Society of Landscape Architects) for our Cape Cod Commission Regional Policy Plan. Thank you BSLA!!!
BSLA Fall Fieldbook Article – Pullutant Purging Plants, by Kate Kennen
http://www.joomag.com/magazine/bsla-2014-fall-fieldbook/0116649001411999163?short This month's BSLA (Boston Society of Landscape Architects) 2014 Fall Fieldbook features an article written by Kate. Pollutant Purging Plants, Using Phytotechnologies To Clean Up...
ABX Boston Conference Tomorrow
Check out Kate tomorrow, 10/29, speaking at ABX Boston Conference at the Convention and Exposition Center at 10 AM on Phytotechnologies and Phytoforensics
Edible Landscapes: Boston Herald
The Boston Herald last week wrote a great article on Edible Landscape Design featuring Offshoots and an interview with Kate. Check it out. http://bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/hot_property/2014/09/hot_property_designers_uproot_tradition
Remineralizing Soils With Rock Dust and Biochar
On a recently completed project focusing on 100% edible plants (fruiting trees, shrubs and perennials within Tea and Cocktail gardens) we added applications of Bio Char and Rock Dusts into the soil to add nutrients while increasing overall soil fertility, making other...
Metals Munching Plants! Work by Dylan Burge
An interesting recent video on plants for metals hyperaccumulation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqXyq64VdVY&feature=youtu.be&t=0s and an article on the same subject: ...
Ridgewood Park in Hyannis, MA is Out for Bid
Ridgewood Park has gone out for bid! This park develops two existing parcels within Hyannis’s “tree streets” neighborhood. Extenstive community meetings has led to a plan for a series of undulating passive path “loops”, as well as a small play area, exploratory...
Magnolias In Bloom
The blooming of magnolia trees in Boston is a special time for us. It meas that a new season is upon us and time for a fresh start. In many cultures Magnolia flowers have symbolic meanings of purity, nobility, youth and innocence. In North America the Magnolia...
Sheet Mulching
Sheet Mulching As we come into the fall season it’s a great time to start thinking about planning new garden spaces. Sheet mulching, or lasagna composting, can make your job much easier. Sheet Mulching is a technique of layering organic materials, nitrogen (green) and...
Hugelkulture
Are you tired of watering your plants constantly or spending too much money on your irrigation bill? If so, Hugelkulture might be the answer for you. Hugelkulture (“hoogle culture” or mound culture) is a technique that uses woody debris such as branches,...
Coppicing Trees
Have you ever cut down a tree just to have it grow back, even multiply? Well, you may just be that trees best friend. Coppicing is a method of tree management based on the regeneration of new shoots, or suckers, of wood when a tree is cut to the ground. Coppicing...
Could Crimson Clover Be the Next Boxwood?
When I was in New York a few weeks ago, I decided to check out the Edible Plants Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. My discovery on that early spring April day: Crimson Red Clover was being used as both a cover crop and an aesthetically beautiful hedge!! Clover is...
Bring Life to Tired Spaces
By thinking creatively and drawing inspiration from nature, you can turn any dull landscape into a bright, reinvented space. Consider the “Crack Garden” by CMG Landscape Architecture as an example. Homeowners wanted to redesign their landscape and were faced with a...
Edible Spring Weeds
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Don’t let weeds get you down this spring. Eat them! Common weeds found in your lawn and garden can be both nutritional and delicious. Knotweed and Chickweed are two such...
Permaculture Design
Our company is in the process of maximizing our use of permaculture concepts. As a project manager here at Offshoots, I am responsible for the design and implementation of new productive landscape systems and strategies into our residential installations. This has...
Kate Kennen Speaking at Ecological Landscape Conference
Kate Kennen will be speaking at the Ecological Landscape Association Conference in Springfield, MA on Thursday 2/28. The title of the presentation is: "Phytoremediation: Selected Plants for Urban Restoration" Information on the conference can be found at:...
Boston Landscaping: Start Your Garden Planning
It is an excellent time of year to start planning your garden for the spring! Offshoots, Inc. services the greater Boston Area for full landscape design, landscape architecture, planning, and garden installation services. The landscaping season is just around the...
Our First Year
We owe a sincere thank you to our clients and partners after our first year in business. Striving to make the green industry greener, we are excited by the shared enthusiasm of our suppliers and installation allies over the past 12 months. Today we launch our new...
Phytoremediation Information Resources
Sometimes it seems next to impossible to find current, evidence-based information for soil cleanup utilizing plants. Since an easy-to-read textbook on the subject does not exist, below are some useful links for preliminary investigations. These documents provide a...