Route 6 Stormwater and Vegetation Management Plan
Offshoots has been selected by the Cape Cod Commission to work on the Route 6 Stormwater and Vegetation Management Plan for the area from the Sagamore Bridge to the Orleans Rotary. Route 6, also known as the Mid-Cape Highway, was constructed over a 20-year...
Materials Test – Turf
Meet Sam, the new Materials Librarian for Offshoots! This week he has been hard at work testing the comfort and durability of artificial turf for a bocce court in Boston. Check out the Offshoot's Staff page to learn more about Sam!
Girl Scouts Signage Project Underway
This summer, Offshoots will see their signage project for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts camp properties come to fruition! The project entails the design of entry, wayfinding and welcome signs for 5 camps, as well as the design of master plan graphics and...
Kate’s Latest Speaking Engagements
Come see Kate speak at the following upcoming events! April 11th: BSLA Landscape Architecture Conference + Xpo at the Hyatt Regency, Boston Downtown Crossing http://bslanow.org/xpo/sessions/ April 14th: BAC public lecture series- 6pm
Kate’s Phyto Book Wins the BSLA Honor Award in Communications
Kate's Phyto: Principles and Resources for Site Remediation and Landscape Design book was just recently awarded the Honor Award in Communications from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects! Here's a great review of the book from Dirt Magazine. ...
Portland Press Herald Interview With Kate
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/03/13/maine-gardener-wield-the-power-of-plants-to-prevent-pollution/
Offshoots Welcomes Shelby Chapman-Hale to Our Team
We are excited to share the news and welcome the newest addition to our team, Shelby Chapman-Hale, as a Landscape Architectural Designer here at Offshoots. Shelby received a Bachelor of Environmental Science with a concentration in Ecological Design from the...
Houzz Awards For Service and Design
We love our clients! We couldn't be more thrilled to receive multiple awards from Houzz.com for both Design and Service. We look forward to working with so many more amazing people. Please check out our page and give a review if we have worked with you in the past....
PHYTO Book Launch at the Harvard COOP 2/17
BOOK LAUNCH: ‘PHYTO: Principles oand Resources for Site Remediation and Landscape Design’ The event is at the Harvard COOP on the 3rd Floor and open to the public. Authors: Kate Kennen ASLA and Niall Kirkwood FASLA, Published by Routledge 7.00pm Wednesday 17...
PHYTO Named One of 2015’s Top 10 Books
Thank you to ASLA's 'The Dirt' for naming Kate & Niall's new book on phytoremediation one of 2015's top 10 landscape books! http://dirt.asla.org/2015/12/01/best-books-of-2015/ PHYTO: Principles for site remediation and landscape design
Want to Learn More About Phytoremediation?
Checkout our latest article on 'Pollution Purging Plants!" published by the Ecological Landscape Association: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/09/restoration/pollutant-purging-plants/
‘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...