Village On The Twelve

The completion of the homes in Cluster ‘B’ receive the final finishing touch; the landscaping. At the Village, not unlike every other detail, much thought goes into the design and planning of the landscaping. The intent of this man-made landscaping is to mimic the adjacent natural ravine ecology, in order to maintain natural harmony between the built and natural environments.

The landscaping at the Village has been designed to require very little maintenance, yet be attractive all year round. In order to achieve this goal, mostly native plant species are used in the front gardens, because they are indigenous to the Region. The use of indigenous plants here has many benefits. Firstly, these plants and shrubs require only as much water as that which naturally occurs in the area. Therefore the need for irrigation is minimal. Secondly, native plants also have an innate tolerance for insects found locally, thus eliminating the need for pesticides and harmful chemicals, banned from many Municipalities.

Despite the respectively small demand, the irrigation system at the Village is notably quite sophisticated, employing a fully automated Netafin drip hose system offering many advantages over a conventional sprinkler system. A rain sensor determines the amount of water required so as to avoid over watering. The irrigation system even extends to the hanging baskets found on light poles lining the streets. The net effect is an irrigation system that conserves water (and money), while maintaining the health of the landscaping, without ever having to give it a second thought.

Further enhancing the streetscape, large mature trees have been spaded in to accelerate the ‘avenue’ effect that we hope to achieve, where treetops touch one another, forming a canopy along the street corridor. Ravine walkouts offer customized patios that are benched into the ravine slope - a rare engineering achievement. A drought resistant ‘Sheep’s fescue’ grass has been planted here to encourage a seamless transition from the building to the natural ravine slope. This particular grass, once established, requires no irrigation and needs only be cut once or twice a year.

Residents are encouraged to customize their garden space at the rear of their home to personalize their outdoor living space. However, if you are not inclined to ‘toil in the garden’, the condominium lifestyle here will ensure that the landscaping remains beautiful and maintenance free for years to come.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Neighbourhood Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.