That's
me on the cool bench that I made in a rustic furniture workshop that
Judd Weisberg taught at Sugar Maples. I am looking a little posed
and not so comfortable but at least I am colorful and smiling. I
am the owner of Zone4 Landscapes. I am also the designer,
bookkeeper, backhoe operator, webmaster, field manager and the
list goes on. I love getting to do a little of everything but I do
have helpers and utilize them and the expertise and services of
other tradesmen when needed.
I have a Landscape
Design Certificate from the excellent program at the New York Botanical
Garden. I also have a Master
Gardener Certification from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Greene
County. I am still active at both institutions, continuing to take
a variety of classes and workshops to keep up with the industry
and acquire new skills as well as giving lectures and
participating in special projects and workshops.
My passion for
gardening and design has been developing for many years but it took a leap
when I purchased an apartment in Manhattan specifically to gain
exclusive roof rights. I then proceeded to create a 1200 square foot
roof garden where I spent almost all of my time away from the office. After
exhausting the limitations of the roof garden I purchased a log home
with 5 1/2 acres in Andes, NY in order to expand on this
obsession. I finally decided to give up my lucrative career
in Information
Technology (and my roof garden) in Manhattan and move to my home
in the Catskills and start a landscape
design business. It has been a challenge but you couldn't drag
me back kicking and screaming.
I am originally from Louisiana and did all my
undergraduate and graduate work in music composition and piano
performance with a focus on classical or "serious" music
although I was a rock & roller in high school. When I moved to NYC in 1975 to pursue my
musical career it took a strange twist and I ended up playing at CBGB's in a new wave rock band, not Carnegie Hall.
I switched gears a couple of times and after a wild journey ended up at Ogilvy and Mather
as the Chief Technology Officer of
the Interactive Division. That is all behind me and now Zone4 is
now starting its sixth season and I am loving it.
I believe that I have a good
combination of skills, natural affinity, experience and knowledge to
guide Zone4 to provide excellent solutions for clients in a cost
effective and enjoyable manner. I am totally jazzed by creating
functional and beautiful solutions to living situations and the exterior
environment provides a great canvas. My designs are
very sensitive to environmental/ecological concerns
including using indigenous plants and avoiding invasive species and
unnecessary chemicals.
I can’t say enough about Sandy. She is one of the most delightful people I have ever known and our clients love her as well. Sandy not only has extensive experience gardening in the Catskills but she is amazingly organized and really keeps me on my toes. Sandy actually grew up in the area and has had a love affair with the flora and fauna of the region since her childhood, particularly the woods. She gets so excited when we sometimes have reason to go into the woods and extra-excited when we get the opportunity to forage and harvest native plants from a client’s property. She can often identify and name plants in the wild that I have not learned yet and she has a great sense of what will work and not work in the landscape from her years of gardening in her various abodes over the years. Not to mention that she has an excellent eye, impeccable taste and works hard, including the heavy lifting although she will readily
complain.
It is also really great to have Sandy around because she knows nearly everybody and can disarm the surliest of foes. Often times we will encounter contractors on a job that are not predisposed to like or be helpful to the “landscape designer” especially a transplant from the city. Well, much of the time Sandy knows them, and they immediately warm up or even if she doesn’t know them, her good looks and warm demeanor are more likely to win them over than I could ever hope
to. She’s great and I am lucky to have her as member of
the team.