New Directions in Landscape Architecture (NDAL) 2026 Conference

January 15 & 16 of this year, I was excited to once again attend the NDAL Conference. Ecological gardening, ecological restoration, innovative meadow design and indigenous approaches to connection with nature defined the main topics covered in this year’s conference. Ranging from highly technical to quite sensitive, speakers shared their projects, experiences and moments of inspiration including: new GPS tech tools, Ecological Restoration tool kits, plant design sketches and beautiful photos from Brazil to UK to the sierra nevada forests. In all cases, speakers shared ideas and experiences that really matter to them. There was a lot of heart.

One of my favorite moments was listening to M. Kat Anderson, author of Tending the Wild speak about the connection between humans and plant evolution and the mutual benefit, when the action between the two is respectful and understood. So much of what she shared is obvious, and yet overlooked: many wild plants become more productive when harvested, many American landscapes are improved with regular fire, people are a part of nature. “Plants miss us,” she says.

Thank you so much Larry Weaner, Sarah Weaner and the NDAL team for putting together another wonderful and inspiring event.

Outdoor Learning Environments in Guilford

Rubus Landscape was blessed with two outdoor learning environment projects in Guilford last year: Mother Luna’s playscape in North Guilford and the Outdoor Learning Environment at Baldwin Middle School. Both projects utilize existing landscape features of shade, slope and view while creating places to engage, rest and gather. Boulders, logs and stumps are used in both projects to create seating areas, places to test our balance and destinations in imaginative play.

Here at Baldwin we are marking the trial head into Bittner Park, creating gathering spaces and an outdoor learning destination.

Here at Mother Luna we have created circuits of play exploring balance, jumping and gathering.

Thank you Liz & Stephen Kelly of Mother Luna and the hard working collection of contributors to the Baldwin Outdoor Learning Space including: Baldwin PTO, Baldwin Outdoors, Liz Stein, Douglas Hammel, Philip Ross and Guilford Facilities Director Cliff Gurnham, A&W Sanitation for implementation and Peter Marlowe Forest Products for all the cedar logs.

Discussion: Native Plants in Westwoods - May 29th - Guilford Library

Native Plants in West Woods: Identification, Value and Availability

The Guilford Land Conservation Trust and Guilford Free Library has generously sponsored my talk on Native Plants in Westwood to be held Wednesday May 29th at 7pm. During the talk I will identify a variety of native (and invasive) trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants common in West Woods and available for purchase in the nursery trade.  I will discuss the basic characteristics, habitat and landscape value of each plant and describe in what conditions they may be found and/or planted.  The goal of the talk is to familiarize listeners with common native plants which will enrich their experience in West Woods and offer ideas for plants they may be able to plant on their own properties.

A follow-up in-person West Woods walk is planned on the Sunday following the discussion.

Trees Planted at Calvin Leete Elementary School, Guilford

It was a pleasure to participate in planting seven new trees on the grounds at Calvin Leete Elementary school in Guilford. The administration, PTO, 4th Grade Give Back Funds, Clinton Nurseries, assistant Sarah Schluep and the kids together made this a successful and fun project. Can’t wait to see them all grow with our kids!

Trees include: Sugar Maples, Pin Oak, Red Maple and two Birch

Statement from Mr. Seal, Principal at Calvin Leete Elementary School:

The Calvin Leete PTO and volunteers completed a tree planting project on Thursday that was a year in the making. The planting was the culmination of a collaborative effort initiated and designed by volunteers and members of the Calvin Leete PTO beginning in the 2022-23 school year. The group was led by Crystal Gaudio, owner of Rubus Landscape Architecture, a Guilford based design firm specializing in native plants. Crystal has children in kindergarten and third grade at Calvin Leete. Matt Richards from Clinton Nurseries, also a parent of students at Leete, donated a wide selection of beautiful trees. The actual planting on Thursday was done by Crystal Gaudio and Sarah Schluep.

Prior to the planting, the group worked closely with the Guilford Public Schools Facilities Department to consider issues such as maintenance and impact on the fields in back of the school. Last year's Fourth Grade Give Back fundraiser provided funds for the project. Thank you to the Calvin Leete PTO last year and this year to make the project possible. Thank you to all the volunteers involved in the project for your expertise, effort, energy and funding to bring this memorable and lasting project to Calvin Leete!

Rubus Moves to Connecticut

After fourteen years in Brooklyn New York, Crystal Gaudio has moved her family and business to Guilford Connecticut. Guilford is an old New England town, founded in 1639 with amazing water water views and a strong community. The move was spurred by the family that lives there, a 2.5 acre lot that will be her new home and the desire to refocus the work of Rubus Landscape Architecture to become more habitat and native plant focused. This is a new chapter of healing and beautiful beginnings.

Nature Playscape - Forest Park

Rubus Landscape Architecture is thrilled to be part of the design team for the new, 17 acre Nature Playscape in Forest Park St. Louis.  Announced on October 22 by Forest Park Forever  President and Executive Director Lesley Hoffarth, The Anne O’C. Albrecht Nature Playscape will open to the public late spring 2021.

This 22 acre site began as a classic trees and turf area, and now 17 acres is being restored to forests and grasslands and contains 9 ecologically diverse play areas including a: Young Forest, Upland Prairie, Bottomland Forest, Sensory Garden, Gravel Bank, Wetland, Spring, Large Meadow and Mounds.  

Rubus Landscape began design with Interboro Partners in 2018 and quickly enjoyed a supportive and talented design team lead by Interboro Partners including: David Mason & Associates engineers, Citizen Carpentry, June Hutson ecologist, Sarah Tisdale educator, Roots First planting consultant and the Forest Park Forever Executive team, Restoration Crew and Horticulture Crew.  Key to Rubus Landscape’s involvement was our experience building the Zucker Natural Exploration Area in Prospect Park. Key to our design process, and a specialty of Interboro Partners, was a far reaching civic engagement process facilitated by Interboro Partners and Citizen Carpentry.  Many St. Louis residents, especially kids were asked to envision a nature-based play area and we incorporated many of their ideas.  

It is an exciting time for nature-based play, and St. Louis will soon feature one of the largest in their 1000 acre urban park in the heart of St. Louis.  Thank you Forest Park Forever for your vision and hard work and thank you Anne O’C. Albrecht and all donors who made this possible.

Gardens Rising in the East Village

Rubus Landscape has joined Gardens Rising!  A community lead stormwater infrastructure project, Gardens Rising is a “groundbreaking experiment in citizen participation, self-governance and self-determination” say’s it’s executive director Aziz Dehkan.  The New York City Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC,) received a two million dollar grant from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recover (GOSR) to install storm recovery projects in the East Village’s 47 community gardens. One quarter of the grant is going to a Feasibility Study lead by WE Design landscape architects.  The other three quarters will go toward installing projects between January 2017 and September 2019.  Rubus Landscape has been hired as a staff project manager by the NYCCGC.  This is a great roll for us, with our small size and extensive experience building in the public realm we can give personal attention to the project without big expense.  WE Design is the primary landscape architect for the Feasibility Study with team members from eDesign Dynamics and 3x3 Design.  Together with Aziz Dekhan, Executive Director and Charles Krezell, Project Director and founder of LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) it is a great team with extensive landscape architecture, engineering and community organizing experience, making sure Gardens Rising will be a successful project by and for the people.

The range of landscape types within these 47 gardens is amazing.  From rolling hills and open plazas, to barn yard chickens and quite places to sit and read, these community gardens offer so many valuable places for people to live outside.  Gardens Rising will add to the Gardens' value be making them even more important to the city as stormwater infrastructure and beacons of refuge during storm events.  Gardeners hope this project will increase the value of gardens as gardens for the city, as most of them are only leased to the people and could be developed if the city decides it should be so.  If you live in NYC please join us in this rewarding project.  See the Gardens Rising website for details.

Parque de Tranquilidad

Creative Little Garden

El Jardin Del Paraiso

M'Finda Kalunga Garden

M'Finda Kalunga Garden

Gowanus Canal Conservancy - Grassroots LAs

        The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is a small not-for-profit hoping to have a big impact on the Gowanus Canal.  Situated between established Brooklyn neighborhoods: Parks Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum HIll, the Canal functioned as a clear division, but those days are coming to an end.  The Canal was designated a Superfund site in 2010 and developers are already encroaching with promises that the Canal will be cleaned up in the next decade.  The Canal has also attracted a host research projects, master plan visions and landscape architects exploring the complexity of developing a polluted industrial area into something beautiful.

       I began going to "volunteer coordinator" meetings in January of this year, to be confronted with a room of 30 landscape architects, artists and gardeners all excited about the potential in their back yard.  Many of the members have been involved for years and although the group seems richer in ideas than products, this year is promised to be a productive one.  The season started off with a walking tour on one of those special early spring days when every other day that week was reaching a high of 40 and we happily toured in 55 degree weather on a sunny Saturday morning in early March.

Lakeside Center & Music Island open to the public

I began working at the Prospect Park Alliance in February of 2007 when the Lakeside Center was just beginning concept design with Todd Williams and Billie Tsein's office.  This 26 acre site included the demolition of the Kate Wollman Ice Rink, the restoration of Olmsted and Vaux's Music Island and a new 21st century ice rink designed my award winning TWBTA and their wonderful staff lead by Andy Kim and Elisa Testa.  I was the lead designer in the Prospect Park Alliance, guided by Christian Zimmerman and supported by Laura Evans, fresh out of the University of Georgia's landscape architecture program.  Construction began three years ago and this Christmas it was opened to the public for the first time.  I can't explain how wonderful it is to see people walk through a landscape you helped to create.  It becomes real, and all those years of construction seem a dream.

Beautiful snowy pictures below were taken by Christian Zimmerman

Diana Reily, me and the volunteers and the ribbon cutting.  A happy day. Photo by volunteer coordinator Jessica Jamhoury

Looking from the north building green roof, skaters testing it out. Photo by Crystal Gaudio

New Natural Exploration Area in Prospect Park

I was reading From the Forest: A Search for the Hidden Roots of our Fairytales by Sara Maitland when this project came into the office.  A couple wanted to create a place for children in the park and liked the idea of movable play pieces.  We pitched "natural play," and began researching wood, water and sand play environments.  Laura Evans did the research and shaped the concept, Christian pitched it to the clients Donald and Barbara Zucker, and Michy McCreary and I worked with Curtis Barnhart, a craftsman and contractor in the field.

I didn't question the idea of "natural play," it seemed obvious that kids would like wood sculpture and stepping stumps through the woods, but now I think: why?  Sara Maitland would say it is obvious because fairy tales have a special relationship to woods and woods inspire fairy tale thinking.  Watching parents and children romp through the woods in this new exploration area makes me think Maitland might be right.