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PlaceMakers

Design Your Own Utopia with PlaceMakers

December 5, 2013

landscape design Atlanta
Design by Dargan Landscape Architects

Over the years we’ve discovered that many homeowners are eager to not only have a gorgeous landscape, but also to learn how they can transform their property into their own piece of paradise. During her time as an instructor, Mary Palmer has taught students in both in design education and in landscape architecture and planning. Now you can learn her unique system that allows you to design your perfect and personalized home environment through PlaceMakers.

PLACE is an acronym created by Mary Palmer that stands for Potentials, Layers, Agenda, Create and Environmental Transformation. This unique system features five levels to meet your needs and help you make the best use of your land. The five levels are:

  1. PlaceMakers Sprout2Grow – Offered twice per year, with two months of Wellspring Sprout Galleries
  2. PlaceMakers Orchard – Enrollment is offered only during events and features two design studios and four months of Wellspring Orchard Galleries.
  3. PlaceMakers Live Oak – Enrollment is offered only during events and features two design studios, Wellspring Orchard Galleries, nine months design certificate and other benefits such as European travel
  4. PlaceMakers Grow Library – A 6-part comprehensive design library
  5. PlaceMakers at Landscape Your Life™ LIVE! – Receive priority seating, preferred status, special rates and tickets for a friend

To get started, join at PlaceMaker’s Sprout2Grow level. In this level, you’ll study the PLACE system through a three-month home-study program featuring video downloads, audio and DVDs, as well as a supported forum with Wellspring Galleries where you can interact and share inspiration with like-minded homeowners. You’ll also receive autographed copies of Lifelong Landscape Design and Timeless Landscape Design and a call from a PlaceMakers staff member to guide you through the forum and address your questions.

landscape design programs for homeowners

If you are a homeowner or landscape designer looking to take your knowledge to the next level, the PlaceMakers Orchard is the place for you. You’ll receive everything included in the Sprout2Grow package, as well as design studios with personal assistance and phone calls from Mary Palmer to discuss your project. You’ll also receive six webinar lectures on DVD and slides for each webinar, Pinterest board where you can share your process plus much more.

Are you ready to design the utopia you’ve always dreamed of? Visit our website today to learn more about joining PlaceMakers today! There, you can register as a guest to learn more about the program, as well as receive access to useful worksheets designed to help you organize your property, a sample of the Wellspring Galleries, and a forum just for guests.

Filed Under: PlaceMakers, Uncategorized Tagged With: courtyard garden design, dargan landscape architects, garden design, garden design lectures, Landscape Design Tips, Landscape Your LIfe, PlaceMakers

a Rockin’ Success! PlaceMakers Atlanta 2013 : Create a Garden for Health & Longevity

September 22, 2013

A love letter to my tribe…

Dear PlaceMakers Atlanta 2013 : Create a Garden for Health & Longevity!

Didn’t we have a great time learning and growing into our future gardens for Health & Longevity this week ? I certainly did!

Atlanta 2013 Graduates anna smith anne brewer

I want to thank each of you for honoring me with your attendance at this wonderful event. It was a life’s dream for me ;  you made it come true.
You inspire me to continue with programs and training in “Home Based Sustainability” to coin a phrase offered by Lynne Nelson.
I share a great photo of Anne Brewer of Pensacola, FL and Anna Smith of Tehachapi, CA receiving their PlaceMakers American Certificates in Landscape Design…and hamming it up!  I’ll send more images linked to a gallery and also share in my next ezine.
Was not our support staff great : Lynn Cothran, Jake Dolci, Andrew Mullins, Curt Jackson and of course…. Hugh Dargan!
 Ozzie Johnson, Chelsea INternational plant of hte year breeder, brandishing a Japanese  pruning knife
Ozzie Johnson’s project, The Joysuko Johnson  Exploration Fund, is reached by sending a check to The Atlanta Botanical Garden , The Joysuko Johnson Foundation, 1345 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. We raised $160 toward that purpose at our event! You never know when the cure for something will be found or the discovery of a plant so beautiful it brings you inspiration.
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Event DVD
We always have so much material than time packed into our binders!  It was impossible to cover everything I dreamed of sharing. The slides are printed for each lecture, so that is helpful for your studies, plus the material is well-fleshed out in the chapters in Lifelong Landscape Design.
Atlanta 2013 cfield trip chillin out
I’m headed to deliver the Garden owner’s gifts today  with 8 hugs and kisses for their generosity!
This week, I plan to film gardens studied and record talking points for each garden.  I’ll slow down the icons in the slide show and add a myriad of other things to make this event have lasting value.
It is a labor of love. Editing an event is a huge undertaking. All lectures, including lectures MIA, will be made into DVDs as well as the Garden Study talking points.
 Atlanta 2013 field trip measuring backdrop
Several of you purchased these, so please be patient as it will be at least a month to 6 weeks before I can create it. It takes about 80-120 hours of my personal time.
I’ll send a notice about this to you in case
you want to purchase one at the event price of $97.
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Were not our sponsors terrific? :
Chris Wakefield of http://www.TheOutdoorLights.com , Larry Borsage of www.southernoutdoorcd.com , Bob Scott of  http://www.irrcons.com ,  Walt Harrison of  http://www.habershamgardens.com/‎ , Steve Miller of Classic Landscapes Pat Boak of  www.boaklandscaping.com/ & Atlanta Water Gardens www.atlantawatergardens.com/‎ plus BOXWOODS’ Dan Perlman of  https://boxwoodsonline.com/‎  for our PlaceMakers GALA! And of course, Dargan Landscape Architects dargan.com
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The post event questionnaire was terrifically helpful. Please send me personal notes, late questionaires and epiphanies to [email protected].
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The take away for me from those returned: 
Loved food and event location, not being in a hotel, want coffee in pm, non-alcoholic offer at gala (my oversight, so sorry about that!),
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want to be with group for dinner because enjoy them so much,
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notebook was useful plus resources in back (one comment was that slides too small- I can print fewer to a page, however it adds 1/3 more pages to the binder and more paper…),
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majority of guest speakers got thumbs up, ( loved Steve Miller and Chris Wakefield), lighting needs to be improved & visibility of speakers ( yes, Ozzie decided to kneel the whole time!),
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event content led to break thrus and visualizations of that a garden of health & longevity looks and feels like (I’m so glad!), loved spaghetti noodle plan, loved the variety of teaching modalities, one suggested that I separate out Place from Lifelong and focus on them individually and not have Japanese gardens at this level, 
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loved the full days (two said a little long=sleepy afternoon), most loved construction site (please wear easy walking shoes to LYL events!  It can get “hairy”!)  I keep shifting around when we go outside and have tried it am, afternoon and pm…I get tired too!. Maybe am mornings are best, then lunch and lectures? Ahhh, food management! Or afternoon tour, then end up at a Gala? Any ideas???
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thumbs-up as price great for value received
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love sponsors being there
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home study would be useful
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music all but one thumbs-up, got some okays and greats on the chi gong & movement
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kill blue screen at the dinner ( I agree…it was a technical nighmare!)
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future events : equal split for Charleston and Cashiers, with most wanting both.
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Travel abroad: yes equally to England and Italy, 1 to France. (Would we want to combine countries???) Price seemed good to 2 respondents, so will need a few more to make it go!
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I’m off again at 4 pm to set up the PlaceMakers Certificate Booth at the Grand Hyatt lower level for Garden Bloggers…yes, it is a 3 day event with “my tribe”!
Thx for being such GREAT SPORTS!  … and  continue to Heal the Earth, One Garden at a Time.

Mary Palmer Dargan
Landscape Your Life™
Dargan.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: alt, American certificate of landscape design, anna smith, anne brewer, atlanta, atlanta water gardens, events, garden, landscape architecture, landscape design, landscape design training, mary palmer dargan, ozzie johnson, PlaceMakers, the outdoor lights

Jest a Bunch’a of Garden Writers havin’ a little fun…!

October 16, 2012

Landscape Your Life debuted in Tucson at the Garden Writers International Symposium in Tucson.   Lifelong Landscape Design was unveiled by Poppy, Mary Palmer Dargan’s PlaceMaker SPROUT design student-homeowner, who shared her enthusiam for Professor Dargan’s new book  to a crowd of garden writing connoisseurs at the 64th annual Garden Writer’s International Symposium. Book drawing went to garden lecturer, Marie Mims Butler of the Virginia Zoo in Chesapeake, VA. — in Tucson, AZ.  Pictured are Kevin Gragg and Kimberly Toscano from Oklahoma Gardening TV who shared in the fun!

http://www.landscapeyourlife.com/

and please like my fan page and album at http://www.facebook.com/darganlandscape

Filed Under: Appearances, Lectures and Shows, Mary's Events, Uncategorized Tagged With: Landscape Your LIfe, LIfelong landscape design, mary palmer dargan, PlaceMakers

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