Easy Plant Care Tips | Garden Restoration | Interview with Diana Gadea

When you consider landscaping your garden, probably you'll use thuja or other evergreens. But what if we told you that thuja isn't the best choice you can make right now?

Diana Gadea, landscape engineer, tells us about the best choices in garden design, tips for landscape restoration, and more in part two of this interview. 

Read also the first part of the interview with Diana Gadea about working with a landscape architect. 

What about working together with the other project members?

Diana Gadea, ARTemis Landscape: Most of the time I prefer to let the people in charge do their job, even if I can do it myself. It's not just about the irrigation system, it's about anything related to my activity.

"I've learned over time that you have to know the limits of your work and that of the others"

Flower stand landscaping, by Diana Gadea, photo source: Diana Gadea

The woodworking specialist has to do his job and is not supposed to wait for purchasing tips from me. But he must also know how to sand, how to varnish, or how to install. They are all experts in their line of business and have a horticultural background. They know the plants and their watering needs, plus the procedure for linking the systems together because we have an irrigation system that waters the lawn and a drip system that I put on the perimeter of the fence edge composites. Then, they know what they have to do and how much water is needed for each corner. 

What are the most suitable plants if we consider climate change?

D.G.: Mostly we look for plants with semi-evergreen leaves, that is plants that have evergreen leaves. Here we can place photinia. Of course, there are also conifers. In recent years, there has been a lot of use of thuja which is not such a hardy plant and there are many other more sustainable options if we are talking about watering, water volume, and the need for pruning. 

Perennial plants and Gramineae, photo source: Diana Gadea

Tips for thuja maintenance

D.G.: First of all, we should find other options. At the moment, the thuja is a plant that has become resistant to solutions, thus still a good host for its pests. It is a pest of conifers, only it heavily impacts the thuja since it has developed resistance to plant protection solutions. Normally, if we have no way to change it, we have to do the summer treatment once every two weeks. Anyone who has this treatment can do it, but you have to be careful with it because those solutions get into the air, you inhale them, and then it's a vicious circle. 

There was such a situation a few years ago with boxwood, a plant you could find everywhere. It had become resistant to the solutions, so the pests were eating its leaves in a very short time. Now it is no longer a problem because customers and landscapers understand the problem. Now we can use this plant again. 

Penthouse terrace decoration project, photo source: Diana Gadea

What about the landscape restoration element?

D.G.: The landscape restoration element is a complex area because we have to bring together more experts and this is a difficult process because it is spread over more than a year. The most important step is research because we have to find out what the space looked like at its best, maybe we find a disused lake. It is important to know the current and future usage. So, we get together with sociologists and anthropologists, access archives, etc. 

Other architects with experience and connection with this project, plus other documentation, so it is important to share opinions. From the archives, things are not always clear and there are studies from other experts that can be helpful: "I think that something happened here because...". 

I said earlier that a restoration project takes a long time. Last year in January, we completed a study for the gardens of Peles Castle and we are going for the second part so that we can restore the gardens. There are also some courtyards and houses in the back that have not been open to the public and it is a shame not to bring them back to life. 

Design project rendering by ARTemis Landscape, photo source: Diana Gadea

"It's important to know the destination of a space, therefore we meet with sociologists and anthropologists." 

What about a favorite restoration project?

D.G.: Marghiloman Park in Buzau. If I'm not mistaken, the alley’s layout is similar to the former racecourse in Baneasa (demolished). There used to be stables and horse tracks. In the restoration project we proposed a route inspired by this, we thought of restoring the stables, bringing back the horses, restoring the alleys, and designing a horse trail. The horses need a certain texture of pavement that doesn't currently exist, so I need to revisit the trail and make things work properly. 

People often don't understand that landscaping as a term, as a profession, doesn't just make a simple garden. The baggage of knowledge helps you every step of the way to have a specific approach for everything you do. In college, we even study sociology, even if it's a small branch. We think about the plans so that we can figure out the need for every space.  

South Bucharest Backyard Landscaping project, photo source: Diana Gadea

The Marghiloman estate was often visited by Queen Mary and King Ferdinand, which is why in the Queen's diaries you often find badges and stories about the activities that took place in its court. There are a lot of aspects to go through, the city archives, plans, and how the premises evolved. What was the heyday of that space I see why it changed, plus how much it changed over the years. 

On big projects, we always have horticulturists, and arborists to identify the best solutions. 

Diana, tell us finally what your plans are for 2022!

Of course, I want to develop the business. I want to work on many soul projects, I want to continue to have a very good connection with the customer, and to work on projects I enjoy. 

It is a year of development because I am going to apply for my first Ph.D. with the desire to go back to university and teach there. I let things flow naturally.