Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/132471
irrigation Erosion Specialist Battles the Atlantic By Laurie Schreiber Stabilizing landscape for new construction T he ravages of the Atlantic Ocean can be a thing of beauty – and a source of challenging erosion problems for coastal properties. Enter Bobbie Burdick, an award-winning landscape architect and erosion-control specialist in Ellsworth, Maine, and the owner of Burdick & Associates Landscape Design. Burdick is an expert in shoreline stabilization, erosion and drainage – both in the marine and freshwater environment. Recently, she was overseeing a project to stabilize and enhance a tricky bit of property that comprised a steep slope wedged between a village road and, down a steep slope, the ocean. The property's new owners tore down the existing house and planned to rebuild. For this type of project, Burdick typically uses boulder riprap staged with planting pockets, including native Rosa rugosa, bayberry and sweet fern to mimic a natural Maine shoreline. A Burdick "signature" is her use of granite blueberry barren boulders. The steep grades on this project in particular warranted extra measures, however. After digging up a bank covered with knotweed, shallow-rooted alders and gnarly trees, she layered the north end's undisturbed subsoil, from roadside to beach, with biodegradable filter fabric, topped by 3-inch crushed stone. Boulders of assorted size Bobbie Burdick, owner of Burdick & Associates Landscape Design j u n e 2013 TLC0613_Irrigation.indd 15 TotalLa nd s ca p e C a re . c o m 15 5/23/13 2:00 PM