california drought

To Be Continued… The Finale

July 7, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 1 Comment

If I did just one job at a time, Chelle’s yard would’ve easily been done in the epic 2 days that I’ve built a reputation around, slinging for folks on Yard Crashers.

Everyone meet Chelle. I just crashed her yard!

I tend to, instead, run 3 or 4 jobs at any given time. As a contractor this is somewhat normal. There are, of course, those out there that focus on doing one project at a time. But in this economy and society where everybody wants everything and they all want it asap… Most of us contractors realize the value of staying in several projects all simultaneous and concurrent with one another, then strike a balance with shuffling material, supplies and personnel from site, to site, to site.

I enjoyed my fourth of July up at Clear Lake, aka California’s largest lake, yet it is anything but clear these days due to a phenomenal case of Algae bloom. That being said, I decided that I’d better finally wrap up this final blog with Chelle Henderson’s yard being completed by showing off this tiny, approximately 15 ft by 26 ft, space. For those of you that remember, Chelle sent me the following inspiration pics.

Remember these? Chelle sent me these pics to give me an idea as to what she had in mind for her yard.

Of course, her budget was less than what it would cost, but to her credit she did have the back side of her house painted, as well as the fenced in area of her yard. I added just a couple of edible plants to her 2 ft by 25 ft long veggie garden and reset her 12″x 12″ red concrete steppers. Chelle’s $4k budget was spent on plants, local boulders, mulch, irrigation, 40 sq ft of turf and a few recycled cast concrete pavers, recycled from a previous project by Yard Crashers own “Clean Cut Landscape.”

Repurposing and upcycling helped create this water feature!

Thanks to Tiffanie Hassan, here’s my actual breakdown and expenditure with how I did this awesome little space….

Compost $60

Irrigation/Plants/Fountain $1252

Stepping Stones/Sand $100

Sod $57

Because a person’s bottom line is what finally determines what’s doable. I chose to purchase and upcycle a few items from Under The Arbor, and build my own small water feature from an old metal table that matched a green ceramic bowl I already possessed. I purchased a galvanized pitcher and weathered utility pail as my shear decent spout and seasonal container, with color for decorative purposes.

Another way I saved money was that I used Native Cameron Park granite boulders (from my yard), rather than buying stone from the landscape supply center. I have a joke where I say, “I live in Cameron Park, we grow rocks here.” Something about the local granite in these Northern California foothills. I, of course, felt it was necessary and beneficial to keep a patch of turf for Chelle’s beagle and reduced her previous 100sq ft of turf with a smaller, healthier 40 sq ft. Dogs simply love to relieve themselves on grass. Giving them a spot to do just this is almost essential to meeting their backyard needs.

Finally, her plant palette. Chelle has a ton of plant material in a very small space. I like to cram a yard full of interesting ornamental and edible plants whenever I can.

In the final hour of completing this tiny space, there were 4 of us busy going back and forth through the gate and I remember feeling crowded and a bit like things were unmanageable. That’s right around the time that I cut Anthony and Saul loose for the day.
This way Mike and I could finish the details, and by 7 pm I was snapping my afters pics for today’s blog. take a look at the transformation below..

The Whole Enchilada “before”

A few comparison before and afters…

Oh what a difference some paint and landscaping can make!

The final transformation…

Another yard crashed!

The money shot… or what I call magazine-cover-photo-worthy!

All of the elements chosen for Chelle’s yard create a seamless flow. The design is aesthetically pleasing and sustainable. Another yard crashed!

In closing, I’ll say that I’m still very much in love with creating outdoor spaces. Big projects take a lot more time than this yard and require all kinds of planning and coordination with subcontractors and laborers, but the net result of any collaborative space that I manage brings me so much joy when it finally comes together. A few special thanks to my Draft and co-designer Adrienne Landsittel, Kirin and my badass concrete stain and sealing pro, Ben Christian of “Just Stain It”. It’s one thing to love what you do for a living. Another thing to love and appreciate the many talented folks that continue to work with me, believe in me and show up to play their part in everything that I do. You know who you are.

Coming soon to your yard!

Until then, watch your back. I may show up to crash your yard. In fact, the truth is I would love to. Give my company a call and see what Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services can do for you! Thanks for reading and sharing.

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Abundantly Blessed!

March 24, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 7 Comments

In spite of California’s current drought, in spite of the global evolutionary changes taking place everywhere, in spite of sweet little Daniella Collazo, and the fact that three minutes from now another child will be diagnosed with cancer, in spite of the fact that I’m an unemployed TV host….

I recognize how abundantly blessed I am.

Yes, this is one of those optimistic, acknowledgment, blog posts. So what that my dad died. So what that I lost my house 4 years ago and had to file for bankruptcy. So what that I have a felony for selling pot when I was 19.

I am still BLESSED.

Blessed to be here to see my children grow. Blessed to have had a career where I get to do what I love and enjoy daily, because of my freedom. Being black in America is no longer the excuse or reasoning for any limitation in my life.

We are blessed

Being raised by 2 parents, a step mother and having step and half siblings is what’s made my life experience so wonderful. Having broken up and now reconciled with Tiffanie, my wife for the past 23 years; is what’s given us the opportunity to learn how to love, live, and raise our own kids. Raise them together in such a way that they will have even more tools and experience than we did growing up.

Life on planet earth is hard and yet we’re all endowed with the same common rights, responsibilities, and talents. The same get down attitude that we can each step into when and where we need to. No matter how much challenge and strife life delivers to me, I maintain my warrior attitude. I teach others to tap into this same warrior mindset and be the badasses, the talented and the optimistic characters, in their own life stories. It’s about taking limits out of our lives. The last time I argued with the producers of my former show Yard Crashers was when they tried to put me in a limited box called “Host”. I sent my executive producer the video of a song I so enjoy by Lauren Hill titled, “I Get Out“.

Marie Blackstock Author and Intuitive Counselor

Marie is another powerful, positive blessing in my life

No matter what the challenge, no matter what the pain, no matter what the struggle and small mindedness around me is; I seek to be big, be loving, and give thanks for my opportunities. The opportunities to reach, teach, and express a love and optimism for life. As many of you might know. I’m in the process right now of writing my very first book with Author and all around positive chic Marie Blackstock. She and I are both students and teachers of positive living. That is to say that we have both experienced many of life’s challenges and are completely obsessed with figuring out life’s mysteries and sharing these truths with the rest of humanity. Please continue to follow all things for positive change both here and at Alive Again Positive Living.

I know that I am abundantly blessed and I know that these blessings will continue and expand so long as I am willing to acknowledge them and give thanks, and so it is!

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Evolution

February 24, 2015 By Ahmed Hassan 1 Comment

It’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s merely our reality and evolution. Humankind’s impact on the planet is largely responsible for the climatic changes we’re experiencing back east and out west. Flooding and drought conditions are just a few of the causes and effects that we have going on in our ecosystem. This is nothing to be alarmed about or freaked out about. I mean really…

AHLS at your service

When has your freaking out ever helped bring about sustainable solutions for change? As for me, I choose to take responsibility into my own hands. As a professional landscaper, former TV host, and Celebrity Landscaper, I travel the country spreading knowledge, goodwill, and what I know to be good horticultural practices. Locally, around the greater Sacramento, California area, I continue to offer landscaping services via my small business… Ahmad Hassan Landscape Services (AHLS). I love what I do and plan on doing it for a long, long time.

My own prediction is that for the next decade or more, I will continue to be solicited, and encourage best management practices while assisting folks with creating drought tolerant/friendly, and ecologically friendly landscapes, at home and abroad. Take a look at these two examples to give you an idea of what I mean. Here is a before and after of my client Annie Tran’s Yard

Ahmed Hassan Trans Home Before and After

Drought tolerant plants make for easy maintenance

And another example… the Hughes’ Lawn Before and After Transformation

Hughes Project by AHLS Ahmad Hassan Landscaping Services

Here we transformed the lawn into a dry creek bed

In order to keep the cost down in both instances we used lots of small plant material. Most folks have more time than money. As the plants grow, the boulders and rock work will diminish, as the garden and greenery take center stage. At the end of the day, my goal was to be ecologically sustainable, as well as create something for both of them that presents well aesthetically. This is my obligation to the planet, and a commitment I make to myself and the human race. I get a real kick out of being a role model for change.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan loves being a role model for change.

This guy wants to be a role model for change

I intentionally plan to leave my mark on the planet with my life and impact the world in my own small way.

Ahmed Hassanpresenting at a home and garden conference

Educating people on sustainability

Television allowed me to grow my popularity, and because of this, I am committed to returning to TV in order to become the next Anthony Bourdain of the environmental industry. Bourdain is best known for his ability to communicate and share folks experiences around food, wine, and culture. He loves what he does and it definitely shows through in the programming. This is why he has been so successful.

My interests lie more within our local and global environment. I seek to give people an expanded awareness of what’s going on in both their own backyards, and the local community, and beyond. I enjoy creating these outdoor living spaces and giving my clients and fans the tools that they need in order to make a positive impact during our evolutionary period. It’s all about educating and then putting that education to use if we’re going to make a difference. I believe most people will do whatever is necessary to live in a sustainable manner if they just knew what to do. My job is to teach them those very things.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan often calls himself the big mouth landscaper

Watch out… big mouth landscaper coming through!

I don’t claim to be an expert in all things environmental, but I do understand soil, plants, water management, and how water is utilized by plants. I also understand our need for plants as a part of our human diet and overall nutritional health. I’m a nerd in case you haven’t noticed… A garden nerd who gets by with the title of “Gardener”. I’m ok with that. I often introduce myself to people and call myself the “big mouth landscaper” because it’s true!

It’s this big mouth that let’s me bring about awareness within the Green Industry and affect sustainability. It also helps me affect positive change. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease because the squeaky wheel gets things done. Last week I had the opportunity to meet with the director of sustainability at Ewing Irrigation to discuss having me join their team of speakers and teachers on that subject.

Celebrity Landscaper Ahmed Hassan at Ewing Irrigation in Phoenix, Arizona

Partnering with Ewing Irrigation to make a difference!

A little later this year you’ll have an opportunity to learn even more about what I’ve been doing over the past year with another irrigation manufacturer, Hunter Industries. I feel like all of us humans, landscapers, gardeners or not, need to take responsibility for ourselves and this planet. We don’t have another planet to move to and if we did, we’d likely throw that one out of balance as well. Learning what we need to, in order to improve and make living conditions better, is a real trial and error process. It took us many years to get to where we’re at. I only hope that we can expedite our learning curve so we can enjoy the years we have left and create something sustainable for our children, and their children, to enjoy.

Thank you for reading and sharing and caring.

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Water Water Everywhere… Except California

October 13, 2014 By Ahmed Hassan

Those of you who know me understand how passionate I am about preserving our environment through nurture and conservation. I believe there are many natural methods we can use to make our lawns greener and healthier without adding harmful chemicals to the mix. I also believe that we should conserve the resources we have been given. We are stewards of this planet and as such it is our job to not only take care of it for our basic survival needs, but also ensure it thrives for future generations as well as is aesthetically pleasing.

With that in mind, I want to share a bit about water conservation. California has experienced an unprecedented drought for the past three years. Since 2011, we have received very little rain and it is starting to show, big time. A few weeks ago I posted a pic on Facebook showing the Bidwell Bar Bridge that passes over Lake Oroville. The pic was taken near Bidwell Marina and shows the reality of how this drought has affected us. Here are the pics again in case you missed the facebook post.

That is a pretty stark comparison right? The first pic shows the lake in 2011 while the second one taken this year shows the lake at it’s current water level. Now I understand that we have had a few hefty rainstorms as of late, but these have been described as merely a “drop in the bucket”. If we Californians continue using water at our current level, there is growing concern that some towns might actually run out of drinking water. This is not a conspiracy theory, this is a scientific fact. It’s also one of the reasons I did not participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I am a fan of raising money for charity and I did make my own $100 donation towards the cause. I just can not in good conscience participate in something that might cause a daisy chain event where hundreds or thousands of gallons of water are wasted when we are under such extreme drought conditions.

The point of all of this is to say that in order for anything significant to happen, significant action must be taken. My fair city of Sacramento is taking action. They have implemented a stage two water shortage contingency plan.

The short version of the plan is as follows:

Watering is reduced to two days per week
Odd-numbered addresses must limit watering to Tuesdays and Saturdays
Even-numbered addresses are to water on Wednesdays and Sundays
No automatic irrigation watering is to happen on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays (This does not limit hand watering since it’s difficult to over use and waste hand watering)
All watering is to be done prior to 10 AM or after 7 PM (Since evaporation of irrigation water is greatly reduced during these times.)
No over watering is permitted. This typically applies to things like watering your lawn and having run-off that spills onto the side walk, street, or gutter.

If you are a Californian, check your local municipality’s website or that of the county in which you live. Then simply comply. It is incumbent upon all of us to take decisive action so that the situation as a whole will improve.

If you do not live in California, there are still ways you can contribute. After all, water is one of those universal resources that we all use. Consider installing a rain barrel outside of your house and use the collected water for your garden or plants. This conserves fresh water aka drinking water. If your soil is predominantly clay based you might also consider installing drip irrigation as a means to water your shrubs or other plants around the exterior of your home. Drip irrigation is efficient and just as effective as traditional spray or what we call “overhead watering”. If properly installed and managed, drip irrigation can be highly efficient and effective. There are other things you can do to conserve water as well, but my point is simply to raise our awareness of the issue. If we think about how we use water in our own homes, and develop a plan to conserve it, then we will make a difference.
Little by little.

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To Be Continued… The Finale

Abundantly Blessed!

Evolution

Water Water Everywhere… Except California

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