{"id":1800,"date":"2017-08-15T16:59:15","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T16:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/?p=1800"},"modified":"2023-10-24T18:44:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T23:44:07","slug":"wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"Wide Open Spaces Part 2: Walsh Prairie Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Low-maintenance lawns are just part of what makes this neighborhood unique. ” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]In the second part of \u201cWide Open Spaces,\u201d we examine why carefully chosen flowers and trees\u2014and the inclusion of parks and trails\u2014 help Walsh become a landscape like no other.<\/p>\n

Nature at Your Back Door<\/h3>\n

With 15 percent of Walsh\u2019s land curving and curling around its homes, each residence overlooks a vista of botanical beauty. To complement the Zoysia<\/a> plantings, Howerton helped devise a mix of vivid plants and flowers to assure vibrancy throughout the seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs landscape architect, I want shorter grasses and color from spring through fall\u2014wave after wave of color,\u201d she says. \u201cMy role is to come up with the aesthetic based on scientific verifications. (BRIT<\/a>) cares about the ecology, and I do too, but I\u2019m also managing it for the look. Native American Seed curated the mix based on what they know about the specific climate and soil, and after one field trip we were set to go.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][nectar_single_testimonial testimonial_style=”basic” quote=”Since Walsh wants its next generation to grow up playing and imagining in the great outdoors, their \u201cbreathing room\u201d was a foundation behind the choice of every plant, grass or tree.”][vc_column_text]\nBecause each house wanted screening for privacy, the trees chosen were also crucial to the overall look. With prairie plantings traditionally being scattered across a plain in a similar fashion to the savannas of Africa, a thicker density of cedars, elms, live oaks and ash was needed to create a more shaded effect.<\/p>\n

Enter Dr. Todd Watson, adjunct professor at Texas A&M Ecosystem Science and Management and tree expert. By using bigger root balls and a nurturing soil mix, the trees of Walsh have managed to survive the shock of being thrown from a nursery environment to the native ground, thriving in the short window of time since their planting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only need water to get themselves established, then they\u2019re super happy. They\u2019re not going to need life support\u2014we\u2019ve put in an irrigation system in to get five years of faster growth.\u201d Spaced to accommodate this expansion, the arc of trees that frame the main avenue will eventually form an eye-catching canopy residents can stroll underneath.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe streetscapes helped us decide how big these trees needed to be,\u201d says Howerton. \u201cWe realized we had to plant them 35 to 40 feet apart to have a street framed with live oaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howerton was also careful to leave space for the 10 miles of connected trails that run throughout the development. Since Walsh wants its next generation to grow up playing and imagining in the great outdoors, their \u201cbreathing room\u201d was a foundation behind the choice of every plant, grass or tree.<\/p>\n

Says Tony Ruggeri, Co-CEO of Republic Property Group, \u201cWe want our kids to have unstructured play in nature: to go safely play with critters and be back in time for dinner. As we start to have residents, we\u2019ll also have classes with kids and help them learn about preservation of the native species in this area.”<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re always looking for opportunities to educate in both technology and nature, and BRIT is definitely on the nature side. We have a makerspace where those two concepts align, and that\u2019s a fun collision point in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a Graham Greene quote that says \u2018there\u2019s a moment in every child\u2019s life where a door opens and lets the future in.\u2019 You never know what\u2019s going to trigger it.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Low-maintenance lawns are just part of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1137,2532,2506,2529,2503,219,2531,1133,2504,2092,2527,1711,2505,2528,54,2530,2533,1730,174,20],"class_list":{"0":"post-1800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nature"},"yoast_head":"\nWide Open Spaces Part 2: Walsh Prairie Restoration • WALSH<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Walsh's landscape features a vibrant mix of plants and trees, providing beauty and play opportunities. A unique neighborhood focused on nature and community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wide Open Spaces Part 2: Walsh Prairie Restoration • WALSH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walsh's landscape features a vibrant mix of plants and trees, providing beauty and play opportunities. A unique neighborhood focused on nature and community.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WALSH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/walshtexas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-15T16:59:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-24T23:44:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Walsh_AL_9944.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@walshtexas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@walshtexas\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Walsh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/walshtexas\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/walshtexas\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/walshtexas\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/walsh-seo.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Walsh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/\",\"name\":\"WALSH\",\"description\":\"Walsh is the next great neighborhood of Fort Worth. Walsh offers a range of homes and neighborhoods for people of all ages and tastes.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Walsh_AL_9944.jpg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Walsh Prairie Restoration\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/\",\"name\":\"Wide Open Spaces Part 2: Walsh Prairie Restoration • WALSH\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-15T16:59:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-24T23:44:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"Walsh's landscape features a vibrant mix of plants and trees, providing beauty and play opportunities. A unique neighborhood focused on nature and community.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5ebed3b0422e77edc76943963540d2cc\"},\"headline\":\"Wide Open Spaces Part 2: Walsh Prairie Restoration\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-08-15T16:59:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-24T23:44:07+00:00\",\"commentCount\":0,\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#webpage\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/news\/nature\/wide-open-spaces-part-2-walsh-prairie-restoration\/#primaryimage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Nature\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5ebed3b0422e77edc76943963540d2cc\",\"name\":\"walsh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"walsh\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1800"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/walshtx.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}