data jungle adventures

We all run side projects after work, sometimes for fun and passion, sometimes for the money. In addition, many people pursue their passions outside of work, mainly when the 9-5 job is dissimilar from their love or does not allow creativity.  Ultimately, whether or not it is common for employees to have extensive side projects like writing a book, running a company, or similar will depend on the company culture and the nature of the job. Some companies may encourage employees to pursue their passions, while others may have more strict policies around side projects.

Side projects may turn into features or services, integrate into the daytime job, and flourish in a startup landscape. 

Gmail, for example, was initially created as an internal project at Google. It was not simply a hobby project. Instead, it was born from storage and efficiency issues of google’s internal communication system and later became a standalone service with many additional features. 

Google had a clear goal of creating a better email service, and the development of Gmail was led by a team of experienced developers who worked on the project full-time.

In a data-driven (urban and landscape) planning context, particularly in a network of freelancers, everyone runs multiple projects​​ and has many different roles to play. Most are driven by financial incentives, while some colleagues practice their passion. 

The passion for writing about plants and the necessity of plant knowledge and guidance about self-sustaining food gardens.

Jacob

My passion for writing, plants and planning led to the publication of plant selection guidelines for landscape planners and architects in a Brazilian environment and language.

The following are some of the critical reasons why plant selection guidelines are essential for landscape planners and architects:

1. Adaptability to ensure that plants selected for a particular site are adapted to the local climate, soil type, and other environmental conditions. This can help reduce plant stress and improve plant health, which in turn can reduce maintenance costs and enhance the landscape’s overall appearance.
2. Aesthetics to help ensure that the plants selected for a landscape are visually appealing and appropriate for the desired design style by choosing plants that complement the surrounding architecture and landscape features.
3. Functionality to ensure that plants selected for a particular site are appropriate for their intended function. For example, trees are chosen for shade, windbreak, or visual screening qualities. In contrast, the ground cover can be chosen for its ability to prevent erosion or fill in bare areas.
4. Sustainability to help ensure that sustainable landscape practices are followed by selecting drought-tolerant, disease-resistant plants that require minimal water, fertiliser, and maintenance.

The book does not dismiss the importance of hiring a professional landscaper. On the contrary, by bringing here part of our creative process for small compositions, it is possible to understand how complex it is to think of a garden on a large scale. A step-by-step approach guides selecting suitable planting places where the composition will be made, indoor or outdoor area, flowerbed or pot, and the aspects that must be observed in each situation. 

Overall, plant selection guidelines are essential for landscape planners and architects to ensure that the plants selected for a particular site are appropriate, functional, and visually appealing.

The book, written in Portuguese and illustrations are great if you do not read Portuguese. The ebook ‘ships’ with two files for Apple Books and PDF.

Jacob

The second chapter is dedicated to plants: structures, life cycle, roots and adaptation to the site, fundamental aspects that will make all the difference in the composition. Finally, we discuss the ideal choice of vases that will be part of a composition and the aspects that should be considered in their choice.

In the chapter “Composition: joining shapes and colours”, we will show planting, drainage, fertilisation and irrigation processes for a healthy garden. In the book’s final part, we offer some ideas for vegetable gardens and vertical gardens, including technical solutions for installations and irrigation, as well as the types of suitable plants.

Maria Eduarda and I wrote these guidelines based on our perception that their Brazilian clients needed more basic knowledge. Educating people to compose with plants based on observations of several factors, far beyond the placement of the plant in the environment and for aesthetics.

We show that it is possible to do excellent little compositions on your home, even without accurate knowledge about landscaping, considering all the technical and aesthetic aspects presented uncomplicatedly. Furthermore, we try to teach that the rules for compositions cited in this book do not follow fixed and rigid rules, which may have infinite solutions for the same environment.