Aboud & Associates
190 Nicklin Road N1H 7L5 Guelph, ON, Canada

Our social media philosophy is to post interesting things we come across in our day to day lives while we go about our work (no reposts, or stock photos in this feed). The second underlying philosophy is to embrace the seasonality of the southern Ontario landscape. Scrolling through the feed you will feel the change in texture, color palette and quality of light (one of our early posts of forced tulip display at an indoor garden show in the middle of winter didn’t sit well). ... Today we bend the guidelines for a special occasion. On Friday July 28,1995, as southern Ontario was settling in for a week-long heat wave, our founder @steven_aboud filed articles of incorporation for Aboud & Associates. What was the company working on in July 1996? Mapping vegetation communities in the Red Hill Creek subwatershed (pre the first approximation of southern Ontario’s Ecological Land Classification), a woodlot Edge Management Plan in Vaughan (these would become the bread and butter of our work over the next 15 years) and the streetscape plan for the Gordon/Woolwich street reconstruction project through the heart of Guelph (longer side note: Steven advocated to plant Dutch elm disease resistant American Elm cultivars shipped bare root from New Jersey fresh from successful trials by the United States National Arboretum). The technology and faces on the team have changed over the past 25 years, but our commitment to study problems at the interface of urban and natural environments to understand how to best improve the quality of life and ecological function remains the same. #25thanniversary #25yearsold #happyanniversary #throwbacktuesday #archives #fieldnotes #arboriculture #ecology #landscapearchitecture

These are everywhere. From naturalization, residential estates, dense urban yards, commercial parking lots (which is where this plant has lived for the past 20 years), even on intensive green roofs. The genus Amelanchier (Serviceberry) has several species endemic to southern Ontario, with many hybridizations and available forms in the nursery trade for the discerning Landscape Architect or Certified Landscape Designer. As a small tree/large shrub (or shree), the various spe...cies native to Ontario can tolerate a wide range of soil type/moisture and light conditions. Did we mention the showy flowers in early spring or the leaves that turn a brilliant orange-red in the autumn or the ornamental winter form? How about the sweet and juicy dark red/purple berries that are a favourite of birds and other wildlife (including this human). If you have ever tasted the berries that should be enough, it is also a larval host plant for a number of butterflies and moths. We dodged a few cars to get to this Serviceberry, but always be safe when considering eating any plant in the landscape. You need to be very sure of its identification. Many poisonings have happened due to simple misidentification. PSA over . . . be sure to share your Serviceberries before the birds finish them all #amelanchier #serviceberry #shadbush #saskatoonberry #juneberry #amelanchiercanadensis #amelanchierarborea #amelanchierlaevis #amelanchieralnifolia #tree #shrub #shree #endemicspecies #nativespecies #nativeplants #larvalhost #berries #birdslovethem #edibleplants #plantingdesign #arboriculture #ecology #landscapearchitecture

The sight of Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) caterpillars is discouraging. These pests were introduced to North America in the mid 19th century, and have periodically wreaked havoc on our hardwood forests ever since. This year seems to be one of their bumper years, but in this picture is a reminder that nature has its own ways of dealing with imbalances, like pest outbreaks. The keen observer will note smaller caterpillars and white cocoons, which indicate two very different sp...ecies but a very close relationship. The tiny caterpillars are actually dead, early instars that hosted tiny parasitoid wasps - Cotesia melanoscela - until the wasps were ready to pupate, killing the caterpillars during their maturation. So while it's deflating to see Gypsy Moths in any form, sights like this are a reminder that nature is resilient - if we take care of it. #lymantriadispar #gypsymoth #caterpillar #pests #pestoutbreak #parasitoidwasp #cotesiamelanoscela #nature #natureisawesome #entomology #arboriculture #ecology #landscapearchitecture See more

3 of 3 #salvia #salvianemorosablauhugel #salvianemorosamainacht #catmint #nepetafaasseniiwalkerslow #thyme #thymuspraecoxcoccineus #plantingdesign #flowers #purpleflowers #pollinatorfriendly #pollinator #bumblebee #bombus #westernhoneybee #apismellifera #sunset #nofilter #pollinatorweek #arboriculture #ecology #landscapearchitecture #landarch

2 of 3 #salvia #salvianemorosablauhugel #salvianemorosamainacht #catmint #nepetafaasseniiwalkerslow #thyme #thymuspraecoxcoccineus #plantingdesign #flowers #purpleflowers #pollinatorfriendly #pollinator #bumblebee #bombus #westernhoneybee #apismellifera #sunset #nofilter #pollinatorweek #arboriculture #ecology #landscapearchitecture #landarch