news from the garden

ideas for Growing your garden Winter 2010

Employee spotlight WATER FEATURES CAN ACCENTUATE

Stephanie Gordon YOUR GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE
Draftsperson
Stephanie Gordon’s
job title at The
Fockele Garden
Company is drafts–
person but that is
just one job of several
she performs for
the company.
As a draftsperson, Stephanie translates
designers’ sketches and ideas into
technical drawings as well as presenta-
tion drawings for customers. Her hand
rendered drawings are a work of art
unto themselves.
Before joining The Fockele Garden
Rock water features fit naturally into your garden.
Company in 2007, Stephanie had a

N
career in graphic design. She has
brought many of these skills to The
othing touches the senses like water.
Fockele Garden Company. She
The element of water in a garden setting
develops brochures, photographs
contributes in as many ways as there are
and documents projects, as well as
styles of water features. Ponds, fountains,
contributing in many other ways
streams or waterfalls can be incorporated
ranging from assisting at job sites
into any outdoor living space.
to tracking down permits.
From the tranquil sounds of droplets falling
Stephanie has been busy recently add-
from the lip of a bowl . . . to the powerful
ing to her credentials, having recently
rush of water cascading through boulders .
completed the Georgia Certified
. . to a still pool disturbed by a bird splash-
Landscape Professional program.
ing, the sounds of water are as lyrical as the
In addition, Gordon recently received visual beauty is mesmerizing.
her associate’s degree in Environmental
The Fockele Garden Company can design
Horticulture from Gwinnett Technical
and build a water feature that fits perfectly
College where she specialized in land-
into your physical surroundings; one that
scape design. She also has obtained a
exemplifies and defines the character
Level 1A Certified Personnel designa-
of the garden, and reflects the owner’s
tion from the Georgia Soil and Water
personality.
Conservation Commission.
Because our own experts handle the entire
Stephanie and her husband, Peter,
project from start to finish, the process
enjoy hiking and spending time with
their grandson. continued on page 2

Employee Spotlight, p.1 | Water features can accentuate

ntua
ate
te your
y
yo
our garden, p.1
In this issue: Mark fockele designs Water-efficient garden at the governor’s mansion, p.2
our new huntsville location, p.4 | take an Online Tour, p.4
w w w. F o c k e l e G a r d e n C o m pa n y. c o m
Mark Fockele Designs Water-Efficient Garden at Governor’s Mansion
GEORGIA GREEN INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION PROJECT GIVES RESIDENCE A NEW LOOK
Mark Fockele, left, discusses the water-efficient garden
design that was installed at the Governor’s Mansion
with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
The Georgia Governor’s Mansion’s land-
scape has a new, water-efficient front gar-
den designed by Mark Fockele, president
of The Fockele Garden Company.
continued from page 1
The design was part of an effort orga-
nized and sponsored by the Georgia
Green Industry Association.
Fockele was selected to provide the
design for the garden at the front of
the governor’s residence on West
Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta.
“We created this landscape garden
to demonstrate the fact that we could
have beautiful, lush gardens even
with very limited water,” Fockele said.
“It is all in the technique: Proper soil
preparation, drip irrigation, limited turf,
appropriate mulching, grouping plants
by water requirements, creating shade,
and most important of all, proper
plant selection.”
The GGIA had been looking for a
project where its members could
showcase the value and the benefits of
the industry’s management and irrigation
practices, and Gov. Sonny Perdue agreed
that the mansion was the perfect place
to present good landscape management
practices to the rest of the state.
“The Governor’s Mansion is now a
showplace for water conservation,”
Perdue said. “The garden will be a
lasting testament to the environmental
benefits and beauty that a properly
designed and efficient landscape can
bring to all Georgians.”
Fockele’s design includes a wide variety
of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, annuals and
perennials. Many of the plants are native
to Georgia. Fockele designed a garden
that blends with the scale of the residence
while using plants which, once established,
would need very little watering, if any.
“This is a living example for not only
creating a beautiful landscape to
showcase Georgia-grown products,
but doing so while using minimal water
resources,” GGIA Executive Director
Sherry Loudermilk said.

Water Features
is easy and seamless for you. A visit to
your site and an interview set the design
process in motion. “Formal, natural, quiet,
lively, prominent, or secluded” may all
be part of the conversation. Photos from
our portfolio show a variety of designs
and stimulate the imagination. (www.
fockelegardencompany.com/portfolio.
html). Sketches and renderings illustrate
the intentions. Beautiful, unique creations
are the result.
At The Fockele Garden Company, we
design, handcraft and install each water
feature. Careful construction, attention to
detail, and our 20 years of experience allow
you to enjoy the never-ending pleasure of
having water in your outdoor living space.
So when you think of gardens and land-
scapes, think beyond plants and lawns and
consider water. It could be the missing
piece that truly completes your garden.
In future issues of our newsletters, we
will take a more detailed look at the
Fountains come in a variety of shapes and
process of designing, building and material. | Ponds can be a distinctive addition.
installing water features.

2
Garden or Landscape: What is your style?
The terms garden and landscape are often viewed.”
used interchangeably, but they are not
exactly synonymous. There are subtle dif- Our goal when
ferences. designing a
residential garden
Gardens reflect the personality of the of any size is to
owner and the property. Generally, they incorporate ap-
have more plant varieties, more subtle propriate garden
details and more emphasis on the natural elements that
cycles of seasonal change (for example, consider architec-
flowers, foliage, texture). Maintenance of ture, setting, style,
a garden generally relies more on finesse maintenance, and
than power. The word “garden” may personality.
more often be associated with residential
properties. “Garden and
landscape design
“Landscape” is frequently used to de- is not a one-size-
scribe commercial properties and implies fits-all proposi-
the function and utility associated with a tion,” Evans
business. Whether located in a commer- says. “Each is as
cial or residential setting, landscapes are different as an
generally designed for efficient mainte- individual per-
nance and to provide a consistent and son.” The Fockele
uniform appearance. Garden Company
has the expertise to
The Fockele Garden Company has meet your expecta-
developed the ability to fuse gardens and tions for an interest-
landscapes. Incorporating garden compo- ing, beautiful, and
nents into a functional landscape allows successful garden,
customers a much wider range of choice as individual as your
when considering improvements, renova- own personality.”
tions, or complete installations.
For more examples of
A garden can be dynamic and exciting garden and landscape
or more subtle and detailed. A garden designs, please visit
might be a small corner of a back yard, the portfolio section of our website, Above: A garden can be naturalistic and lush.
or encompass the entire front and back http://www.fockelegardencompany.com/ Gardens offer more variety and change over
yard. A garden can be either formal or time. | Below: Here is an example of a more
portfolio.html.
informal, depending on the architecture, structured garden.
the setting and the customer’s style.
“There is no right or
wrong,” according to
The Fockele Garden
Company Vice Presi-
dent Julie Evans. “One
situation may call for
a naturalistic garden,
and then there are
many times a more
structured look works
best. Garden details
involving stone, plants
and water, are mostly
based on how the
area will be used or
from where it will be

3
S The Fockele Garden Company
Opens Huntsville, Ala. location
The Fockele Garden Company recently
expanded its service in Huntsville, Ala. to
better serve its clients in the area.
Previously, the company performed landscape
installation and maintenance services in the
Huntsville area from its Gainesville, Ga. office.
“The opening of this branch commits us
to servicing the Huntsville area for
many years to come and we are excited
to be a contributing part of the Huntsville
business community,” says Todd Brown,
The Fockele Garden Company general
manager.
For service information in the Huntsville area,
call 256.529.5315.

Take an online tour of our work @ fockelegardencompany.com/portfolio.html

Owners : Mark Fockele and Julie Evans

Year Founded : 1989 | Employees : 40
Business Breakdown : 60% design/build, 40% maintenance
Customer Breakdown : Mix of residential and commercial

4 P.O. Box 671 | Gainesville, GA 30503 | p: 770.532.7117 | f: 770.532.7245 | www.FockeleGardenCompany.com

G AINESVILLE, G A 3 0 5 0 3 • P. O. B OX 6 7 1