fgc comm newsletter winter 2010

8/14/2019 FGC Comm Newsletter Winter 2010

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he healing effects of nature are power-ful and have been documented for many

years. Spending even a few minutes withthe soothing sound of water, the rustle of leaves, the chirp of birds and the fragranceand freshness of the outdoors can have aprofound effect.

Northeast Georgia Medical Center patientsand their families can tap into such anexperience with a visit to Annes Garden, ahealing garden near the new North PatientTower entrance.

The Fockele Garden Company designed,built and maintains the garden which is a

place of peace, relaxation and reection.

This will be a great area for patients andtheir families to gather and enjoy all thenatural elements that feed our soul, TheFockele Garden Company Vice PresidentJulie Evans says. There have been manystudies done on the positive effects agarden has on patients. Physical heal-ing is enhanced and psychological stressreduced when a person is able to experi-ence being in a natural setting or gardenenvironment, or is able to view it. Thishealing garden provides just such retreat -a place to rejuvenate.

The Fockele Garden CompanyInstalls Healing GardenANNES GARDEN IS A GATHERING PLACE

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New huntsville location, p.3 | new business, p.3 | governors mansion, p.4In this issue: Employee Spotlight, p.1 | Healing Garden, p.1 | Landscape or garden, p.3

news from the gardeni d e a s f o r G r o w i n g y o u r B u s i n e s s winter 2010

w w w . F o c k e l e G a r d e n C o m p a n y . c o m

While in place for a short six months, Annes Garden is such a beautiful and popular outdoordestination at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. We are overjoyed that patient families andvisitors utilize the space so frequently. At the gardens aluminum trellis entrance sit two teakwood benches and a small table, which almost always host individuals or families. In addition,people truly take a break from the hospital and walk the gardens path or reect while sitting ona bench. There is no doubt, people are in love when they enter the garden its an unexpectedsurprise to them. Nancy Colston, Executive Director, Medical Center Foundation

continued on page 2

Employee SPotlight

Stephanie Gordons job title at TheFockele GardenCompany is draftsperson but that is

just one job of severalshe performs forthe company.

As a draftsperson, Stephanie translatesdesigners sketches and ideas intotechnical drawings as well as presenta-tion drawings for customers. Her handrendered drawings are a work of artunto themselves.

Before joining The Fockele GardenCompany in 2007, Stephanie had acareer in graphic design. She hasbrought many of these skills to TheFockele Garden Company. Shedevelops brochures, photographs

and documents projects, as well ascontributing in many other waysranging from assisting at job sitesto tracking down permits.

Stephanie has been busy recently add-ing to her credentials, having recentlycompleted the Georgia CertiedLandscape Professional program.

In addition, Gordon recently receivedher associates degree in EnvironmentalHorticulture from Gwinnett TechnicalCollege where she specialized in land-

scape design. She also has obtained aLevel 1A Certied Personnel designa-tion from the Georgia Soil and WaterConservation Commission.

Stephanie and her husband, Peter,enjoy hiking and spending time withtheir grandson.

Stephanie Gordon

Draftsperson

The fountain, which is handcrafted in bluestone, is a centerpiece in Annes Garden.


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continued from page 1

It is even a tranquil diversion for the medicalcenter staff, as they often use the garden asa place to relax and recharge during stressfultimes.

The 11,700-square foot garden is an ellipse,with a 14-foot diameter fountain at its center.Paths radiate out from the fountain and areconnected by an outer loop. The garden sitsone level below the main entrance to theNorth Patient Tower, so the view on two sidesis from above. Taking the vistas into account,the garden is planted in layers of pattern. Forexample, the perimeter of the garden is plant-ed with a variety of trees. The planting bedsthat encircle the fountain are planted with anedging of Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) andlled with brightly colored perennials that arerepeated in each of the four planting beds.Looking down on the garden, one cansee the elliptical pattern that emergeswith the repetition of planting beds aswell as pathways and the color pat-terns that result from repetitionof certain colors and plants.Visitors to the North PatientTower who do not have timeor energy to explore the gar-den more personally can stillenjoy the benets of viewing itfrom above.

The circular fountain has a 36-inch wide centerpiece of Pennsyl-vania bluestone sections that havebeen hand-cut and shaped to ttogether to form a scallop-shapedbowl, from which water bubblesup and spills into the main partof the fountain. A seating wallallows close access to the water.The fountain holds three tablestructures that are each plantedwith mosses, ferns and waterplants to soften the expanse of water. Sounds from and views of the moving water can be enjoyedthroughout the garden.

Steps near the North Towerentrance lead down to the path-ways that circle through the garden.On January 18, a six-foot tallbronze sculpture, Elpida byJean Westmacott, was installed tocomplete the garden.

Trees have beenplanted for acombination of owering and Fall

color, including Magnolia x YellowBird; Red leaf Japanese Maples;Amelanchier spp Serviceberry;Cornus kousa Chinese Dogwood;Acer griseum Paperbark Maple;Parrotia persica Persian Iron-wood. An evergreen hedge (Thujax Emerald) encloses the garden ontwo sides to provide an atmosphereof privacy and calm. The garden

is designed to be inviting andpeaceful with opportunities

for both conversation andquiet moments. Visitorswill enjoy the varietyof plantings which are

selected for owers, foliage, texture andfragrance.

Our landscape plan has many points of interest throughout every season and visitors

will see owers that they are familiar with,Evans says. No matter the time of year,guests will be greeted with a variety of color.

To keep the garden thriving, The FockeleGarden Company also installed a rainwatercollection system beneath the garden thatprovides water for irrigation and fountain.The system harvests rainwater that falls onthe North Patient Tower 26,000-square footroof and directs it to an underground cistern.To give an idea of the volume of water avail-

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lled with brightly colored perennials that arerepeated in each of the four planting beds.Looking down on the garden, one cansee the elliptical pattern that emergeswith the repetition of planting beds aswell as pathways and the color pat-terns that result from repetitionof certain colors and plants.Visitors to the North PatientTower who do not have timeor energy to explore the gar-den more personally can stillenjoy the benets of viewing itfrom above.

The circular fountain has a 36-inch wide centerpiece of Pennsyl-vania bluestone sections that havebeen hand-cut and shaped to ttogether to form a scallop-shapedbowl, from which water bubblesup and spills into the main partof the fountain. A seating wallallows close access to the water.The fountain holds three tablestructures that are each plantedwith mosses, ferns and waterplants to soften the expanse of water. Sounds from and views of the moving water can be enjoyedthroughout the garden.

Steps near the North Towerentrance lead down to the path-ways that circle through the garden.On January 18, a six-foot tallbronze sculpture, Elpida byJean Westmacott, was installed tocomplete the garden.

Trees have beenplanted for acombination of owering and Fall

color, including Magnolia x YellBird; Red leaf Japanese Maples;Amelanchier spp Serviceberry;Cornus kousa Chinese DogwooAcer griseum Paperbark Maple;arrotia persica Persian Iron-

wood. An evergreen hedge (Thujx Emerald) encloses the arden ontwo sides to provide an atmospheof privacy and calm. The garden

is designed to be inviting andpeaceful with opportunitie

for both conversation anquiet moments. Visitorwill enjoy the varietyof plantings which ar

We are grateful toGainesville residents, Anneand George Thomas, for theirsignature gift to The Medical

Center Foundation toname Annes Garden.

Time and again, wewitness the positivechange in mood thatthe garden facilitates,because people goout of their way tolet us know what a

difference it makes intheir experience while

visiting the hospital. Anneswish to create an area of healing and hope couldnthold more meaning!

Nancy Colston,Executive Director,Medical Center Foundation

Healing Garden

Top: The 11,700-square foot garden is situated near themain entrance of the North Patient Tower.Bottom: Benches are placed throughout the garden,giving visitors wonderful garden views.


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Landscape or Garden: What is your business style?

continued from page 2

able from the roof, it takes less than three-quarters of aninch of rain to ll the 10,000-gallon cistern. The rainwater

is then used to supply the irrigation system for the garden,as well as to top off the fountain as needed. The irrigationsystem uses highly efcient drip components driplinewith emitters, xeri-pop sprays, and a specialized rootwatering system for deep watering the tree roots. Thesecomponents are excellent for use in a public space whereyou want to control overspray of pathways and minimizewater use.

Annes Garden is one of ve planned for the medicalcenter Gainesville campus. It is funded by longtimemedical center supporters Anne and George Thomasthrough the Medical Center Foundation.

The garden is used for healing and relaxation by patientsand families, Medical Center Foundation ExecutiveDirector Nancy Colston said. There is nodoubt it helps to getoutside, andpatients nowhave an areato do that bythemselves orfor visits withtheir family.

The Fockele Garden Company Opens Huntsville, Ala. LocationThe Fockele Garden Company recently expanded its service inHuntsville, Ala. to better serve its clients in the area.

Previously, the company performed landscape installation and mainte-nance services in the Huntsville area from its Gainesville, Ga. ofce.

The opening of this branch commits us to servicing the Huntsvillearea for many years to come and we are excited to be a contributingpart of the Huntsville business community, says Todd Brown, TheFockele Garden Company general manager.

For service information in the Huntsville area, call 256.529.5315.

S

IBuild UniHealth Post Acute Care, Aiken, S.C. UniHealth Post Acute Care, Orangeburg, S.C. Mincey Marble, Gainesville, Ga. Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Annes Garden, Gainesville, Ga. UniHealth Post Acute Care of Brookhaven, Atlanta Magnolia Trace, ACTS senior living community in Huntsville, Ala.

Maintenance Mincey Marble, Gainesville, Ga. Cherokee Forest subdivision, Gainesville, Ga. Magnolia Trace, ACTS senior living community in Huntsville, Ala. UniHealth Post Acute Care, Aiken, S.C. Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Annes Garden, Gainesville, Ga.

Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church, Duluth, Ga.

New Business

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The terms landscape and garden areoften used interchangeably, but theyare not exactly synonymous. There aresubtle differences.

Landscape is often used to describecommercial properties and implies thefunction and utility associated with abusiness. Commercial environments aregenerally designed for efcient mainte-nance and to provide a consistent anduniform appearance. This situation oftenrelies on machine power and chemicaluse for maintenance.

Alternately, gardens reect the individualpersonality of the owner and the property.In general, there are more plant varieties,more subtle details and more emphasison the natural cycles of seasonal changein a garden. (For example, owers, foliage

and texture). Maintenance of a gardengenerally relies more on nesse thanpower. The word garden is more oftenassociated with residential properties.

The Fockele Garden Company has devel-oped the ability to fuse gardens and land-

scapes. Bringing garden components tocommercial landscapes allows businessowners a much wider range of choiceswhen considering improvements, reno-vations, or complete installations.

Our idea of a commercial landscape in-cludes plants and other elements oftenfound in residential gardens, says JulieEvans, The Fockele Garden Companyvice president.

The preference for a more uniform land-scape or a more dynamic garden is to-tally up to the business owner. Either stylecan work in a commercial setting. Mostprojects are somewhere in between thetwo extremes of styles, Evans explains.

Our goal when designing a commercialproject is to incorporate appropriate

garden elements such as interesting plantselection and a planting style that consid-ers the architecture, the setting and thecustomers taste. We design within aframework of maintenance efciencyand consistency of appearance, and thenadd the garden details that can identify

the business much like a company logo.

Garden and landscape design is nota one-size-ts-all proposition, Evanssays. Each project is as different asones personality. The Fockele GardenCompany has the expertise to meet yourexpectations for an appealing, successful,

thriving landscape as individual as yourown company brand.

For more examples of garden and land-scape designs please visit the portfoliosection of our website, http://www.fockel-egardencompany.com/portfolio.html.

Take an online tour of our commercial properties at www.fockelegardencompany.com/gallery.html?gallery=COMMERCIAL

t b ss m like a company l o.sin h

Colston said. There is noget

Bu U U N U

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The Georgia Governors Mansions landscape has a new, water-efcient front garden designed by Mark Fockele, president of The Fockele Garden Company.

The design was part of an effort organized and sponsored by theGeorgia Green Industry Association.

Fockele was selected to provide the design for the garden at thefront of the governors residence on West Paces Ferry Road inAtlanta.

We created this landscape garden to demonstrate the fact thatwe could have beautiful, lush gardens even with very limitedwater, Fockele said. It is all in the technique: Proper soil prepa-ration, drip irrigation, limited turf, appropriate mulching, groupingplants by water requirements, creating shade, and most impor-tant of all, proper plant selection.

The GGIA had been looking for a project where its members

could showcase the value and the benets of the industrysmanagement and irrigation practices, and Gov. Sonny Perdueagreed that the mansion was the perfect place to present goodlandscape management practices to the rest of the state.

The Governors Mansion is now a showplace for water con-servation, Perdue said. The garden will be a lasting testament

to the environ-mental benetsand beauty that aproperly designedand efcient land-

scape can bringto all Georgians.

Fockeles designincludes a widevariety of trees,shrubs, ground-covers, annualsand perennials.Many of the plantsare native toGeorgia. Fockeledesigned a garden

that blends with the scale of the residence while using plantswhich, once established, would need very little watering, if any.

This is a living example for not only creating a beautiful land-scape to showcase Georgia-grown products, but doing so whileusing minimal water resources, GGIA Executive Director SherryLoudermilk said.

Owners : Mark Fockele and Julie Evans Year Founded : 1989 | Employees : 40

Business Breakdown : 60% design/build, 40% maintenanceCustomer Breakdown : Mix of residential and commercial

Mark Fockele, left, discusses the water-efcient garden design that was installed at the

Governors Mansion withGeorgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

O . B O X 6 7 1 G A I N E S V I L L E , G A 3 0 5 0 3

r r-

Mark Fockele Designs Water-EfcientGarden at Governors Mansion

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

fgc comm newsletter winter 2010

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