Mandolin Gardens Park, is an 11-acre oasis in the middle of Harris County MUD 230. TLA created a design that rejuvenated two connected detention basins and then 'overlayed' park amenities of 2-miles of fully accessible trails, plazas, and overlooks.

Harris County Toll Road Authority Sound Wall

When the Hardy Toll Road expansion cut across Dennis Johnston Park, the Commissioner of Harris County Precinct 4 asked Talley Landscape Architects to design a prototype “green” sound wall to be constructed where the toll road would come within 15-feet of the Precinct Parks Department offices. The new wall was to be affordable, maintainable, durable, sustainable, and designed to support plantings.
Independently, TLA was hired by HCTRA develop the sound wall system and design a complete retrofit of the adjacent park area with a new event plaza, water feature, and landscape plantings.

Wallaroo Park, created by Talley Landscape Architects, Inc., is an engaging playscape for all ages and abilities within the Woodforest Community.  The neighborhood park combines custom themed play structures, unique pieces utilizing local natural materials, and introduces for the first time in North America a dynamic play piece utilizing interactive technology that is proving to be a resounding success.

The center of the park will feature a softball field complex including two softball fields to be built in Phase 1. The fields will have new fences, backstops and dugouts; all of them will be accessible to people with disabilities. The complex will be completed with another softball field to be added in the future; the 4th quadrant provides a wooded picnic area with 5 accessible tables for players and general park users. A large pavilion shelter will be in the middle of the complex and will shade four picnic tables. The plan also includes additional picnic spaces in a tree-shaded area adjacent to the softball complex.

A restroom/concession building will be located at the entrance of the park, near the softball fields. Bike racks will be located near this building in anticipation of residents from the surrounding neighborhoods riding their bikes to the park. A new playground area will also be located near the front of the park. It serves not only as a prime play area, but can also keep kids occupied while family members practice and play games in the sport fields.  One full-size soccer field with adult and youth goals will be located on the south end of the park, there will be a future expansion of two additional soccer fields. One full-sized football field will be in the North side of the park with a future expansion to a second field. 

Talley Landscape Architects (TLA) created designs for a completely new community park utilizing Texas Parks and Wildlife Grant money.

 The project scope includes a full-sized basketball court, a soccer field that meets the international standards of a football pitch (or soccer field in the US), a 54-foot diameter gazebo with an octagonal roof patterned after the historic Riverside Hall, a popular dance hall built in 1929. The park also boasts a sand volleyball court, a tree covered picnic area, and a butterfly garden. The main park area is connected by a loop trail to the San Bernard River where an outlook deck has been constructed among ancient oak trees. Interpretive signs explaining the active bird and wildlife populations in the area will be posted within the park.

Talley Landscape Architects was hired to develop a new masterplan for the City of Pearland’s 74-acre Independence Park.

The completed first phase of construction features an outdoor stage and amphitheater berm that accommodates over 3000 patrons, a Vendor Allee for festivals, markets, and other events, and a fully accessible playground with custom play features.

The planned second phase includes expansion of the initial playground to over two acres of play experiences. Ultimately, the detention basin will expand into a dual level amenity lake with a two-story building housing a restaurant, paddle boat and bike rental, and other public facilities to provide revenue for maintaining this park into the future.

Talley Landscape Architects (TLA) created the design for a complete new play experience at Shady Lane Park. This project, representing the trans-formative effect of a park on an under-served community, was selected as the site for the 2013 Parks Build Community (PBC) Showcase Project. The design was centered on the nature theme of the conference. The park’s location adjacent to the new Bretshire Detention Basin on Hall’s Bayou is the fourth PBC project in the nation and the most comprehensive to date in this program. As such, the park was featured in a video produced by the National NRPA Conference and featured in the September 10, 2013 edition of Parks and Recreation Magazine and in the September 2014 edition of Landscape Architect and Specific News Magazines.

 TLA’s design was developed to represent a bayou system from its head waters through wetlands that symbolically and literally connect to a restored riparian habitat adjacent to Hall’s Bayou, one of Harris County’s primary watersheds. Beginning at the existing community center, an accessible trail system with an embedded stream-bed follows a course that begins in a plaza with a splash pad and ultimately links to the newly constructed Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) Bretshire Detention Basin. Within this basin, HCFCD is re-establishing a riparian zone that is drawing several birds to the area. This park will anchor a regional trail system through Precinct 2 and connect to Keith-Weiss Park to the north. In the future these two regional facilities will anchor a trail system along Hall’s Bayou of over 30 miles.

 The splash pad represents the headwaters and has in-ground sprays as well as water features from boulders and bubblers and partially submerged alligator heads. The water play equipment and general contracting were performed by Kraftsman Playgrounds. TLA worked with GameTime in the design of custom play pieces utilizing sketch-up 3D modeling for the park. Play pieces include an eight-foot diameter climbing log tunnel through which the symbolic bayou runs, a 15-foot long climb-on alligator with its mouth open, play equipment with slides that come out of standing cypress trees, and climbers that step on branches and leaves into another hollow tree log. The play space develops over 750 linear feet from a more formalized space to a Bayou Boat (that serves as an outdoor classroom) surrounded by real wetland plantings then moves on to a more adventurous segment of decomposed granite trail with a fallen log obstacle course and ends with a tall overlook berm on the edge of the basin.

Talley Landscape Architects began working with Harris County MUD 230 with the design of Mandolin Gardens Park. This park transformed two overgrown detention basins into the green heart of the district. The construction of Mandolin Gardens acted as a catalyst for additional phases of park overlays on MUD 230’s detention basins, adding miles of trail to their community.

The Triangle Basin Trail connects to Mandolin Garden was constructed as the logical second phase of MUD 230’s Park Masterplan. The parks in MUD 230 are organically maintained with no chemical herbicides or pesticides. The Texas Forest Service has recorded the growth rate of trees on these projects and estimates that trees in the MUD’s parks have twice the growth rate of chemically maintained landscapes.

The third phase of construction focused on the basin of the neighborhoods south of Mandolin Gardens. The Mandolin Prairie completed construction in 2018 with a loop trail and acres of pollinator habitat, once again raising home values in the adjacent neighborhoods. The trail is heavily used, while birds and pollinators are abundant. Interpretative signs help residents identify native plants, butterflies and birds.

Once completed, MUD 230’s Parks and Trails Masterplan will form a 5-mile loop of trails around the District. The trails will connect to not only the District parks, but also Harris County’s Matzke Park, the 100-Acre Woods Preserve, and the future Cypress Creek Trail Corridor.

Talley Landscape Architects performed the site planning and planting/irrigation design of the $20 million complex that is the center of administration, operations, and maintenance for Harris County Precinct 4.

TLA helped establish a 25-acre Phase 1 development within the 75-acre total site, as well as layouts for future phases, with an emphasis on sustainable design including the use of solar power, bio-swales, and a reclaimed water irrigation system.

The building and parking lots were carefully oriented around existing specimen trees, lending grand scale to new construction. The whole site drainage demonstrates low impact development bio-swales and irrigation from a pond that harvest rain water redirected from the building and adjacent site development.

Following an extensive programming phase, the GR14 segment of the Greens Bayou trail was established as a 2-mile linear park on the south bank of Greens Bayou. Talley Landscape Architects was teamed with RPS Klotz Associates to create a design that unifies an eclectic blend of land uses adjacent to one of the County’s most significant bayous.

Theming evolved from the opportunity to utilize native vines on existing fences and 18-foot sculptural beacons with solar lights that serve as landmarks for pedestrians and cyclists using the trail and identifying gateways and trailhead portals connecting the community.

Two bridges also provide opportunity to view the greenway corridor from elevated plazas. Wildflower and prairie grasses pocket the trail where active trail users travel between their neighborhood and the new BMX and Skate Park to the north and passive users linger on a bench or seat wall under the shade of newly planted native trees. Silhouettes of bikers to the east and skateboarders mounted on the western ramp are used as directional way finding to these venues.

Talley Landscape Architects was hired by MUD 55 to design a new Regional Park Facility by retro-fitting an existing 25-acre detention basin. TLA provided a full-service scope of work from conceptual design through construction oversight. TLA coordinated with the District’s engineers to remove a truncated concrete channel, re-shape the basin, and convert it to wet bottom facility that increased its capacity for the community while providing over two miles of accessible trails that link to the neighborhood and nearby elementary school and numerous other park amenities. On any given day, counts often exceed 75 joggers and walkers (some with dogs) and students walking to and from school can be seen in this regional park.

Talley Landscape Architects also provided full-service work for the redesign of seven existing parks within MUD 55. The scope included the removal of all old play equipment and replacement with new playgrounds that linked to a new loop trail system; renovation of facilities, site drainage, landscaping, lighting, and irrigation; sports fields (basketball/soccer/volleyball/etc.); spray-grounds (splash pads); and a dog park. Services also included public/community outreach meetings with each of the Homeowner Associations to review designs and follow-up presentations once their ideas were incorporated.

Harris County MUD No. 55 and TLA were recognized by the Houston-Galveston Area Council in the 2012 H-GAC Parks and Natural Areas Awards Competition in the Planning Process Category.

Talley Landscape Architects has worked with the SPARK School Park program to design parks at half a dozen schools in the Greater Houston Area. “The SPARK School Program works with schools and neighborhoods to develop community parks on public school grounds.” The parks are used by the schools during the day, then opened to the public after hours.

Each park is uniquely designed based on the needs of the school and surrounding community. Some elements in the parks may include a walking trail, play equipment, benches and tables, and an outdoor classroom. Most importantly, the parks frequently include a public art component that showcases art created by students in the school.

The parks are planted with trees donated by Trees For Houston. The trees are then maintained by students at the schools.

Talley Landscape Architects (TLA) created the designs for the renovation of a 40-year-old pool complex that includes the addition of a modern splash pad utilizing Texas Parks and Wildlife Grant money.

 TLA was brought in when the project was not progressing on schedule in compliance with the grant fund requirements. Based on TLA’s experience in writing and managing grant projects, our firm was asked to review projects and provide a proposal to complete the project and provide the construction administration services.

 TLA worked closely with the Architect, Ken Schuler, who designed the new pool house. Upon review of site, we recommended a completely new site plan to bring the building from the near side of the property where the original had been to the front of the complex creating a secure entry. The building relocation allowed for a more expansive green space under an old oak tree whose diameter is more than 36-inches, the gazebo as a back drop, and a larger splash pad area.

 With the loss of habitat in our urban areas and heavy use of chemicals that kill birds and beneficial insects such as bees, wasps, and butterflies, a significant element required in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) grants is a butterfly garden. The site redevelopment allowed for the butterfly garden on this project to be expanded and within a month of establishment, 10 of the 12 species of butterflies identified in our interpretative signage had become residents of the project.

This project was designed based on design parameters established by the client, City of Houston Parks, and in accordance with TxDOT standards and contracting procedures. Project management was provided by the City’s General Services Department. Trails met the FHWA design standards and criteria which was an important component of this east end project. Team members were selected for this project based on our effective working relationship on previous projects anticipating challenges with a variety of criteria to be met on this project.

 Communications and prime contracting responsibilities were part of services provided by TLA. The scope included just under a mile of concrete trail in Scottcrest Park with the demolition and replacement of the existing asphalt trail. Alief’s trail surrounded four functioning soccer fields, connected to existing picnic and bleacher facilities and ultimately included drainage structures due to the flat site. Our team included Kuo & Associates for topographic and boundary surveying and civil engineering design. Geotechnical work was performed by HVJ Associates. Electrical engineering was provided by Frank J. Dillard & Associates who were able to obtain approval for a new Parks and Recreation Department standard LED light fixture within the TxDOT system. Crouch Environmental Services provided our environmental work and Moore Archaeological Consulting performed the archaeological surveying and compliance which included shovel testing due to our proximity to the Sims Bayou at Scottcrest.

Talley Landscape Architects, Inc. was selected for the preparation of a district wide park plan to serve as the basis for a park bond approval process for FB MUD No. 50.

The plans include a comprehensive trail system linking all segments of the District, identification of future recreational amenities as well as community and regional multi-use detention facilities. Cost estimates were provided along with prioritization criteria. The District adopted the plan with a budget of approximately $30 Million to be implemented over a 10 to 20-year period.

 New Commercial Development adjacent to the Grand Parkway (Texas 99) has created value as well as destination opportunities for the proposed trail connectivity. The plan was influential in advancing the development of several of these projects by showing linkage of all communities to the commercial zone in the center of the District.

 Subsequently, we were engaged to complete design through construction documents of the first phase of the District’s masterplan for the West Park Lakes community. The project will demonstrate amenities and standards planned throughout the District.

 The scope of work includes a gazebo and waterfall area, fishing piers, perimeter trail system, planting and irrigation system drawing from the multi-use detention basins that also serve as an amenity lakes. The design will enhance the overall quality of life in this community providing adequate protection from storm water runoff along with beautiful amenity lakes functioning as additional park land.

Fife park is part of the park system developed by TLA for the Harris County MUD No. 55 District. Fife park provides the residents of the district with a place to play, explore, relax, gather, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Some of the amenities offered in the park include a splash pad, tennis and basketball courts, covered pavilion for community events, gazebo, pool, both large and small dog parks, and 2/3 of a mile of accessible trails.

The community enjoys this 2.7 acre park for their large scale community events such as Easter Day Egg Hunts as well as small scale events such as picnics and casual days at the park. The park provides a wide diversity of recreational opportunities due to the flexibility offered by the open lawn space, playground equipment, pool, tennis courts, and trail loop.

Heritage Park Pointe is a 2-acre park designed by TLA for the Harris County MUD No. 55 District park system. The park is located on Signal Hill Drive in Webster Texas and provides amenities such as a playground, pool, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, as well as a 1/5 of a mile trail loop that is fully accessible.

Talley Landscape Architects, Inc. designed Heritage Park Terrace with the intent of providing the residents of the community with a compelling park environment. Heritage Park Terrace is a 6.8 Acre neighborhood park with a large open space and recreational amenities such as a pool, playground equipment, tennis courts, and a trail loop for casual strolling.

Irene Kochiss Park, now known as the Hope Village Soccer Field, is a small 2-acre park consisting of 1/5 of a mile of fully accessible trails, parking lot, and a soccer field. The park is located near Hope Village Road and Backenberry in Webster Texas and is part of the Harris County MUD No. 55 District's park system designed by TLA. The MUD No. 55 park system is composed of 5 neighborhood parks and 2 community parks.

Quillback Park is a 5.43-acre park in the middle of a residential community in the Harris County MUD No. 55 District. The design implemented by TLA created a park that maximizes the open green space, encourages diverse use for the residents of the neighborhood, and improves the neighborhood connectivity. This park provides amenities such as basketball and tennis courts, playground equipment, pool, and over a 1/4 of a mile of fully accessible trails.

In February 2010, the Harris County MUD No. 55 District appointed TLA for the renovation of Blue Mesa Park. The park is located on Blue Mesa Ridge Drive and Alysheba Lane in Webster Texas. The renovation of the park allowed for the addition of a bridge across an existing swale, over 800 ft of fully accessible trails, and playground equipment to enhance the existing park design.

Bane Park is located on the northwest side of Houston, east of Highway 290 and south of Beltway 8. Talley Landscape Architects, Inc. was chosen to implement a park renovation compliant with the stringent requirements of funding through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Outdoors Grant Program. A private donor provided 3 acres of land adjacent to the park allowing a shallow retention “referred to as mud pit by locals” area to be transformed into a popular neighborhood fishing hole.

Talley Landscape Architects provided full design services from conceptual design through construction phase services all which were within the appropriate reviews provided by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). Park improvements include construction of a bulk-headed peninsula for fishing activities, two pavilions, a gazebo, water play area, horseshoe and volleyball courts, bird watching outlook in wooded areas and a perimeter walking/jogging trail constructed of decomposed granite that is approximately 1 mile in length.

The project entailed a transformation of the shallow mud hole through deep excavation and shaping into a facility with a central peninsula for fishing, a perimeter trail with fringed wetlands plantings for insect and bird habitats along with improved water quality. Another component was bird observation areas between the trail edge and the lake.

A challenge of the project was a lack of water source and drainage area. This necessitated design and installation of an underwater aeration system to maintain the health of the lake and aquatic flora and fauna.

This park, adjacent to multi-family public housing, continues to be heavily used by the community but its Catch and Release Program is particularly popular for veterans and after school neighborhood kids.

The Greens Bayou Mitigation Bank is located approximately 5 miles southeast of Bush Intercontinental Airport, adjacent to Beltway 8 at the confluence of Garners and Greens Bayous. It is the agency’s research and education prototype. It shall continue to serve the community as a bank for wetlands mitigation on qualifying projects while showcasing a rarity of wetland types, demonstrating their restorative value, as well as their impact on water quality.

This 7.2-acre site that was awarded a $500,000 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Outdoor Grant, began as an existing rectilinear detention basin, open drainage ditch and a flat, bare triangle of land. The Parks Masterplan, prepared by TLA, was submitted as a TPWD grant and was the first of its kind in the program demonstrating a dual use of land.

The project, as implemented by TLA, meets the neighborhood’s needs as a detention facility (its primary purpose) during rainfall events then return to normal levels after a few hours when White Oak Bayou can accommodate its normal flow. All the facilities must accommodate this inundation while returning to traditional park use (its secondary purpose) for most of the time.

The larger (South) basin contains an island and a peninsula. The 100% Accessible Trail System is constructed of a pervious concrete that links the peninsula to the mainland via three bridges. An octagonal wooden Learning Pier was added at the center of the peninsula for outdoor classes and community events (South Basin Learning Pier). The habitat for local wildlife was improved with the addition of more than 300 tree plantings and wetland plants such as bulrushes, reeds, and irises (landscaping).

Recently renamed as Brengel Park, a third parcel connected to these basins by a trail was built as a traditional park containing a covered pavilion, basketball court, spray-ground (water play area), playgrounds, exercise trail, and picnic areas (park playground). Planting larger specimen trees in this area created a park that looks as though it has been there for years.

This park’s development, with costs shared by a combination of funding sources, represents conservation of resources fiscally and environmentally.