Welcome to the February/March edition. I trust you are well. To help me stay well, I take a set of vitamins, that though probably won’t cure me, will help strengthen my immune system. If you would like to know my regime, just email me. I find this combination very helpful. I found out about it listening to several well-known doctors.
We have continued to landscape through the winter, however slowly. Several of my men went to visit family for extended periods of time which dropped us down to 2 partial landscape crews and 1 maintenance crew. By the time you read this article, all my “hombres” will be back.
The yard featured in this article was completed three years ago. We featured it a couple months after completion, but not since. I am anxious to show you the growth, even though the trees remain deciduous. If you focus on the before picture, you will see that it’s a sizable lawn with a definite slope to it. Why do we make the distinction between front and back yards? It is because the goal of each is different. The front yard needs curb appeal. We want the home to stand out among the other homes. Many homes stay with what the builder installed, which is very vanilla, and does not express the taste of the owners or the potential that the yard has. When considering design, the front yard is also about getting to the front door in a functional, yet artistic way. The backyard is more family related, so it tends to incorporate design that allows for that. Although we approach both front and back with a different mindset, oddly enough the finished products are very similar. There is no substitute for beauty, and it needs to be part of every landscape.
Our clients, Benjamin and Kathi, have a large family, and a large family means a lot of friends. A lot of traffic requires easy access to the front door. There were two other aspects that needed consideration as well. The driveway is a shared driveway with their neighbor, so there could be no parking on it. Another concern was when backing the cars out of the garage there was not enough space to turn around and drive up the driveway. They needed to back all the way up the hill to the street. This was a hassle. We needed to change that and create more space so they could have room to turn while backing out, and then drive forward up the driveway. To do that we needed to remove soil from the hill and then build a wall to contain it. It was a bit of a job, but it turned out really nice and has been a big help for them.
Getting people to the front door has several means, but only one way that is functional and artistic, especially considering the length that the walk/steps needed to be. Wood would need to be replaced. Concrete is too commercial, and it would not look natural within the landscape, so we chose steps out of stone. It is the most expensive way to go, especially when you factor in shipping cost, but there was nothing better. I presented them with the options, and they were excited about the stone steps, and okay with the extra cost. The rock yard I purchased from had a connection in Utah, and they had inventory. It was perfect, and the “Buff” color of the steps worked great into the overall theme and color of the home. The steps were heavy – about 80 to 100 pounds each. It took two men to set them. Thank goodness for our tractor that brought them up the hill!
Once we completed the steps, we were able to start the landscape. Hillsides are always challenging, and this one was no different. Our normal procedure for the start of the landscape phase of any job is tilling in fresh topsoil blend, creating mounds and then adding boulders (not all hills allow us to do this). These were the first steps prior to the plants. Prior to completing this, I invited Benjamin and Kathi to tour Green Acres Roseville with me – something that I really enjoy doing with our clients. From here you can see the results. However, I want to highlight the sitting area. We created it for their morning enjoyment. Their home is the last one on the street up in Auburn, so it is fairly private, and the surrounding environment is really nice and restful.
This is the first yard we are showing this year, and by doing so I in no way am wanting to imply that we are only interested in big yards. We are most happy to help with any size. If I show an average size yard, then people with bigger yards wonder if we can do big yards. By starting off showing a bigger yard, I want potential customers with larger than average yards to know that we do large yards, but at the same time if we do larger, we can easily handle and are happy to do so smaller yards. My personal goal is just to be able to help and get us outside to enjoy the beauty of Creation.
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Gardeners get ready because spring is coming. We are still harvesting from our winter garden that I have for the men and I at the shop. I love having my grandkids with me and telling them to pick some lettuce, Sweet Chard or Broccoli, etc. It connects them to life, as opposed to a grocery store. Prepare your ground for March planting unless you have cold frames and can then start in February.
Before Landscaping
Until next time, good gardening, Arthur…