Landscape, Plants, Hardscape & Decks
For a dozen years, this magazine has celebrated the beauty, majesty and positive potential of water in the landscape. We’ve seen it flowing down waterfalls, over vanishing edges, across slopes and through the air. We’ve seen what happens to colors immersed in it, how it creates shimmering light patterns, how it works its way over stone and, perhaps most important, the joy it can bring. Its potential to entertain and sustain us is indeed vast, but for all of its glories, water can also be inglorious as well – as when rivers overflow their banks, rainfall collapses roofs or tsunamis inundate coastlines. So while we in the watershaping world are justified in revering water, we also
One of the most common themes repeated in this magazine is that selecting materials for projects can make the difference between truly artistic designs and those that are either inappropriate or just plain boring. It’s a point worth pressing: Materials truly matter, and the importance of knowing your options and keeping pace with changes in the marketplace can never be overestimated. Through the past few months, for example, I’ve been working with a couple who live in a home that’s an architectural
Have you ever noticed how often the costliest part of a project turns out to be something that will ultimately be hidden from view? This happens quite frequently in projects involving any sort of slope, where the piers and grade beams beneath swimming pools, for example, can cost far more than the rest of the overall project. In my own work, I’ve noticed this budgetary quirk most frequently when it comes to retaining walls, where providing the foundation they need to withstand the forces applied by a slope can be startlingly extensive and expensive. It’s not what you’d call glamorous work, but it certainly is important – and will vanish completely from view. Most often, we’re called on to build these walls when
When a problem occurs with a recently installed decorative concrete job, who is responsible? I understand that this is a loaded question and that there are lots of factors to consider, but the question still stands. This spring, while dealing with a rash of
Traditionally, seeding was simple: It meant scattering pieces of rock into the surface of concrete, where they would give decorative flair to a slab. “Nowadays, seeding has taken on
Most everyone assumes that French drains have their name because engineers in France were way ahead of the curve in figuring out how to deal with the hydrostatic pressure that
Among contractors, it’s not unusual to find those who don’t think much of their counterparts in other trades. That seems a bit sad, really, but there’s a reason for it: All too often, you run into situations in which
Every time I open a landscape trade magazine, I’m bombarded by ads from just about every paver manufacturer on the planet. From the newest faux-stone concrete pavers and ADA-compliant bricks to granite, flagstone, mica and other slab species, we have more choices than ever before for our projects. Some professionals approach this wealth of possibilities and play it safe – not caring so much about what’s the latest and greatest but focusing instead on what’s most familiar and time-tested and being interested in little more than providing clients with surfaces that can safely be walked on. Fortunately, however, there are lots of us who take a different view, putting care and thought into the materials we select for our walkways, patios and terraces and working closely with our clients to make certain the resulting surfaces meet their needs. In other words, there’s
Over the years, many of the mistakes I've seen that result in the most severe consequences can be remedied by very simple fixes. Indeed, the simplest and best "fix" is to avoid
For many of us in the custom watershape and landscape business these days, working with decorative concrete is an almost daily activity. In my business, for example, we custom-cast fountains, make poured-in-place coping, fabricate countertops, create pilaster caps — you name it. And we can make whatever
