ARTICLES Archives - Page 300 of 310

Considering the Truly Unusual

This past summer, I had the pleasure of traveling to Europe - specifically Northern Italy and Southern France. Along the way, I was lucky enough to see the lavender fields of Provence in peak bloom and many unusual and beautiful gardens. My travels were particularly rewarding in the region around Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy, well known for having some of Europe's most beautiful gardens. We started off by visiting the islands on the lake and their villas, complete with their classic-style gardens. The climate of the area allows for growing many of the plants I'm familiar with in Southern California, but the

Bidding on Value

I'd like to bring up an old observation of mine: In looking at the high-end watershapes that win awards or achieve some sort of public acclaim, it seems to me that the designs are increasingly coming from outside the mainstream pool and spa industry. This is just a strong impression, and I don't have any statistics to back up my case. But when I look around me and see who's doing the

For All You Know

I'd humbly like to add my own voice to the growing list of those who are encouraging watershapers to seek payment not just for what you do, but also for

When coherent sheets of water fall gracefully from a height and down into just about any pool, spa or basin, you can bank on the fact that onlookers will be hooked. The effect is a true feast of sight and sound, says waterfall supplier Maria Hetzner, and it’s well within reach of any watershaper. Here, she briefly explains what makes these systems tick, then conducts a tour of a variety of sheet-fall applications in both residential and commercial settings.

Falling Water

As customer demands continue to push the creativity of watershapers to new limits, industry professionals need to stay atop the trends - and nudge those of us on the supplier side to new levels of creativity as well. In some cases, this means learning how to construct new environments, such as the vanishing edges and beach entrances so many clients now want. In other cases, this expanded creativity comes from a need to know what products are available from manufacturers. Although once they were the product of on-site construction skills, sheeting waterfalls now fall largely into the category of

None of us like it, but the simple fact is that contractors of all sorts – watershapers included – are all too often hauled into court to defend their actions. To aquatic consultant Curt Straub, this process of resolving conflicts in front of a judge is costly, painful – and almost completely avoidable. Here, he offers a powerful alternative that can help designers, engineers and builders avoid the courtroom doors.

Who Needs Litigation?

Most watershapers and their businesses have been (or at some point will be) exposed to some form of litigation. We do indeed live in a litigious society, and if you have yet to experience this sad reality at close hand, just wait a while: It's the nature of the contracting business, and your turn almost certainly will come. Doing battle in a courtroom has often been described as the world's most expensive indoor sport, one about a half step away from hand-to-hand combat. It's stressful, costly in time and money, incredibly distracting and generally no fun at all. In my own experience, litigation is the ultimate in misery and frustration: Even when you win, you walk away feeling like you've been through some kind of meat grinder. In an effort to stave off the costly, time-consuming, unpredictable and generally unsatisfying outcomes that all-too-often arise through the conventional judicial system, many companies have been turning in recent years to Alternative Dispute Resolution. In fact, this trend has so much momentum and respect that Congress passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act and the President signed it into law in October 1998. This legislation mandates that all federal courts must develop and implement ADR programs. I'm not always in support of things our government does, but in this case, I believe strongly that ADR programs and other mediation strategies can help all of us lift the

The health and welfare of a typical pond or lake depends on a long list of factors – not the least of which, says engineer Erich Altvater, is proper aeration. If you get it right, he says, you can improve water quality; miss the mark, however, and many man-made ponds or lakes will fall into an unwelcome imbalance. Here, he explains what it takes to understand the water’s needs and guide clients to the proper aerating system.

Good Aerations

As the watershaping industry gets more involved with naturalistic bodies of water - particularly large ponds, lakes and streams intended to harbor life in the forms of aquatic plants and fish - it becomes increasingly worthwhile to understand the important role of proper aeration. Aeration is a simple process involving the injection of dissolved oxygen (DO) into water. Nature aerates by way of things such as waterfalls and rain - activities we must imitate by mechanical means in our man-made settings if fish are to be healthy and a host of water-quality problems are

Great things can be achieved in small spaces, says landscape architect and watershaper Keith Davitt, who works mainly in the urban surroundings of Brooklyn, N.Y. Well accustomed to making the most out of areas that many designers would consider too confining, he focuses on selecting and juxtaposing key elements of plant, hardscape and water to create harmonious, relaxing environments – as this tour of a quartet of his projects demonstrates.

Small Wonders

Just as every garden should reflect the aesthetic values of its owners and accommodate their lifestyle preferences, so too every watershape should reflect the nature, purpose and "meaning" of the garden it inhabits. If it's a Victorian garden, then the watershape should be of similar style - perhaps a blend of formal and natural elements with stone or brick accents. If the theme is "wild, romantic tangle," then cascades, blossom-laden pools and rambling roses may be in order. For its part, a simple, paved court may call for a

A Productive Rivalry

There is no doubt about it - during the later years of the 19th Century, Thomas Edison was "Mr. Electric" in this country, and the electricity he promoted was direct current (DC). Last month, we took a look at the shortcomings of his DC system versus the alternating current (AC) distribution system that now serves us all so well. Now let's take a look at the personalities involved. In 1876, using

When Fall’s in the Air

As fall looms before us, it's timely to consider a question that should be a factor in every design we prepare: To drop or not to drop? This question is a good one to ask before you start planning and has to do with how much natural debris your clients will be willing to fish out of their watershapes once you're gone. In other words, while it's always important to decide what style of plants to put around your watershapes, it's also important to think about types - that is, evergreen vs. deciduous. I'm sure most (if not all) of you are aware of the general distinction, but here's a short

Bringing Visions to Life

I remember several years ago, back before it was really fashionable to build completely naturalistic pools, that I decided this was exactly what I wanted to do. This was in the very early 80s, when you'd see maybe some rocks on the bond beam or a waterfall on the end of the pool - but that was about as natural as it got back then. My new idea was to create environments that were completely natural, stem to stern. I tried presenting the concept to a number of potential clients, explaining how we could do things like angle the top of the pool and install rocks all around the edge and create natural