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Puzzled by its bad reputation among some of his clients, Mike Gannon began doing research on gravel. He'd always believed in its value, he says, but found a rich history that now aids in him on occasions when he needs to talk his clients through their moments of doubt.
Almost anyone who’s spent much time around swimming pools is familiar with the classic method for measuring their water volume – that is, by multiplying length by width by average depth and then multiplying that result by 7.5, which is approximately the number of gallons in a cubic foot. That’s all well and good for basic rectangular watershapes, but what do you do when the pool in question has a truly irregular shape? The answer, as we’ll discuss here, has to do with
Designing watershapes of any sort is becoming more and more challenging every day. Where not all that long ago consumers were happy if a pool or spa or fountain or pond simply looked good and operated reliably, there's a new generation of consumers who are much more interested in how these vessels are built and, more specifically, in knowing about how energy efficient they are. This trend is being driven on the one hand by the inevitability of rising utility rates and on the other by legislation such as California's Appliance Efficiency Code (Title 20) - a rule that's attracting the attention of code writers across the country because of the overwhelming importance these days of reducing energy consumption. With that backdrop, this article takes a look at a watershape's main energy consumer and the most basic of all its
In all my many years of working with water, I've never grown tired of its remarkable beauty and complexity - or of the variations it encompasses, the ways it changes and the endless fascination it offers to those who come into its presence. At the heart of water's ability to inspire us and rivet our attention is its capacity to reflect. There's something truly magical about the way water mirrors the sky, a surrounding landscape, nearby architecture or a well-placed work of art. It's a gift of sorts, a timeless bounty that has captured imaginations ever since Narcissus fell in love with
In all my many years of working with water, I've never grown tired of its remarkable beauty and complexity - or of the variations it encompasses, the ways it changes and the endless fascination it offers to those who come into its presence. At the heart of water's ability to inspire us and rivet our attention is its capacity to reflect. There's something truly magical about the way water mirrors the sky, a surrounding landscape, nearby architecture or a well-placed work of art. It's a gift of sorts, a timeless bounty that has captured imaginations ever since Narcissus fell in love with
I understand why so many people love digital cameras: You don't have purchase or develop film, you can check your images instantly, and it's easy to upload pictures onto your computer and
We've spent a lot of time in these columns talking about ways of adding dimension and interest to gardens by using different planting styles and arrangements and by varying color, texture, size, quantity and other planted features of the design. As yet, however, we haven't spent any time at all on one of the easiest and potentially most interesting ways of giving a design a unique character - one that virtually forces visitors to remember your garden. It's all about containers and accessories. As simple as it seems, adding containers and other accessories - anything from simple terra cotta pots or stone benches to elaborately custom-built planter boxes or beautifully detailed garden statuary - can add marks of
Surely you've heard this line before and never believed it, but I'm here to tell you that size does matter. Have you ever, for example, built a pond or fountain with concrete either surrounding it or fanning out from it beneath the soil - and then had your clients say they wanted a very mature tree or shrub planted right up against the edge? There you are with six inches of soil (maximum!) to work with, and there's just no way to
