Welcome to our July edition. I trust that the summer has gone well for all. The backyard that we are featuring for this month is somewhat unique. We have “destroyed” many patios, yards and walls, but have only destroyed built in pool waterfalls a few times. This was one of those times. Tear- ing out a waterfall that a pool com- pany has installed is no easy task. We had to drain the pool and build scaffolding within the pool so we could work at the height of the waterfall. We also needed to build a wood retaining wall to keep the boulders from rolling into the pool once loosened, which would have been a disaster. Once loosened with a jack hammer, we needed a shelf strong enough so the boul- ders could be rolled over to the pool deck and from there could be taken away with our tractor. It was quite a process and that was just part of it.

We also removed a large expanse of patio as well as the unwanted plants. During this phase of the job, my nerves were on high alert, and I noticed a few more gray hairs. I was ever so grateful for liabil- ity and workers compensation insurance just in case there was an accident. I started to breathe again once we got through this phase. The rest was still challenging but the other phases did not have the liability concern like this phase. When looking at the before picture, you can see that the boulders were not small. They had size to them. This is probably the only job where the tear out phase was thirty to thirty five percent of the landscape cost. Normally this phase never exceeds eight to fifteen percent at the most.

At this point you may be asking why we were doing this. This is the same question I asked when I first met them. Rob and Jen- na were great clients and are now great friends. We landscaped their front yard, installing a paver patio and block wall as well, to create an overall curb appeal that was both colorful and invit- ing. With all the detail work of both yards, I jokingly said that by the time this job was over, we would become family and spend Thanksgiving together, which was coming soon. The motive for all this work was for a new look. Coming from the bay area, the traditional look did not work for them. Jenna often said she wanted something much more contemporary and trendier with clean lines. I asked them why they didn’t just buy a house with the yard they wanted? They had shopped for three years and could not find the right combination, so when this house came up for sale, they bought it and just expected to redo the yard. So that gives you some background.

There were many phases to the back landscape. In the front we did all the work in-house, but in the back we used all my con- tacts. My pool contractor was needed to re-plaster and retile the pool including adding new entrance steps. My patio cover referral had to install a patio cover which was more up to date and included fans and lights. At the time they had the enclosed greenhouse look. The last referral was my concrete friend. They were looking for a finish that was more contemporary than the very dated aggregate look. It took effort and communication to coordinate everyone’s workload with where we were in the job. That was my job – making sure that we would not be in each other’s way. So, between us all it was about a two-and-a-half- month project, which was not bad for all that had to be done. We started in early September and completed it just in time for Thanksgiving. As you can tell we left all the trees.

Jenna was super helpful; in that she was willing to chase sam- ples down for me. We would discuss the tile or stone veneer for the waterfall, and I would tell her where to go. She would come back with samples, and she would find her own. We would also discuss the pros and cons between, stucco, cultured stone and stone veneer for the wall, and then she would go to my vendors and get samples. Once the samples were here, we would again discuss the best fit for the yard while considering the final “feel” we were going for. During this time, her willingness to help was much appreciated. She remarked that after it was all over, she would now need to get another job because the yard remodel had been her job. Aside from landscape, we also installed an outdoor kitchen. A referral helped with setting up the compo- nents to the kitchen, and we did all the finish work.

There’s so much more to say, but I want to limit my words so that the before and mid pictures can be large enough for you to appreciate the changes that were made. We will continue next month with more detail.

Gardeners – you should now be harvesting from the garden. In the early morning, and periodically, spray the leaves clean from

BEFORE

dust to keep the spidermites off the vegetables that attract them. Squash and cucumber tend to be a few of those. You should also fertilize half dose every month and remember to control your water. Over watering only makes the vegetables grow, but not flower. They need a good soaking and then a drying out period to encourage the bloom. One or two days dry out period is helpful and of course it’s dependent upon the weather. Until next time – Good Gardening