Sometimes Stepping Stones Won't Do

The space between the parking area and the back yard of this Vestavia home is well traveled by adults, children and grand children,,,and me. For years, I had done work in this yard, often inadvertently pushing around the stepping stones that were sitting in the underlying muddy terrain. Then one day it dawned on me. These folks need a solid, mortared walkway! Now, they're happy, their children and grand children are happy, and, I'm happy. Yeah!

Milk Can Water Feature

This recent project involved using an old milk can that the homeowner had and incorporating it into a small water feature. The pond was placed on top of the patio, leaving the smallish, but quaint yard for plants and paths. A 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple was planted near the pond to provide a little shade and offer some interesting reflections on the water surface. A special shout out goes to Bella (featured in the video) and Dolce for their superb company.

The little pump that could.

I recently got a call from a lady I had built a water feature for about 8 years ago. She was concerned over a noise coming from her pump. At one point I asked her how old this pump was. She told me that it was the original. Wow! Most pond pumps have a lifetime of around 3 years, so this was definitely a rarity. She told me, during our phone conversation, that she had unplugged the pump, which is what I would have advised her to do.

Today, I went by to check on things. Upon plugging the pump back in, the noise was gone and this eight year old pump had new life. Admittedly, the pump could stop tomorrow and it would be five years over due, but this is quite amazing.

On with the project! The home here has a small back yard. The view from the rear of the home looks right out onto the water feature, where there are also some tasteful plantings. The water feature includes a 4' x 6' main pool with a water course that is about 2.5' tall. The flagstone coping around the main pool gives the project a sort of old world, yet elegant appeal; and the water recalls the peacefulness of nature. Beyond the pond, some small, curved flagstone landings and small stepping stones help to create a cohesiveness with the rest of the yard.



If this video is not available, try this link.

Note: I installed the project, but was the recipient of a very thoughtful design by a very nice lady that lives in the area.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to one and all!

As we watch 2009 roll by and 2010 getting ushered in, I thought I'd post a video of some music, befitting of the season, for your enjoyment. Thanks goes out to my friends, Shawn, Bud, and Roy, for whom it is always an honor to share music with. Click here to watch the video.

Brown Flagstone Garden Walkway

I installed this walkway, along with a helper, using existing and purchased brown flagstone. Previous to this walkway installation, there was a pathway using loose flagstone (not mortared), set in sand. Much of the sand ended up on top of the flagstone and the stones, especially the small ones, were unstable. The new walkway took on the same shape as the old one, but mortared using traditional methods (tamped gravel base, mortar bed, pitched flagstone with a buff grout). Much attention was paid to drainage and, also, the grout color was customized for the most pleasant interaction between stone and mortar. Thanks for tuning in!!!

Cleaning out the picture phone...

My phone is getting old, and it's gritty because of the work I do. I've actually completely submerged this phone in water, twice, once for about 5 seconds and again for about 2 seconds. The picture quality isn't the best, but it's convenient and I see things I just want to capture from time to time. I haven't downloaded pictures from my phone since the last snow (late 2008/early 2009 ???) so I wouldn't call some of these shots particularly timely, but here goes anyway:

PHOTO: One of my favorite trees. Chinese fringe tree, scientific name, Chionanthus retusus, is a wonderful flowering small tree. Not to be confused with American fringe tree, scientific name, Chionanthus virginicus, which is native to Alabama, Chinese fringe tree offers bountiful blooms and retains a nice natural shape. There are not enough of these trees being produced by good growers, so when I see a nice specimen, I try to find a home for it.


PHOTO: Simple rock border I installed for a front landscape in Greystone







PHOTOS: Weeping pussy willow














































PHOTO: Snowy woods in Alabama















PHOTO: Mary praying in the snow



PHOTO: Holly berries from my yard awash in snow.


PHOTO: Extreme crepe murder! (not by my pruners, in case you wondered)



















VIDEO: These are my little buddies, swirling around some food. They live in my pond that I'm building at my home...currently, still, otherwise, eternally soon to be finished...I am determined not to become the cobbler!

Stone in the yard

A couple of months back, I spent several weeks working for some nice folks in Vestavia. They were having a very large deck built off the back of their home and they didn't want many rails on the deck to obscure their view of the yard. In order to comply with code (a deck without railing must be within so many inches of the ground), a lot of dirt had to be brought in, but in an eye pleasing way. That's where I came in. Building a stack stone retaining wall and incorporating some large stepping stones, I was able to make the deck "legit" and find a home for some of my favorite plants, like Helaborus, Daphne odora, Aspidistra, and Osmanthus. I ended up spending a little time in other parts of the yard, as well. The video, below, focuses on the stone work.

Parking Pad/Pathway Job Walk Through

The last couple of weeks or so, in between rain and cold (for Alabama), I've been in Homewood working on the installation of a parking pad, flagstone walk, and a stepping stone path.



The objective, initially was to find a spot for a car new to the family. Yes, a teenage driver (insert Bates Motel music)!!!
We decided to surface the pad with an 8910 gravel which was chosen because of the particular quarry it came from. This gravel has a slightly tan color and is not as stark as the typical gravel you buy from suppliers. Also, using 8910 gravel, which will pack down and offer an excellent surface for parking, is economical, and at the same time, attractive and functional.
The parking pad was bordered, on the lawn side, with a stone soldier course. Those stone, most of which are exposed 3 inches above the grass line, have nine plus inches buried and surrounded with cement and mortar. Careful attention was used in selecting the soldier course stone so that, one, the colors matched with the walkway, and two, that the length and thickness of the stone fell in place with the over all scale of the entire project.
The flagstone walkway was installed using a combination of stepping stones that were previously used for traffic from the drive to the front door and from stones the homeowner had left over from previous work on the house. Using the two different types of stone actually made for an interesting combination that worked well together.
The stepping stone path was chosen to provide access from the pad to the front door. As usual, I tried to steer away from straight lines, trying to make the pathway seem more "organic".

PHOTO: Crimson Queen Japanese maple

Finally, a planting bed was created at the head of the parking pad to help direct foot traffic and help soften the over all project. The homeowner has already bought a 'Crimson Queen' Japanese Maple to plant in the bed. It should really enhance the entire job.p

Stone mailbox

VIDEO ABOVE

I really enjoyed doing this job. It was my first stone mailbox and my clients felt comfortable with me doing the work. Just about the entire time I was working on this project, the homeowners were out of town. I was told that the lady of the house closed her eyes and she and her husband drove up. "How does it look?", she asked her husband. All is well. The homeowners are pleased and, of course, that is very important to me.

Circular patio with fire pit and sitting wall

Me and my trusty pick-up found our way to Trussville, recently. I met a very nice family there that was interested in having a round patio with a firepit and sitting wall. They explained to me that the round shape of a patio would contribute a calming effect to those who used it. I have to admit, I do feel a calm pass over me when I sit on that patio, now that it is completed. The line of a circle is so simple, yet beautiful, you know. It's no wonder it can bring about serenity and convergence.

VIDEO: Circle Patio

My brush with fame....

It's a stretch, I know. My buddy, Jimmy Rockett of Bug Juice Gardens on Shelby Hwy 43, does a television spot on gardening every Wednesday on FOX 6 and today he did a spot on ponds and waterfalls. The pond he featured? It was one I built about 5 years ago. Here's the link:

http://www.myfoxal.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=A96D00BB407E6279B0A21F9C7C38D46B?contentId=6895094&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1
(my blogspot "insert a link" option isn't working for me, so you can simply copy and paste this address to your browser, and it will take you to the video)

Thanks Jimmy! You did a great job!

Water through a wall

A client of mine had a retaining wall built along the back of his house and he left a 5 or 6 foot wide hole in the wall for me to put a water feature in. Sorry about the video quality...I kind of just wanted to see if the video feature from my phone (I've only dropped my phone into a pond once, so far) could make it to my garden blog.
As for the noise at the end of the video clip...my wife, Donna asked, "is that your stomach?" No, it isn't! Ha Ha Ha!