Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

We had a client with a quite religious orientation. He was Italian, as can be readily concluded from the start here. He was also very Catholic and he was intimately involved with his church and things related to it. He was a premier chef at one of the casinos in Reno – a very nice man who wanted a private and peaceful spot for his meditations. He is in a moderately-populated but upscale neighborhood, with a few acres, actually. The idea of a recessed area with some religious motifs around is what he very directly asked for. This would give him not only privacy, but the quiet he so craved. We excavated a huge hole about 50 feet round and 6-7 feet deep. We would use a floor of sand for a soft subsurface, put a ‘crust’ of decomposed granite about two inches thick on top of that and put a couple of rocks in strategic locations, perfect for sitting and relaxing. For walls, we used local rocks and tried to go for a sort of early Romanesque look, a little primitive, yet stacked nicely. The rocks add a sense of permanence to the overall effect. We placed a few Christian Themes around: a grotto, recessed in the wall, which would double as the “Tomb of Jesus”, an opening into which he placed his own very interesting Salvador Dali print of “Gaia On The Cross”.

The visible plants here are two Viburnums Opulus ‘Roseum’ flanking the “Crypt” and a steamy and creamy Tree Hydrangea behind. Others include junipers and some lavender, for scent. We also put a number of smaller grasses around with some perennial color, including a pitch black-bloomed Hollyhock plant.

We also made a small fountain, bubbling in small amounts but audible and visible, to double as a sort of “Lourdes”. In this picture, we reveal the small water feature, our “little Lourdes”, embedded in the rocks to the top. A kneeling figurine prays there, lending some placidity and a serene contemplative subject for the eye. As can also be seen, we dealt with potential drainage issues in such a trapped little scenario by making a sort of French Drain around the base of all the rock walls and connected to a pipe which we ran under the walls and the soil to the rear of the property, where it “daylights” and drains.

He placed statues around appropriately, for example The Pieta by the “Tomb”. It is a delightful area, rather serious, very quiet. The privacy was achieved immediately, simply by the depth of the structure. As plants develop, it will only increase the sense of isolation and privacy. It is a place of repose and meditation, an interesting project for us, and the client was delighted with the overall result.

This shot above the “Little Lourdes” goes across the top of our little Garden Grotto towards the front yard and the driveway and street. The trees at the top I arranged to be a grove of ornamental cherries (”Shirotae”) which make a spectacular Springtime look. Inasmuch as this was taken soon after completing the project, their growth is not as visible or rewarding as the current look offers, 4 years later. The branches are all nearly touching now and the blooms tend to the spectacular. There are abundant perennials planted throughout the trees near the edges of the upraised planter walls as well. One of our grasses is visible in the foreground.

We placed a meandering band of lawn, from the driveway itself, connecting generally with this aspect. Naturally, the Garden Grotto will not be seen from there, which was the initial purpose of this little sunken hideaway in the first place.

Here are some looks at this project from other angles, beginning with the actual construction of it itself:

We spent literal weeks building walls at this home. For the grotto itself, we actually went with a more primitive look than with other rock walls. I was happy with less-than-perfect, the truth was. I felt it somehow reflected the hoped-for era better……..more like a Pre-Romanesque look.

He got plenty of bells and whistles with this project, make no mistake. The Grotto was but one element of one of the more complex projects I ever worked on. Here are a few:

You got – for instance – your average gigantic tumbled brick paver rear patio:

And who could forget your very individual and rather unique Infinity Edge water feature at the end of this big old patio?

It was unique.

Among the many aspects of business a landscaper must heed in order to do business – even an individual who seldom hires help – are the multitude of thoughts dedicated to the bureaucracies who are at the periphery of life in the trade in which we work. City licenses alone require certain “must-have” requirements and they are the most basic of requirements for tradesmen anywhere. If one goes public at all, the State will be looking into pretty much everything they can, requiring resale licenses, statements relative to them, among many other potential requirements. And when I mention “periphery”, I am understating the case. The fact is, these very mechanisms determine much of what we do – like it or not.

Business Requirements at City, State and Federal levels

But among the most sensible requirements of any aspect of a business is the utter necessity of having a reasonable insurance policy. We can cry all we like about having to fill out forms for the State or Federal allowances to let us work, but insurance is something else entirely. The fact is, in a trade as risky, as public and as dollar rich as gardening and landscaping, not only is a liability insurance policy among the requirements from the agencies with whom we register, it is actually smart to have. Why?

Reasons For Insurance

- A sensible client will require a business to be insured, in the first place. His homeowner policy may very well not cover someone falling from a ladder, pruning trees. And let’s face it – your pocket may not be deep enough when the emergency brake on your pickup snaps, sending your truck into the client’s garage. While I was proud of my record over the 20 years of running businesses, there were still accidents and incidents for which I was eternally grateful I was insured. Here are some examples from my experience:

- A kid working for me – as I describe in another post – tried to save a sinking and falling wheelbarrow full of heavy rocks on the job and wrenched the snot out his back – bad. I was talking with a project manager at the time and heard a siren down the street, which we ignored. Suddenly one of my guys busts into my meeting, yelling breathlessly: “Trevor broke his back!” Argh. Yep, the ambulance was for him. He did not, of course, break his back and he actually returned to work in a few weeks after treating his strain. We kept him on some easy work for a while and, a few months later, he was back to being a human backhoe again. I love hockey players! My insurance company paid for his recovery and, yes, my Worker’s Compensation payments increased a bit for 3 years, but then leveled back out again as we worked without another incident. I shudder to imagine what it would have cost without being insured.

- We returned from the Thanksgiving Break in Reno, having had a glorious and totally rare 4 days off, only to find over $7,000 worth of equipment stolen – our big table saw for bricks, our compactor, our laser level instrument, its tripod, even wheelbarrows, shovels and rakes – gone. We arrived, nude, as it were. Another business at the same site lost a Bobcat! These were pro’s. I filled out the theft report with Police, talked to my totally sympathetic Insurance Agent and he cut a check within a week for replacement tools. My $235 a month policy paid off completely, to say the least.

- I had a truck stolen at my apartment complex where I lived – a gated community. Same deal. I was driving within a week.

Is One Company Better Than Others?

Had almost any of these events taken place with me devoid of insurance, it would have been game over for the business. Imagine the cost! Insurance can actually be the best investment among the many possibilities of using money of any in the known galaxy. There is absolutely no substitute for a good insurance policy. None. Zero.

Which brings us to another category entirely – who to insure with? I have dealt with 5 different  Insurance Agencies  in my time as a business person. It is similar to accountants, in a way, is what I found. Some companies bit into the “Expand or Die” category of businesses and became too large to relate to. I have tried calling Insurance Agents who I paid for, who put me on hold and literally forgot about me. As a business person, this is somewhere on the outer edge of tolerable. In fact, it was one of the reasons I changed companies, immediately shopping much more assiduously for someone with whom I could have a conversation who actually knew who I was on the other end of the phone. Well, I found I could get lucky. That there was a wide variation between agencies and even an equally wide variation in service. I found, in short, that the best Insurers were people who studied comparative pricing for their clients, who studied codes and new wrinkles, who answered the telephone and who corresponded with me about possible policy changes and events in their bailiwick. In short – I found there were motivated and unmotivated insurers. If you don’t believe this is huge, let me assure you – you will. Let me assure anyone considering Insuring themselves, their business or their workers – who you hire matters.

Specialists

I found out something else. Larger businesses who are busy insuring corporations, homes, Medical issues, auto’s and the likes tend to drift from specializing. Companies such as this take a call from a landscaper and send it on to someone who has – at best – a modicum of insight into conversations dealing with tree-pruning, land leveling, Bobcats costs and even the travails of landscaping labor.

I found a region of Insurers who specialized in landscaping and lawn and garden work – it was a revelation. Heck, one of them even did his own work, asking for advice, lol! It was honestly like “coming home”. What has occurred is this: With the advent of landscaping “arriving” as a legitimate trade over the past 30 years or so, added to by the enormous growth of home building and construction in general, specializing in certain areas of Horticulture and Landscape Construction became do-able. In fact, these people became what I now deem as indispensable. The Sun Belt companies all got a leg up on this movement as the rest of the nation caught on, and the bloom of Landscape Associations prompted new and more intense focus on all issues of landscaping, from water usage and conservation to Insurance. As I got more interested, personally, I began shopping around to see companies I might use myself – and then, since I became an online “trade junky”, I began trying to find plain good businesses and what that meant.

Bear Wise Landscapers

I found these guys accidentally, getting a phone call from Drew – the owner’s son – who liked this blog. As we spoke, it became clear to me that this guy was intelligent, curious and very vested in landscaping. This Insurance Agent actually enjoyed the entire field and what he did for a living. Believe me, finding someone this committed to serving landscapers and maintenance people is rare and wonderful. We spoke of theft issues, compensation rates (going down), home owner vulnerabilities, the entire gamut of vulnerabilities and successes available to landscaping. I also found out they specialize in maintenance and tree businesses as well. To make a long story, longer, I was impressed enough to write about them, able to include them in a general discussion about insurance for Landscapers in general, which I have been wanting to do for a while.

A visit to their site sees a literal blog done by Drew, discussing such issues as Compensation Rate Changes in Florida, the virtue and reasons for Theft Insurance among many other trade-specific issues. A blog, lol!

I hearted him right away.

The fact is, finding someone devoted to their own business is always worth a look, just on its own. That they are a fresh and motivated business is not just gravy – it can actually make a difference in terms of Business planning and shopping for best rates. They seem to think they may move a bit Northward, out into the South in time, but I can say without reservation that, if I were in Florida, I would call them for quotes or even to plain discuss what articles a landscape business should insure and run ideas by them. This is a very informed, up-to-date group. Their curiosity and fresh approach won me over.

I’m adding BearWise Landscapers to my Blogroll in the “Resources” section because I believe what they are doing is state-of-the-art. Their blogging indicates an interest that includes late-breaking issues. It is well-written and informative and worth a look even by persons who are not in the trade, just to get an idea of what all this all means. For persons actually in the trade, they show some straight out acumen at the insurance business. The fact that they seem to actually care is huge.

I am impressed.

Inasmuch as we specailize in water features of all types, I will make some general comments here, then break them down into categories in future posts. But first, let’s take a stroll and see what it is about waterfalls that so catches our fancy:

(these are made to view enlarged – left click to do so, maybe even twice, for more detail)

Nature gives us these incredible sights which focus the senses, get us wet and still just fill us up with wonder.

We see Chaos and Order at once in the most raw natural waterfalls, as if Nature Herself made a miscalculation and She wants to remind us of the sheer destructive and awesome power of water itself. The sheer volume of noise alone makes you need to shout to be heard and silences even the busiest mouth (Quite a handy Nature Trip for some who will remain nameless ):

We look over the top of these – at our most curious – and we see why they exist and how unassuming they seem, wandering their way to such a ‘falling’ pass – then becoming something else entirely besides “just some swollen creek”.

Getting closer quiets the mind and reveals more – and we love it, wanting that at “our place!”

This one could be rough to imitate, in the end. This one you can walk under – (It’s Silver Falls in Oregon.)

There is truly nothing like the sound and motion of water in a landscape. Absolutely nothing outside of earthquakes and volcanos. Nature makes a scene with all those rushing and deafening roars or even its smaller lush and strangely full-throated gurgling sounds. Those of brooks or even the larger cascading monsters are all possible to reenact in a landscape, right out one’s own door. Well – that is, to a degree. In terms of sizes, we can manually construct some wild stuff, especially these days with the advent of all the tricky machinery at hand not only used for the construction itself but also for the amazingly efficient and long-lasting pumps we can produce to motor that water over an edge.  Here is a diesel-powered waterfall I once worked on:

And here is a City Scape – (same theme, water, water, water and lots of it, running fast!) – this is Ira Keller Falls in Portland, Oregon, with a skinny-dipping bloke, waiting for his opportunity. I can’t take this guy anywhere, I swear:

But, frankly, the chances are great we will end up settling for less at home. This, of course, is just a guess

More manageable, not quite so deafening, we opt for the same wonder, just on a different scale. Yes, we do Formal as well as Natural:

More natural:

The process is actually rather simple, in a way, with some decided conundrums, but many folks have done their own water features and of course landscapes quite admirably and successfully. Indeed, for those who are inclined, some of the very best water features I have ever seen are those of “puttering” homeowners.
Like all landscaping projects, constructing a waterfall system, no matter of what ilk, whether formal or natural, requires intensive labor. Excavations are required, rocks and liners placed, cement work, electrical puzzles need fixing as well as the many and varied engineering problems which have to be borne in mind, including settling of soils after excavation and the new weight of water itself.
Professionals who specialize in such constructions know most of these various items to watchful of.  Splash loss, for example, the subsequent water replacement, their times and duration. Indeed, even the replacement system iself, are huge issues unless one wants to consider manually filling his water with a garden hose daily in Summer when evaporation is such an issue.
In short, don’t let me misstate things – water features are fairly complex. They possess many puzzles, some which only appear later for the unwary. It must be said too – Add that they are costly. An installation of a water feature is a “marriage”, of sorts with the constructor. One wants to know those who constructed it and who are now most familiar with its installation will be around in later seasons to help guide the homeowner in the proper direction for maintenance issues. Having said this, a curious client and student can teach himself darn near all he needs to know. It isn’t rocket surgery, after all.

Contractors are infamous for many things which become typical and almost, (in their defense) unavoidable. Time issues and constraints are the primary worries they have. Notifying people that they might be late to an appointment, or maybe not coming at all is one of the primary sources of exasperation for potential clients. Time, for the contractor is everything and some handle it better than others. I was once told simply answering the telephone would be the best method of acquiring work. It turned out they were very nearly correct.

Here are a few “for what it’s worth” rules, some etched in stone, some not, when you consider hiring a guy to come in, make a huge mess and completely take over the land around you:

1. In the states where it matters, make sure he has a contractor’s license, first and foremost. Does he/she have references? From clients? Did you check them? You should. Another rather primary consideration would be acquiring other bids, although there are times when the eyeball test and a client’s intuitions can over rule this, based on many other factors, including reputation.

2. Does he or she work with you? If a homeowner has ideas of their own, I always treat that as half the battle in terms of design. It makes my job easier, not harder when someone has a notion and a concept of what they want. Plus, you can feel more involved, as a client, literally designing your own place.

3. Do you have a budget? This matters hugely. It does not pay to set a budget then try and work underneath it. What works best, ultimately, is to design a wished-for scenario/environment, have the guy work on it at home, then get back about what he thinks it might cost, ballpark. At least, that’s my normal modus operandi. If indeed, it appears your budget will work, and if, by some lucky stroke of nature or your own brainpower, your original budgeting leaves you extra money, Great!

4. Typical pay schedules: I typically do the following: 50% up front, 25% at the midway point on larger projects, then the final 25% at the conclusion of the job………when satisfied! Another approach I have used divides the c0ntract by thirds. 33% up front, 1/3 halfway through, then the final 33% on satisfactory completion. There is a reason for all this. Typical costs for doing work involve enormous up front expenses for landscaping. Soil, bricks, water pumps – in short, nearly everything except for plants and grass occur almost immediately upon entering the project. And this omits such other costs as payroll, machines/tool rentals and the rest, many of which are specialized to landscaping for most-specific tasks. Let me be clear – no one gains from stressing a tradesman’s ability to purchase products for your project.

And who wouldn’t want to pay this guy?

A landscaper’s references will depend, in the end, on how happy or upset he left his client when all was said and done. At times, the gnarly little details can derail everyone’s satisfaction. Landscapers should meet this reality head-on. It’s why they ask for more than just what the gig costs, after all. Pleasing a finicky client is not a problem for the best at what they do. And – to any client or potential client – Do not be afraid to mention small things. They are also a part of the job. Being aware has never been a crime that I know of. The music to a landscaper’s ear, and, yes, I have heard this, is the following: “We knew it would be pretty, but we had no idea it would be this beautiful!” This is what happens when all things proceed with a relationship based on respect.

5. I have mixed some stuff together, but hope it becomes clear that professionalism is not an option in this trade. It is an absolute must. It is an expensive trade, often following the rules of anywhere from 5% to 15% of the value of a house. This is serious money. If you have a bad feeling about someone related to his professionalism or lack thereof, then do NOT use him. A person can be casual without being sloppy.

6 Sign a contract. No if’s and’s or but’s. Make sure the language is crystal clear and you should have zero problems.

7. Check progress. There is nothing worse than a landscape contractor realizing 90% into a project that the client is not happy with something. If there is an item missing, a troubled client needs to make it known. We expect, as contractors, to hear these things from clients. Alas, we are not perfect either. I wish I had a buck for every client who saved me by mentioning a problem he was having and, ahem, thought maybe I had forgotten about, say, the garden sculpture. Or the, um, grass, heh heh.

Conversely, when a client realizes that perhaps the design they both agreed to does somehow just plain not work, a few words with the contractor right away might just rescue things. Landscaping can be very fluid – the realities on the ground can become problematic with some weird events – the discovery of underground cables, a huge boulder impossible to move, etc -  so do not hesitate to ask questions or offer opinions. The contractor may ask you as well, of course, about adjustments owing to these events. Be flexible and creative. In the end, as ever – The only dumb question is the one not asked.

8. Remember this: (I tell every single client I have the following words:) “Landscaping is 80% preparation and 20% finishing. ” There will be an unholy mess, with machines moving dirt all over and mud and seeming chaos. Beirut of the 70’s. Fear not. We know what’s up. Longer projects can be exasperatingly dusty or dirty. Just remember how the final result will make one feel. A bit of patience here is called for and very much appreciated.

In the end, we’re looking for something to feel wonderful about. It is possible, too.

I’m recirculating this one. I have added an extra treat below, complete with the live and red hot Salvador Dali.

I absolutely adore this guy. To me, he is the greatest guitarist who ever lived. Born in a Gypsy Gitano caravan in southern France, Manitas de Plata became famous for his guitar work at a young age. Upon hearing him play in 1964, Pablo Picasso is said to have exclaimed “that man is of greater worth than I am!” and proceeded to draw on the guitar. An American manager obtained a booking for him to play a concert in Carnegie Hall in New York in December 1965.

In New York, Manitas de Plata, who was illiterate, represented Europe at the yearly gala of the United Nations.

He still tours and he is one of the fathers of the Gipsy Kings, a fabulous group of musicians enjoyed the world over. This is a bit long, but it does not take long to get a feel for his tremendous gift. Enjoy!

As promised:

(click images to enlarge – they get bigger if you click again – most of them)

This is the front yard of the project in question. Those exceptionally healthy-looking Ponderosa Pines tell us we are quite a bit above Reno, Nevada. In fact, it is well on the route to Lake Tahoe via the highway which tops the hill about 15 miles later at 9,900 feet above sea level.

This clients were an older couple who were based both in San Diego and Reno. The man of the house had an extremely active interest in the landscape. He also had his “wish list” of items – he wanted a nice, roaring water feature off his back deck, a walkway bisecting the back yard with turnabouts/patios at each end and – he was adamant – a vineyard. He also wanted a gas-fed fire pit in one of the patios. The goal was to “complete” the total yard. Our interest therefore was pretty much completely out back where he often entertained and sat and considered ponderous thoughts like “Will Steve drink another wine?”   Great guy, generous but really involved. Anyway, so we went to work. We paved our way to the back yard with an access road and carried all you see 100′ to the “back 20″.

Pictures of this project pick up from the point of construction of the waterfall set at the back of his thin but 150 feet wide back yard. The falls sets up the running water in the creek and it is a rambunctious one, running a good rate of water with some serious sound qualities. From the raised deck above, I rate the sound factor as a home run. It is throaty and deep, but not overwhelming so no one has to raise a voice to be heard. I sort of regret not taking earlier pictures, but it should be fairly obvious that we did our typical build. Liner underneath and rocks placed to give as naturalistic a picture as possible. I also wanted the river course itself to be deep, so I excavated more than usual. I was interested in hiding underwater lighting under the water at various points and the raised level of observation would compromise that. It made for an interesting depth which somehow seemed more real than many others, as if formed from a true chasm.

Work also proceeded at other locations while we constructed the falls and creek.

As is obvious, it began getting cold. We were on the verge of Winter when we got underway and it did not disappoint. Just the same, planting in these conditions is still fine. At the very end is our “vineyard”. It also shows an antique wagon tucked in behind that we picked up at some second hand dealer and carted back to the job site on a trailer. It was pricey but it was effective. It gave an Old West sort of ambiance to the overall project which we later exploited with a wagon wheel or two in the landscape. The grape plants, by the way, grew from the day we put them in. Grapes really do have a remarkable growth rate when happy and – the fact is – they get happy in some pretty bad soils. Grapes are a landscaper’s friend, in my opinion. That is a reliable plant. These were green grapes, climatically suited for the Reno alkaline soils as well as the hard-freezing climate conditions. They simply thrived here. There was a monster crop at the end of the first year.

Here’s a late season look at the vineyard and the wagon on a dark November day as we hustle to try and get the stamped concrete walk in place. The flags and paint represent the excavations to come.

We begin excavating and calling for cement. It takes a couple of days to get everything set up just right. The excavated material, by the way, will be used to set a bearm to the creekward side of the walkway-to-be.

We got blessed by great and surprising amounts of sunshine for the period of the project and there were smiles all around. I remember worrying about some weather front which missed us. The set up took an extra day. There’s more work here than it appears!

Finally, we got it poured and our walkway was now completed.

We re-graded and smoothed out the bearms and planted some more plants, but we basically took off for the Winter after most of this. The next time we came back was about 3 months later.

Here’s a shot of one of the wagon wheels along with a wide angle look at the creek and the final basin (where the pump is) itself:

However, we did get a marvelously sunny day to get some pics before leaving.

When Spring rolled around, we were suddenly able to finish things. We had grass to lay, mulch to put in, more lighting to tweak, fertilizing on the mind, salvaging a couple of Winter-damaged plants – the usual Springtime stuff. We put in the grass in short order:

Things were very much taking shape now. We were on a definite finishing roll.

My buddy and work mate Raoul and I stand somewhat triumphantly over our “slain dragon”. This is the finished look at the source of the creek and the noise.

Another shot and one I feature in this blog a few other places. It’s a particular favorite because I think it reflects my sensibility about the “depth issue” of the creek as a slow moving but still-substantial artifice, as natural as we could make it. Yup, that is another wagon wheel!

A look at the Main Patio, at the opposite end of the property from the vineyard and wagon. This one has that gas-fed fire pit in the center, yet still has room for tables and chairs. Yes, I had some fun with the boulders, as usual. The “cut” between the boulders in the distance essentially drains the property in the event of overdoes of precipitation. It has a small rock creek dry bed of some real gorgeous river rocks. Plus, it works!

This was a design and build home run, one of my favorite ever projects. Not only were the people great but they allowed some license and were proud of the overall accomplishment. They also had a stash of incredibly good wine. Oh wait – I said that.

Anyway, here’s what it looked like in Autumn – and, yes, we did plant for it. Thise spectacular maples are by design. Down at the end are the grapes after one year. What’d I tell you?

I am running extremely whimsical with this. In a way, I am just showing pictures from my Mighty Massive photo file system which have not appeared here before. New blood, as it were.

It also gives a chance to plain have some fun without too much hyped-up thematic discipline, so it’s even cooler. The pic below is my brother Mike posing with our very own Mother, often referred to as “Mom”.  They both seem reasonably happy, so why not etch that rare moment on historical online Eternity? I lied, of course. We spend most of our time laughing, the truth is.

Anyways, sashay with me through various and sundry pictures, none of which match.

(left click all images to enlarge – sometimes twice for real detail)

Here’s a hole in the wall at the Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon.

Modernistic planting, somewhere.

A highly-suspicious plant.

Some interesting Iron Work a very good iron man did at a project of ours.

The Portland Japanese Garden is inspiring, quiet and beautiful. Even the fish agree:

Yew Dell Gardens in Fall. Dude could use a haircut and a shave.

Now, this is a river.

Multnomah Fall just outside of Portland.

I always loved traveling this stretch of road between Reno and Portland, Oregon. It was about 540 miles – which is a grind no matter how scenic – but this approach to Mt. Hood not only meant I was getting into more treed areas, it also meant I was within about 60 miles of home. Even in Summer – with the snow nealy gone – Mt. Hood was like a relaxing sight.

Dealing with the desert – you can find some strangeness, for sure. Here is a mulch only a lizard could love. The good news is it grew up nicely.

Prune This!!!!!!!!!!

This is a lot of moving water. 6,000 gallons a minute, to be exact.

Making Bubble Rocks can put you in some tight spaces.

And some are tighter than others:

I always have liked what we did in making this little creek.

I absolutely love this picture. I shamelessly add it here, not knowing where I got it. I hope the author does not mind.

“Sobering” applies to this military cemetery in Louisville, I’d think. It is amazing quiet here. Speaking as a veteran, I often wish more of us would visit these places. You’d be amazed at how many connections you have here and elsewhere.

You know you’re up early when this sight greets you on the drive to work. Of course, then again, it could be lunch time in the Yukon in December.

Would this be called a “Green Building”?

Here’s something you DON’T want to see when you get low on gas.

Those nutty Barcelonans will do anything for a laugh.

An interesting landscaping idea?

Here’s Louis XIV and an escaped horse in downtown Louisville.

This is what it’s like driving from Reno, over the mountain to lake Tahoe in Winter.

A patio and landscaping project in Portland.

You don’t see rocks like this every day. Nor woodwork, for that matter.

An interesting Architectural feature from the Portland, Oregon Chinese Garden.

The Truckee River as it courses through the midst of downtown Reno, Nevada. This shot is at the head of the fabricated kayak run, designed for competitions. Yes, it is in the middle of town.

A luxury swimmin’ hole we helped construct in the woods near Lake Tahoe. We did everything on top – just not the pool itself. The paving, rocks and all that are ours,

Interestingly, modern recommendations in tree-planting have become much more “Nativistic” regarding soils. Whereas, the ’70’s and ’80’s had everyone running for copious amounts of compost and better materials for the bedding of new plantings, current thinking has changed. In a way, it is actually more casual. Anyway, the reasons make sense. I also have to believe a smarter selectivity of species puts this idea over the top in terms of credibility as well. Landscape designers and even DIY homeowners do enough – or should do anyway – reading these days to be acquainted with Zonal tolerances. This is a huge concept, as the many folks digging up and replacing what looked so great for a year or two have found out.

(Left click any image to enlarge – they are designed for this larger view)

In the end, the “simplicity” referred to above indicates these days that planting in native soils is by far the most intelligent method of planting. A “native soil” is the dirt you already have. Heck, it could have come from down the road or about anywhere at all, but it is what a homeowner must refer to as “native” because it’s what he’s got. There, that solves a definition!   And these can most certainly vary wildly in terms of Ph, clay content and draining issues and, unfortunately – contaminants. In this case, I don’t use the “C” word with respect to much of anything more than the typical spills of diesel, oils and hydraulics that come from any job site where the earth has been adjusted or added by an excavation. But I mention it from first-hand experience – and disappointing experience at that. To wit:

In my experience, my nursery suppliers used to wait long periods for me to bring back some poor dead plant. They were always sort of surprised when I did and they were always more than delighted to replace them for free, simply owing to the fact that I made them live pretty much more than just about anyone else. But everyone has a “turkey”, I reckon. I had a large Scotch Pine we had planted in a hugely prominent area which always seemed to plain lag in development. In fact, it was a one way visit to Dead, the truth was. It surprised me because my record for successfully planting the huge specimens I loved dealing with was pretty much 100%. Well, we undid the guy wires and staking, dug the sucker out at great pain and finally replaced it with a gorgeous replacement – which started going downhill, almost immediately. The needles yellowed, making me wonder if we had not over watered it somehow. We went to the drastic moves, one at a time. Adding Superthrive (a great refurbishing root hormone with crazy art work on the little bottles), then adding some M-Roots, another tactic which literally regrows an alternative root system. Ugh – nothing worked and she blinked out on us. It was obviously in the dirt.

It turns out, yes, it was. Somehow, the area of this soil was so utterly concentrated with diesel, hydraulic fluid and the rest that we found out it was indeed the spot where all the machinery had been serviced for the entire neighborhood during the initial excavations. Obviously – and too late – we discovered what a simple soil analysis which cost a red hot $25 told us – that the soil was poison. Anyway, we took more samples as we excavated, discarded and completely replaced the soil and we were golden. The next tree we replanted grew nicely and is still looking good today. So here are 2 lessons: don’t take your soil for granted and don’t hesitate to get it analyzed. For the record, no matter how many amendments we may have added for this tree, the roots would have eventually discovered this little Mine of Death.

Eventually, every single plant escapes the “planting zone” where it was initially planted. From that point on, what is native is what will either sustain it or kill it. Yes, I most definitely augment my plantings with some amending components. Inasmuch as most of any landscaper’s products come, pampered and spoiled, from nurseries, one wants to lessen the shock of transplantation. So I add the obligatory Vitamin B, even sometimes toss in some Super Thrive or a bit of root hormone just to get them going. I over-excavate as well, for sure. Loosening the soil for a young plant is merely smart. There are some stunning compaction levels in even the most regular soils, particularly if they have a severe clay content. That density can definitely retard a plant’s rooting process, so some over excavation is definitely called for – usually about twice the size of the root ball itself. Now this can mean some real digging!

Now THAT’s a root ball!

I will also admit that certain soils I encounter need less than the hearty monster excavations. Softer soils can accommodate a virtual slit planting for success. Water and grab a beer.

In the end, successful planting requires just a bit of forethought and some luck. Needless to say watering is a huge key at the onset. I actually rarely fertilize my young trees and plants, outside of some liquid additives. such as the hormones and Vitamin B I mentioned to lessen the shock. I did have good luck using water soluble fertilizers, especially at planting times when the blooms were about to burst. A little Miracle Gro, which is almost immediately systemically-absorbed, can be reflected in mere days with a glorious result. But this is more salesmanship and client-stroking than the more long-term effects we are most definitely looking for.

Here – below -  is a bad scan only a landscaper could like. This is the 10 acre residence I have spoken of often enough in here – the one which had a semi-catastrophic rain and snow event which required much regrading – next door. We got all his water plus the hillside above which stretched for countless acres. It was The Deluge. Anyway, you can see we planted in virtual “dust” from looking at the hillside itself. You can also see the style and sizes of the plants we planted with regularity in the line-up of root balled Cherries and Crab’s in the bottom picture. We got about a truck a day for a while with about 3 times the amount of plants shown there. The large Sequoia in the “root ball picture” above was also for this property. It was 22 feet high and absolutely gorgeous. Planting was absurdly easy here and the fact is, aside from The Deluge, everything grew like crazy.

Nor did I add anything to that soil. It is a lake basin-type soil, soft and non-clayish, mostly very sandy. It required severe adjustments in terms of watering, however, where we settled for watering often after initial deep waterings, as opposed to watering for sustained periods. That’s another useful trick – an analysis of soil can determine watering frequencies. Clay-ish soils will require far, far less water than sandier types.

Needless to say, by the way, everything mentioned about trees applies to plants. Yes, all plants very in their particular needs, thus some research is still required for Zonal tolerances. But it can be quite surprising which plants can literally adjust, with maintenance – or lack thereof. The Variegated dogwood shrubs, for example, adapt to Reno, Nevada’s high-alkaline typically near-desert soils by dropping their leaves and by those leaves breaking down, supplying a natural rise in acidic levels by a natural process.

And some patience is most definitely required as we let them develop. After all, the pictures below show the difference two short years makes in a landscape.

Two years later:

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too!

Or you can also hire out a few million guys and build your own irrigation system, just like Julius Caesar did!

We plant trees for as many reasons as there are – well – trees. Some of them we plant to provide shade and to change the weather around our homes – which they do like few other things. We will often consider their foliage at the time of selection, looking for something especially appealing perhaps, say with Fall Color.

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These proud eventual behemoths dominate and define out gardens and lawns, adding a sense of permanence, shade and beauty. Their shapes tend to offer a completely wide range of opportunities, from climbing them for kids – always a never-ending source of pleasure as I recall – to the entire “shade” provision, with such things as fruits, pretty and interesting bark textures and smells added.

Blooming trees tend to occupy a mid range of heights. It’s rare to find trees which put out seriously gorgeous blooms getting over 30 feet high. Some Tulipfera’s can get up there. Out West, some Locusts dangle fabulous clumps of Wysteria-like blossoms for a couple of weeks and they can get very high.  Their one weakness, in my history of dealing with them is that they are a very soft wood. Wind just decimates them, in the end, or huge snowfalls. Having said that, some have survived well indeed and they produce these gorgeous blooms every Spring. This is the Purple Robe variety.

The Deeper South and California can grow some huge blooming trees, such as Jacaranda and Crepe Myrtles. I have not been fortunate enough to play with these species, personally, so my opinion of them remains that of the kid with his nose foggily pressed against the window at the Toy Display at Christmas.

Generally, if I am looking for something to provide blooms, I tend towards those trees which produce impressively. Now, of all these mid-height specimens, there is another range of considerations dealing with timing. The Laburnum (Golden Chain) bloomer in the picture below tend to show up in late Spring. This gives a chance for the earlier blooming Cherries, Plums, Crabapples and the likes to do their thing either before or concurrently with these guys. You’ll even notice a rare Rhodendron sighting in this picture, tucked in close to the house on a “North” side – the only possible positioning for Rhodies in Reno, Nevada.

We place them in locations where they can dominate during their heyday, while waiting for the more Summer loving perennials and grasses develop. Prominently-displayed, blooming trees make quite a statement. Nor do they have to be huge to be quietly effective.

Later, when developed more fully is when we see the pure splendor of the best blooming trees. They can literally take your breath away standing near one or walking by. The simple profuseness of some of the Cherry Trees and Crabs is simply mind-boggling.

We watch the stages as the blooms form, then burst out. It is some great Natural Theatre.

Th real winners are those with some age to them. I love what so many City and Private Parks display on a routine basis. How on Earth can one improve on settings such as these?:

From the Portland, Oregon Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden:

I suspect that railing will never be the same “after Paul”, lol.  Pretty nice, though, you have to admit. The designers of Parks have all those great aspects such as time and maintenance to make their stuff work.

But how pretty the blooms are from even the most average of Blooming Cherries?

(It is all of 7 degrees here in Louisville, Kentucky, as I write this. It was a balmy 27 yesterday at times,  so I am more driven to see something to mitigate this Winter pain. My stay in Louisville has been marvelous from a strictly people aspect. Taking care of my Mother is like – well – it IS actually – a walk in the park. No stress, lots of family for a change and my peripatetic daughter is in classes in San Diego. Life is good – if freaking cold. And it is cold. I do not much like it, lol. Let me rephrase this – it is dreadful. I am far too ‘West Coast-ish’, if that’s a term, which 42 years there would do to one. Plus, we get another few months of this, unless Global Warming gets it done!

This post was composed in May of 2009. It is a long one, filled with pictures of flowers, lakes, sun, ducks and some writing about someone I don’t mind reposting about – a fine person. Just to keep the Springtime vibes alive, read and I hope you enjoy:)

“Extravagance” is the term I am so often set with concerning Rhododendrons. Like the Proteus plant, the simple size, girth and literal glamor of the bloom have few peers anywhere. The profuseness of a Rhododendron when in bloom I honestly believe has no peer anywhere in Nature. I love so many plants – they have been my stock in trade – but this one hovers in another sphere of general gorgeousness.

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In the Northwest, there are rhododendron gardens all over the place. This week (May) in Florence, Oregon – on the Oregon Coast – there is a Rhododendron Festival, a full-fledged Rhodie fest complete with parades and displays and thousands of believers. Of course, everyone loves a party – so there is that. It’s been a long winter here – so there is that as well. But they’ve been having this particular festival for long years now. Love for the Rhododendron is not new here.

When I lived in British Columbia, naturally a mainstay for visitors was the trip over to Butchart Gardens in Victoria – a world-famous garden and rightfully so, rich indeed with its own stash of thousands of rhododendrons and azaleas, like this Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in Portland, just 4 times bigger and ten times more groomed and cultivated.

Naturally, there are plants other then Rhodies to slake the thirst for extravagant beauty. Take these pictures, above and below, of Double File Viburnums – how those branches seem to be wearing epaulets of blooms down their long arms, making them appear to be wearing instead of producing them.

These are somewhat groomed for the appearance, yet this plant casually shoots off these blooms in a very regular fashion no matter how determined its pruners are to show off.

Other places in British Columbia and Washington have rhododendron festivals. And many, many other places have small parks – often made by devoted Rhodites (my newest shiniest original English! ) on farmland or just a once-open bit of land where someone tinkered themselves into some stunningly magnificent park, for which they collect money to visit and for which I was always so grateful to pay, just to see those exotics and bizarre rare species of Rhododendrons which eccentrics would specialize in. These were once virtual Hobby Farms, now ranked as parks. And there are more than one thinks.

I recall landscaping an estate in BC – 10 acres set in deep woods with 2,000 year old Douglas Fir stumps whose bodies had been felled in the original flurry of construction at the turn of the 20th Century, filled with a gassy pitch and crumbling peat-like deteriorated cores. One ravine near the home was particularly suited for Rhodies – deep shade with some dappled sunlight. I resolved to fill it with my own brand of a similar park but, naturally, budget concerns worried me immensely.

I consulted my usual nursery and had a line on some great buys of very small starter rhodies – with, naturally, a very restricted base of species and color. It weighed upon me as I drove the back roads of Langley and Surrey, BC, which was where my project was located.

While driving, I happened across a home – just caught by a glance out to the right of my window – where it appeared someone had themselves what looked like their own private nursery. I was curious and always looking for deals and I knew how cash spoke to growers – always subject to the whims of their small market of buyers. I braked, reversed and drove into the drive way.

As I drove in, I noticed a dilapidated older car parked, its door open and some cigarette smoke wafting from the driver’s seat. Walking up the small rise, I also noticed that as far as I could see, the entire nursery was of Rhododendrons. It stretched at least 100 feet to my left and was a good 20 rows deep of large – some huge – rhodies. This was a gold mine of specimens – gigantic and mature plants – and a variety to literally die for. I was nearly shaking after beholding all this because I really knew what I had found. (Hey, you had to be there.)

The man in the car was very old now – 77 – a Russian immigrant whose wife was cooking inside and whose relaxation and privacy included this car to a degree I speculate was pretty intense. He coughed and looked up as I stood outside the door of his smoking chamber and gave a big smile. He was delighted to have company. It made a great start to a long and wonderful relationship. How no one had found this man is still beyond me to this day. I am positive he never would have sold Plant One had I not stopped by – or some other young and enterprising landscaper – there is that.

He had a hothouse where he was cultivating starts – some from seed – and always had. He just loved Rhododendrons. As we ambled around the stock, his 6 foot 6 inch frame would bend over at a particular plant and I would get its very history. He knew each plant like children. It put a near religious reverence to the entire operation, I swear. Some of the newer Rhodies were 3 feet tall, lined up before being separated later to accommodate for their later growth. Meanwhile, some of the others were a true 8 feet tall – worth thousands of dollars each and too large even for me to relocate. I was boggled beyond belief.

He asked if I wanted to buy some of them, getting the hint when I told him I was a landscaper. Naturally, I said yes and awaited his pricing with some trepidation. “Which ones do you want?” he asked. When I showed him a 5 foot high plant in full bloom which any nursery would charge a full $400-500 for, he looked at me, squinted in the sunlight and said:

“What would you say if I wanted $25?”

I laughed and said I would take it, of course. “Well, how many do you want?” was his next question. He then ran off the list, pointing to each plant and never going above 50 bucks for any plants – even the most extravagant and large. It became almost embarrassing and there was no way I was going to rip him off after the efforts he had put in. I gave him a figure that doubled or tripled what he had asked and he started blinking, counting up the dough. I also said I would begin with 100 plants. There was no way I was leaving that field without buying as many as I could.

He was delighted, but I was not done. I wanted to know why he wanted to sell them at such discounts after all the love he had labored over to get them started. I asked him point blank. He was so easy to talk with, it was crazy. We had definitely hit it off.

“Well, I am dying. I never wanted to make some big amount of money off these plants. There was a landscaper I used to sell 3-4 to now and then and it would be some cash for us. I spent a lifetime logging and doing the garden here just became a lot more of a hobby than I thought it would. We had all this land and it’s great land – perfect for Rhodies. If I could make sure the Missus has a few things before I go, I would be real happy. Heck, the land here is worth enough to retire on if we sold it. The Rhodies are just sort of gravy.”

He had a heart condition which gave him about a year to live. He had found out earlier that very week, it turns out. It’s funny how events gravitate towards one another in life. He looked at me with some real big eyes, smiled and knocked me over:

“I was hoping you would come by,” he said.

I felt overwhelmed by events on this boring Wednesday afternoon as I made my way through another torridly-paced business day, lit up on vanity, career concerns and selfish business worries like a junky. Then this tall Russian elderly drink of water delivered that line which I have never forgotten. Among my life’s religious events, I always reflect on this moment as one of those. The suddenness and raw clarity of a synchronicity of need and of something more – maybe just Love itself – made its way deeply into my heart like a bolt of lightning.

A few tears streamed down my face as I drove home that day, in a bizarre mix of gratitude, joy, and simple awe at the outrageous unthinking compliance of Fortune itself. Oh – and I made me a great friend. That should be assumed.

Well, he lived for another two years. I was young and just starting out in landscaping but I had enough dust to provide his grateful hands with about $6,000 in purchases and – Man! – did I ever make out, too. I also bought one of those 8 footers. It took all day for 3 guys to transplant it at the new spread. The timing was stunningly apt – it had just begun blooming and, once planted, was in full flower when their homeowners – a local builder – had their house-warming party. Their gratitude for my work was pretty much off the charts and I won an award for the job – my first ever.

Today, that plant might fetch the entirety of what I paid for all 300 plants I got from Vladimir.

I did not plan to write all that but it’s one of those “Rhodie stories” I have that seemed natural to share. After all, one good turn deserves another, doesn’t it?