Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Landscaping at the lunatic fringe of wealth, like carpeting at the lunatic fringe of wealth, or any other contracting trade, is its own class. Whereas it is a most heavenly possibility to help relieve these people from their overburdened wallets and bank accounts, the results can be disappointing, sad to say. Let’s just leave it at the point that not every encounter with the Uber-Wealthy is a positive experience. In fact, it’s about 50-50, the truth is.

I will absolutely not name names in my blog, other than referring to conversations of a casual or humorous nature. But I can tell of stories where people were strikingly miserable who were wealthy into the hundreds of millions and even billions. They’re people too! They need landscaping and all that stuff. Let’s just say – on a personal level – in many cases people get predictably suspicious of others when they have a lot. There is something to the adage that plenty yields some paranoia. Sometimes, a whole dam lot of it. In some cases, it becomes a threat to your own security. The rich play by their own sets of rules. In fact, many is the time that they make them up!

Anyway, rather than continue this line, knowing nothing we can say will change things that much, just know that merely working for impressive people with “beyond-impressive” homes is not some automatic entree to becoming rich one’s self. You can also go broke working for them – and almost just as easy. Sometimes – through no real fault of your own.

Here’s the third most expensive home in the US: (weighing in at a mere $100 million)

Here’s the pool! That’s marble, by the way.

Now, I admit, that was something of a freak show. In one case, it may well have been the most nervous time I ever spent landscaping. We literally had to transport ourselves in a huge excavator, complete with about an 8 ton boulder in our grasp, for placing in a water feature I regret to say I have no pictures of. The slightest rock or article in the way as we crept inside could have tipped the machine enough to scar the walls – or worse, of course – of the granite facing, there was that little tolerance. In fact, we graded and raked towards a perfect finish underneath, just so we could get that monster machine between the walls without incident. It was a white knuckle experience, right off the get go. In fact, as interesting as this project might seem to an outsider, it was a small version of Hell in many ways, there were so many eyes, including the owners – on us at all times. Nor did we last – lol, there were a total of 5 different companies who worked on the project, jettisoned one after another like players on a chessboard. Some projects are not worth the trouble, frankly. And that’s a tough lesson.

Now here’s a mere 17 million dollar home. Now we’re slumming!! Actually, this homeowner was in the dumps at various times for reasons which were his own, lol. I confess, I never really cared for the dude. He once referred to it as a “dump”. Go figure. Fortunately, we were contracted by the builder, rather than the owner, so we almost got paid completely! Oh – I almost forgot – it’s rare to get all your money with many of the more miserable of these types. What really makes that odd is the generation of higher prices to begin with for the proactive contractor, familiar with their ways. I once literally gave a rebate to a client in this category of wealth because he paid his bill in full. I’m not kidding, either. It may well have been the best few bucks I ever spent too. He sent more people my way than I had time to do.

So here’s what $450,000 worth of landscaping will get you: (bear in mind the more open areas were filled with perennial and annual plants and some very gorgeous lamps and lighting which were articles of beauty on their own at about $250 a piece, copper tulips, in fact, with blooms for lights, all multicolored. It is typical of this site that my pictures are made either during construction or soon – like real soon – after completion. We then move on.)

That waterfall there is a two part deal, branching out at the top and going in both directions. Here is the other side of it:

From the street, here is a longer range view:

Nor were these the only water features! We installed this one up by the front door.

It’s rather hard to make out owing to the fact that our drip irrigation  sprayers were on at the time. Those Aspens, by the way, were our additions. 30′ feet high, it was a mighty tight fit putting them in so close to the house. They each weighed a couple of tons and were placed by a monstrous hydraulic tree spade, along with some Noble and White Firs we placed at other locations nearby.

Anyway, here is what the little water feature looked like in process. From this:

To this, then the finished product above. What was funny was that we decided to toss this in as a “toss-in”:

It had one humongous rear patio of stamped concrete:

The stone work was a triumph, however. These walls really add to the overall ambiance terrifically:

The driveway was an interesting mix of brick pavers and stamped concrete.

I really enjoyed the brick work on this project. It worked out outstandingly. Note the Firs in the picture above. Those we also planted, same with the Aspens. Here is a look at the large trees we inserted before we worked on the pavers. One is before we finished the project and the other is after. Of perhaps even more interest is a look at the wild numbers of electrical wiring, pipes and the general traffic in underground services, shown only slightly in the picture just below. Wiring for lights was inserted at the same time as the irrigation piping, irrigation wiring, electrical for the pumps running the water feature (220V) and even power for the heat tape and security gate which goes under the brick driveway:

Stressful at times, yet often resulting in sublime satisfaction for purely selfish reasons as an artisan and tradesman, projects such as these are what we literally die for.

I have a few of these cataloged and I await some pictures from my brother which include other outrageous projects, all of which mixed pleasure and pain in ample amounts – and in every conceivable way.

Why not? My oft-stated and not-so-secret love affair with dirt, rocks, machinery and design reflects my equal regard for the one Greatest Human Quality Known To Man:  Occasional Silence.

These sorts of things don’t talk back. They don’t criticize or try and take my Pot of Gold. They sit and wait for my touch in a way that is most yielding and totally compliant. I can pick them up, drop them – in place or on the way – and they’ll just wait to get picked up. I swear, if “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend”, then large rocks, lots of dirt, a piece of blank paper and a gorgeous mini-excavator are this Man’s Best Friends.

OK, my bad.

And this guy:

(click any image to enlarge)

Let us proceed…………….

My reminiscences about all these projects are filled with a definite sense of accomplishment, I readily admit. Probably compensatory at that, so yes, there is an egotistical sucker underneath all this nice guy persona. But I still enjoy sharing!!

Let me take this moment to remember as well those guys and the gals who worked along beside me, doing stuff I am almost positive I could not have done at my best. Patient, long-suffering and dedicated work mates made my trade (and still make it so) my own version of pleasure in the most wholesome and healthy ways. Every day there were huge laughs – great explosions following someone’s screw-up or a joke told at an incredibly poor time.  Ironies and lying were often featured, carrying monstrous weight as elements of the day. Patient and hilarious, one often waited for the “catch”. Hiding among trees or behind machinery was great sport for a sneaky physical attack. A true phantasmagorical experience, working with dirt and mud among people who just knew they should know better. There is a farmer with a sense of humor in all of us. We got to exercise that homely Beast. And, hey – Hardly a day passed when I did not bless my good fortune at sharing all this – no matter how brutally grim and dismal it sometimes seemed. In fact – all the more so at those times. I have always felt richest in the people with whom I have shared the labor than in any other category. Driving home at the end of a day – endorphins irradiating all my available and very exposed pleasure centers – I often wondered if life got any better.

The accomplishment of a team working towards a goal has few equals in terms of pure social pleasure.

To me, there have been dismal days in the field. Good Lord, working in the North West of the US of A is a constant reminder to me that I have probably forgotten more about mud than anyone I know will ever learn. I have added sod on top of liquid dirt many times. I’ll never forget my first day working in Portland, during a complete 8 hour day trenching for irrigation while the area collected 2 inches of rainfall. The next day was worse! And, yes, to answer an obvious question – I asked myself: “I’m doing this for what?” Those are pretty stunning working conditions, fit for the remaining amphibious gene in all of us. It was a wake-up call for all you kids who make bad grades and think not getting a degree is smart!! 

Here is a perfect example. We made this nice-looking water feature for a genuinely cool older Italian couple in Portland, Oregon. I always enjoyed the outcome and it won a State Award to cement its status as ‘pretty well done’. Let’s admire the “After” pictures because it’s going to get ugly showing how we got there.

Here’s the view from the deck above -

These gorgeous “Full Spring” shots obscure some pain which led to the accomplishment. This:

Came from this:

Here’s how we got there………

We began dry enough. It was with bawdy optimism, in fact, that we undertook a challenging and well-drawn chore of rendering a waterfall and 3 levels of ponds down this hillside and which is also featured in the “Pages” section of this very blog under “Construction Of A Waterfall”. In that bit, I neglected to mention a few – um – impediments behind the gig.  Anyway, here was our very sunny beginnings, dry, sunny, unseasonably warm October days -

Whilst I scratched around, digging holes and relocating existing stones, the guys went and grabbed the rocks delivered by evil, stinking truck drivers with a penchant for loads of rocks which were too big too handle. By using a ball cart for huge plants, Leo and Samuel were able to huff them all – and we are speaking about pretty much 40 tons of materials – to the rear by the fashion shown below. Dry, it was not that challenging, in the end. Rain of course presented another set of problems altogether. Here’s a dry look at our most modern technology!

150 feet of “carting”, down a hill and not all paved makes a strong guy. I’ll leave that there.

Down the hill……….

I mean, we were incredibly diligent! Never took a minute off – well……….except once.

We did our thing, shaping dirt, getting ready for liner and then the business end of Finishing:

We added the liner -

Note the nice and rather dry conditions!  We were STYLIN’!!

So there were we were – ready to roll – and then it got nasty outside:

It had all seemed so smooth – until it wasn’t. And it got cold – almost forgot to mention.

The cleanup’s at the end of each day were tons of fun!

Well, it finally cleared but not before making things rather dismal, in today’s understatement of the week. We applied our level best to it all – and got very detailed:

Even a sudden and random outbreak of “Male Pattern Baldness” did not deter us from inspecting each and every little rock we inserted into this edifice.

Still working…………

Finally, it led to a semblance of order – one could see it taking shape in a much more physical way (and here we have added compost to the surrounding soil, yet to be tilled in):

I believe the attention to detail really paid off well and is a large part of why it was so critically well-received:

In the end, it looked darn good – and we were proud of what we’d accomplished – in spite of our liquid impediments.

Pond and Fountain World (link)

I have a new bff. I think that’s the Internet term, for new bestest friends.   When I first moved to Louisville, almost a year ago now, I kept noticing this place with all the fountains, their big ol’ sign sporting their name and logo. Well, it didn’t take long for me to visit, needless to say. It’s not as if that’s not completely right up my alley or anything. Wow – I was pretty stunned. They admit they are crowded but who cares? What a treat. They have Koi!

(click images to enlarge)

Browsing Pond and Fountain World’s headquarters was a wonderful refreshment for me – they display a phenomenal number of their products but they have far, far more. There are water pumps pretty much everywhere, running the fountains they feature – we’re talking well-hidden electrical cords galore. But the incredible water falls, ponds and constructed displays are also off the charts. We’re talking “The Natural Look” side of things, ala this blog’s many water features. These guys are brothers.

I rudely introduced myself and dropped my name and this blog’s presence. I actually got to speak with the owner, George, at that time, but he was as distracted as any landscape business owner would be at that time of the year. He did, however, say he knew of me and wanted to speak further. I was intrigued. Finally, we actually produced a get-together and they mentioned they might want me to blog for them as well. This could happen. There is a definite synergy of interests there.

What I was really interested in was selling their products in other blogs and George mentioned his eBay page and such, which would work just fine for me as an affiliate of eBay. This I intend to do unless we produce a blog together – which we are talking about now. We’ll see. In any event, I like the place and the folks there.

It’s a fascinating resource so close to home for me and they do so many things I have done. It’s also wonderful to watch someone else deal with the stress of business, I confess, while I now possess this newer identity as a “blogger” who can stay in his pajamas all day long if he wants. I suddenly feel like The Grateful Dead.   Or is that Cheech and Chong?

It’s definitely crowded. It reminded me of those cemeteries in New Orleans, with all the closely-clustered and sculpted graves and statures. Ironically, it’s still possible to imagine any fountain or feature sold there on its own, at the same time. Plentiful, gorgeous and quite satiating for the water fanatic in us all. Check out these two Bronze items from Italy:

At any rate, they reminded me not just of the glory of fountains, per se, but also of the human love affair with water itself. Water as art, water as a movable feast for the eyes and the ears and for the soul – and all the different ways the civilized human species has devised to present water as a kinetic art form.

Me likey. 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…………

My good and hard-working friend Rick Barrett analyzes his most recent impossible situation, looking for clues. We got a call from a designer in Portland who designed this most interesting water feature from the comfort of her drawing board. While we agreed it would be a beautiful edifice, we also wondered just how we’d pull it off. The notion of hanging the deep black slate, composed of various thicknesses but the same color, off a block cement wall posed some bizarre and – to us – new material. It would have to be cement, owing to the varied thicknesses of the slate. All sort of adhesives could do the job, but the thickness thing hung us up. We needed a material which would allow us some “squeeze room” in order to have the absolutely perfect outer dimensions to align. Anything other than perfection – with water flowing over it – would show up like crazy.  And this referred not only to the top lip, where it would be grievous if not straight, but the front and sides as well.

Of course, I neglected to mention that the plan also called for adding real rocks at the front and a corner of both levels of the falls system, making the cement idea even more emphatically needed.

(click on any image to enlarge)

So we arrived at a conclusion – erect the walls first, then nail burlap to the block walls, which would give the cement something to grab onto. It would also allow us just enough “wiggle room” to align all the slabs of slate so that they matched at every possible angle. Now, inasmuch as we are working with a natural stone product, total perfection would be absurd, layered and split as they are. But I believe Rick  got very, very close.

He’s a working dude!

I missed many episodes, picture-wise, as the construction proceeded, which I now regret. Often, we were busy elsewhere from the rear of the home, working on the landscaping out front or one the sides, which involved irrigation and the construction of some garden carpentry projects.  Rick did almost every bit of the water feature by himself. He also – it bears mentioning – erected the stone walls. I thought his work was masterful and so did the client and even the designer.

The blue tarp, for the record, was not only handy for preventing the brick walls from getting splashed with wet cement or from the splatter from the debris of brick and stone-cutting, but it also doubled as a “rain roof”, keeping the guys and the stuff dry.

Generally speaking, here it is on the day we pretty much left, all done up and proper.

Quite a change from the first shots…………..note the stones – and not only the Basalt Chrystal cemented around using that “exposed aggregate” concrete finish. Note as well the insertion of natural stones by the bottom basin as well, sort of stuck into the patio floor finish. It added a natural touch. The patio is also cantilevered over the water, allowing us to hide the water pump which sits in the bottom basin. There is far more to this project than meets the eye, I guess is what I am saying.

A bit longer view -

Now closer -

With some cool garden carpentry in the form of these trellises.

This was an interesting project, also.