Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Here is a job done for Larry and Mary, a nice local couple who had a pool installed and no patio around the poor thing.  They entertain a large family who visit often and who have children ready made for a nice swimming pool.  The project took up a substantial amount of territory, aside from this picture.  We made a sandbox, planted some very desert-themed cacti and yucca plants, even a Joshua Tree or two.  I liked the end result and so did they.

I just love the look of the grass and the reasonably (and surprisingly) green mountains alongside.  The vistas here are tremendous and the air fresh and clean.  The grass looks gorgeous in the bright sun and our flowering crabapple looks as contented as it can be.

The title sounds Chinese as heck.  On this project we secreted a source of the small creek to the left with an additional, though buried, pipe.  We then ran it down the way to originate somewhere besides the original creekbed itself.  Thus, one can walk up from the right and see yet another cascade originating from a hidden source.  We have been doing this elsewhere as well, it was a neat and promising idea.

Charlie is another contractor, a carpenter, with a wife who is an avid gardener.  They wanted a wide waterfall system, something they could light up at night and view from their house, about 120 feet away.  It worked out well, indeed.  This view is the falls not quite completed.  Additional plants will flesh this out nicely, to go with the fish and plants they are rumored to have installed recently.  I will update this project periodically.

  This was another epic paver project consisting of a walk all the way around the house with a large patio and water feature at the very rear.  Grasses were used here in great amounts, as well as perennial plantings.  The wall on the right can be found in the general landscape gllaeries at the main page

These interesting little seats were made from quarried basalt, slabs which could be achieved merely by splitting a column.  The legs are rocks, lol, of course.  The virtue of these seats are how they maintain the warmth from the sun, acquired during the day, for a long time later.  Sitting on them in the evening feels wonderfully warm and toasty. 

The thing with perennials, and most plants, is giving them time to grow and develop.  Think two years for perennials, in most cases, and 3 for plants.  By this time, you can see a direction and expansiveness.  By planting further apart, one may feel empty briefly, say for the first year, yet, part of all gardening love regards growth and development as an essential aspect.  It is patience that gardening teaches us, lol. Incidentally, the piping was left like this for purposes of this picture.  We have since raised the height of the waterfall, thus its temporary look.