Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Here are a couple posts relative to this project shown prior, now completed, in Vancouver, Washington.  It was quite involving and we had to adapt so much just as field people/designers/installers, it made it most interesting in general.  I confess to preferring some interpretation in projects I undertake and I usually try to make any changes as congruent and as interesting as I can.  This one has hidden glories which won’t be visible until Spring:  lots of perennials and grasses.  They complete a fascinating study in the application of hardscapes and water in a private, detail-rich back yard.

The falls here are both lit at night from underneath.  It gives a phosphorescent feel and look, sort of miraculous, in a way.  The trees surrounding are “uplit” from well lights pointing up, capturing the gorgeous birchbark and framing the place quite warmly.

Other factors in this gorgeous place include an amazing number of Rhododendrons, providing a just absurdly rich Springtime set of blossoms and smells.  Portland is so Rhodedendron-rich.  And that plant has ridiculous beauty, massive flowers in profuse numbers and an gorgeous evergreen context in general.  I am a definite rhody fan.

This is yet another visit to Steve and Libby’s joint, the Bocce Ball kings and queens.  One of my all time fave projects, they are picturized throughout here, more than anything else because of the various aspects, nice, complex and reasonably well-designed by all parties.  Some nice conclusions and a fun and involving landscape.  The water feature in the next post is up there to the left of this picture.

When I began taking pics of my projects, I had to start at the raw completions of nearly all of them, waiting for results as time went by and things developed. Obviously, I now wish I had done all this much earlier.  So many hot places and things to show, all in differing climates with an amazing range of plant choices. At any rate, some of those are now developing into something worth following and it is gratifying and should add interest to a site like this one. I hope you enjoy.

These and the prior shot are of a lage Reno project where we added oodles of hardscaping and the Bocce Ball Court.  Some views of this water feature are better than others, frankly.  I made it quite deep.  There is something about deep, still water that the eye is drawn to, even more so than rushing and shallow flows, at least to me. Somehow, it all looks “deep” and mentally soothing in some weird manner.

Water in Reno is so hard to come by generally, anyway, it being a desert and all.  When you get to hear and see it, it enlivens the mind and heart just a bit.  A nice evening spot, hard by this guy.

Here’s another look at an “old friend”, a year later or so.  The clients here were delighted with their water feature and landscaping and spend tons of time out in it. It’s lit up, as well, with lots of small details featured in a busy, park-like setting.  They like entertaining and have the killer patio and the special little gas fire pit we installed, in those rocks, to keep the chill off.

This is one of those geometric pleasers and I show Rene beginning the narrow, curving pathway, then the finished look.  We strove for as much curve as circumstances would allow so the rear area would get a more isolated ambience.  It is so drasticly different from the front in its detail-rich and smaller-spaced effects, while the front is expansive and open.

Here was a challenging lot.  It was pretty much straight uphill but with the above killer view.  Mt. St Helens is a bit to the left but visible on a clear day.  As is Mt. Hood, a gorgeous volcanic mountain, 90 degrees to the right.  Here also is another of those gas fire pits, only this time, no pit!  That burner radiates well and puts out a truckload of heat.  Pretty cool for nights, any season of the year. Or warm.

The simplicity of the landscaping is its merit here. 

We built this place a while back, in Reno. Jeff and Denise were totally wonderful co workers and contributed many things, including tangible things as in machinery. LOL, it looked like a German coal mine back there for while, with his ability to score on the machines he sold for a living. They wanted the long creek a part of which is shown here. The creek is actually over 160′ long, with twists and turns and pools. They had a huge steep slope way back in their yard and the creek served to tie things together. As usual in Reno, things can take some time to develop, yet the plants and overall effects here worked out well in a short period of time.

I stepped into a real monster project, me and my 3 man crew.  It’s an invigorating project, pretty huge with a myriad of different elements.  We’re doing the hardscapes as I speak, the picture above showing just a bit of it.

The place is probably 2 acres, easy, and it was pretty torn up after we excavated and transplanted some huge stuff.  In an overview, we relocated over 300 plants from an absolutely overgrown and “inappropriately huge” set of plants and trees.  The soil is magnificent and actually poses problems in terms of further growth in these healthy wholesome (Large) things.   We are most certainly planting according to long range considerations here. I’ll run a series on it.

Here’s the view out the front.  Since this was taken, we’ve taken down the fence and seeded.  So, it’s a large place, around 2 acres. The beauty of this project is in the details out back, in my opinion.  The front is far wider and more open than before, letting in Sun and brightness and a welcoming ambiance in general.  Meanwhile, the patio, spa and water feature areas are getting spectacular.  This has already become a favorite project of mine.