Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Everyone wants one, admit it. The notion of sitting back in the sun, hearing the water trickle or even roar down a falls, sipping a drink and reading a book or just being lazy and falling asleep to the soothing sound of running water appeals to us all. There is some idealized communion with nature and a fascination with water that just appeals to some native level in everyonel.

Landscapes are constructions of fantasy, pure and simple. We take a patch of Earth and transform that dirt into a finished fantastic product, a result of a collaboration. A client asks for something rather specific - the landscaper consults and, between them they design something. The talking phase consists, for me, of finding out what they want. Do they want something subtle and non-invasive? Are they aware of just how loud water is? In the end, we arrive at a concept which I then design and then install. But what are all the options?

Do they want something small and out-of-the-way like this?:

Something a bit more grand?

Or something in between, like some slow, meandering stream, perhaps??

I’ll develop more of this and the theme itself over the next few days. These are a true sort of Holy Grail for landscapers. Most I know of love making them, in spite of all the implicit trouble these dang things can be. The fact is, from landscapers to homeowners, everybody loves them. They draw the eye and the ear and they just soothe the soul like little else.

In literally scores of landscapes, there are grade changes, altitude adjustments owing to the intricacies of the local land. Walls, as mentioned below, are a handy remedy. In fact, sometimes there is no substitute for them. With modern property law now firmly affixed dealing with issues of drainage and controlling water on one’s own property, “neighbor lawsuits” insist that solutions be met to insure all rainwater and irrigation be conducted elsewhere. Sometimes, this can present a huge quandary. Many times the only solution may be some sort of lowering of the lawn or garden level to deal with water appropriately. These pictures in this post represent a small range of possibilities in the construction of walls made from pre-engineered modular pieces, or segmented concrete blocks.

They also look really cool. I have to also mention, they are easier, by far, to construct than those made out of rock, given the same parameters. There are dry-stacked rock walls which can be built fairly rapidly with the right machinery and with select types of rocks themselves, but these are for projects long ahead of the actual building of homes. When a home is built, suddenly it becomes more problematic fitting in machinery that can easily handle those one ton beasts. Take it from me - I have tried.

So we’re left with other solutions. I love the flexibility of these blocks, myself. Curving them makes for an arresting design, pretty to look at and functional as all heck. These stones are all pre-engineered by geotechnical experts in handling water issues of hydrostatic pressure: the buildup of pressure as water collects behind a wall. Naturally, it requires foresight enough to insert pipes and drain systems as a part of the construction. When done right, it can be quite a nice sight, as the smiling morons here can attest ;-):

The ability to insert stairs and even bench seating is another great opportunity to add visual value to a wall as well as providing access and the ability for gardeners to get to their missions.

Or, you can even put a moving water display into your wall:

All in all, the segmented wall is not hard to build. It is definitely heavy work and there is cutting involved, although not a lot. The primary consideration in wall-building, at almost every level, is to make sure the bottom course is sturdy and durable. Once that is achieved, the rest is gravy.

We get into some fairly challenging situations in landscape construction. Everyone sees and appreciates the finished products - after all, landscaping is an ultimate “eye candy”. I used to call it the “Ultimate Cosmetic”. I was probably wrong, but it still is one gargantuan cosmetic, for real. I guess those things we see from Space itself are “ultimates”, like copper mines and the Great Wall. Did I say “wall”?

Some projects offer huge dilemmas. This one pictured above for example. We were told to use only “existing rocks” for the walls. While that was fine…..I mean look at that grade and imagine any rock deliveries coming in from the other side of this house…….uphill! No thanks. So, the real problem here was this: those rocks composed a real wreck of an existing wall, and the other two thirds were cemented in place as an amazingly homely barbecue! A big one, too. Could we have done a better job?  I always thought so, to be perfectly honest. It truly bothered me that the budget did not incorporate at least a few choice rocks for anchors and for a better appearance. But we had what we had.  The truth is, the plants later cascaded over those walls and provided little more than “peeks” at the construction itself.  This was also by design, but the “purist” in me was never truly happy with that set up, to be candid.

The truth is, we used every last rock on that wall. We took absolutely zero of them away. Picture us chipping away at the cement embedded on what would have been an adequate face for a wall rock and you have a reasonable picture of what was involved. And “face” matters. You want a face to be backwards sloped (its “batter”) at about 2-5% and nothing looks worse than a wall with a bunch of protrusions in weird spots.

This next one was taken during construction of a “garden grotto”, also using “found rocks” we dug up and encountered on site. It is in Reno, Nevada, a great source for rocks, beyond doubt. But it’s not like one was hand-picking selections for delivery. It became a literal “ore” as we excavated and picked and chose. Anyway, here are two views of that wall, one during construction and the other, later one, after completion, maybe the same day it was done:

Here are some other looks near by the latter two examples, one taken during construction and the final one taken from the street, looking the other way. Like I said, Nevada has them some rocks!

Walls in a landscape can be used for a variety of purposes.  Naturally, they deal well indeed with changes in grade, offering terracing options which allow plantings to obscure much of their actual composition. In fact, in so many cases, we end up with a great blend of some softening plants cascading down the walls and providing a contrasting “soft” element to the hard surfaces of the walls themselves.  A landscape wall such as the one pictured above we used to provide just such a terrace.  The level of the house foundation is obvious, to the right, and was more than 5 feet higher.  Inasmuch as the property line was along the tree line to the left, and all homes are responsible for containing and driving any water collected on site to the street, we needed a landscaping solution that would allow us to address all these issues.

Below, we have an alternative material - one of many in wall building - in this case railroad ties.  This was another situation where there was a very obvious grade change, much too steep in fact for a mere tightly-planted slope. Fortunately, we were called in early in the game, even before the building’s foundations were set, so we were able to build here with machinery, for the most part.  Believe me when I say we were thankful for that. The fact is, we used over 7,000 ties on this project.  The wall goes for quite a distance, well over a quarter mile.

Another, and an increasingly more popular choice in wall construction are the prefabricated, pre-engineered cement wall blocks.  Their versatility is quite amazing.  And their durability is equally amazing.  These little workmen wall blocks provide some serious stability in some awfully impossible spots.  Their segmented nature allows them to bend a bit, making them arguably superior to poured cement and all the problems implicit in monolithic pieces. And, for my money, they are prettier:

Tomorrow, I’ll continue the wall work. I have always loved working with wall-building.  It is just so earth-moving and earth-changing somehow.  To me, it a hugely satisfying structural element in landscaping.  It also provides marvelous opportunities for all sorts of tricky stuff, from recessing a “grotto” into the earth in the middle of no where, to raising a patch of land to new dimensions, just to say you did.

We definitely get our share of great-looking plants up here. Naturally, we pay for that in misery, with all the rain, but there are days when it seems just so worth it all. This Spring being cooler than normal and for a longer time has meant a longer blooming period in general.  Where typically some hot streak will come by and burn up blooms, this season it has been much more benevolent. Once again I mine my own neighborhood for pretty cool shots of local trees.

Leading off we have a great-looking pink dogwood in fine flower.  Below, I had to post this.  This is a variegated-leaf dogwood, looking especially white today owing to the leaves emerging with the blooms. Pretty wild-looking thing, isn’t it?

Here’s a tree native to the area, although more commonly seen near the coast.  This Madrone is one of my favorite trees.  It’s bark is typically colorfully-red, peeling like White Birch almost, but with real character in terms of branching shapes and points of interest. It’s also evergreen with those gorgeous glossy leaves almost Southern Magnolia-like.

Finally, I am gratuitously including this medium sized Japanese Maple just because I adore them.  It’s so nice to see them back and thriving.  I have always been so partial to this purple leaf variety, too.  This one has exceptionally great shape in this very inconspicuous spot too.

And it is still Spring!  Lordy.  The weather went from the 50’s all the way to the mid 90’s, now back into the 50’s.  Oh, and it;s raining.  It’s like we never left November!

This is one of those pictures only a landscaper could like. Please forgive me. I have even used this one before in this blog, I liked it so much. It’s the “construction dude” in me, I guess.

It shows a project actually designed by someone other than myself, which is highly unusual in this blog. Typically, I give credit when it occurs and the rest are my designs and installations. This was a recent project undertaken for my good friend John Stone, who runs a local Portland/Washington company called JP Stone Contractors. He’s many things, but he is this: a hardscape specialist about as good and interesting as anyone I have ever seen. We have worked closely for nearly a decade now.

Anyway, it resulted in this: (which I thought was a pretty cool look and a great patio)

Since patios and outdoor living are this week’s theme, I’ve been surfing my pictures to find good examples of some of the more intriguing patios we’ve constructed. I hope I am not being too redundant and I know I probably am, but it is the time of year for patios, so I say go for it. There may be an idea or two someone can use in here because so many are considering patios any more, integrtated with their landscape projects.

A good patio can serve the same purpose as a good driveway. Inasmuch as they occupy a pretty sizable territory, they catch they eye and result in some serious and permanent curb appeal. They each tend to add value to a property which never changes, depending, of course, on the material. As can be plainly seen, I am a believer in the highly compressed interlocking brick pavers in my work. They have more than proven my statement about adding value over a very long period of time. Here are a few more:

The last are back to our own creations. The other and perhaps even more primary considerations with all this patio madness is how the home owners enjoyed them. They have. To be perfectly honest, if I did not have some envy surface as we were finishing a project, then I would feel my client had not been well-served.

Some patios can have stuff stuck in the middle of them! Like these two:

And others can be right out in the lawn!

And some can be “out there” in other ways:

Here’s a smoothie:

I can smell Summer around the corner. In Portland, it went from the 50’s to the 90’s in a couple of days. Weird and powerful, naturally the entire local galaxy is outdoors, lured there by a looming cool front……….. naturally. This year, it honestly figures.

Having whined sufficiently, what it HAS done is take people outdoors. The evenings are gorgeous, sensual with the smells of Spring still in the air and the heat like a warm embrace, full and enveloping. Folks will be wanting to spend that time outdoors. The fact is, it’s cooler there, for one thing. Naturally, it’s also just a great place to be. It reminds me of outdoor environments I have lived in as well as the labors we have put into other people’s prized possession: their homes. There have been many of both. Some smaller:

And some larger:

And some…….Humongous:

In any event, there is still always this: Patios like these are what we have made to allow people to extend their living spaces from the walls of their home, outwards, into the night, into the Sun, and into the Great Outdoors. They provide yet another room, a different place and a virtual connection to Nature. Indoors, we have our mental life and our constructs to provide protection and privacy. Outdoors, these things change. Patios provide us this environment. A good patio, in the end, doesn’t require alot: it is flat and outdoors. That’s about it and just about all one needs. A “great patio” has some other attributes……beauty of form, bells and whistles, even, lights or even a kitchen for the more “barbeque-bold”.

Patios are our way of giving back to ourselves. They provide a warm and intimate place for all of our souls and those of our friends and families. Or a cool one.

One more trip around the park with it’s Rhododendron theme. I may post pictures of plants other than rhodies, I haven’t made up my mind yet. Hey…….it’s my blog.

Spiring has finally arrived, possibly because of a few nasty letters I wrote. I am not taking full credit, but, well, there it is. Just the same, the long-lasting and cool Spring has meant a flurry of floral activity here, with some prolonged blooming time. So I guess all was not lost.

OK, I have decided to vary into the unthinkable: things other than rhododendrons. Take this creek for example……… or the interesting maple following that and it’s totally Copper/Burgundy background. That’s a Japanese Maple with Copper Beech behind it.

A total favorite Viburnum of mine had always been the “Double File”. I have put them all over. Unfortunately, they never did great in Reno, owing to a liking for more acidic soils and the need, like the rare rhodies planted there, for Northern Shade and wind protection. In other words, up against the house on the North side, lol, and almost literally no where else without dense shade and a fence. But I think my reasons for liking the plant are obvious:

And, from a non park source, straight from my neighborhood:

Just one more…………….back to those boring Rhodies:

I’m addicted.  I freely admit it.  Not only were Rhododendrons instrumental in my beginnings as a landscaper, they still fascinate me in ways no other plants can.  And I know exactly why.  How many plants do we know of which bloom like this?  In such mad colors?  And with blooms so ridiculously big?

The pictures all enlarge on clicking them.  If you want a real surprise, click them twice.

A friend and I took a trip to one of those features of the North West which are absurdly common here.  I am hardly the first huge Rhodie aficionado, but those before me have so wonderfully put their money where their garden interests were, it is occasionally mind-boggling. Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens fulfill that role amazingly well.  Hard by Reed College in Southeast Portland, this little treasure trove borders a golf course on one side and unveils an absolutely stupendous Spring event every year.  Fortunately, I was able to catch some of that today. Don’t be afraid to click these pictures twice.  I decided to keep the large scale picture size so that by clicking once, it gives a nice rendition of what it looks like, standing near, but if you open it by clicking again, you can get some amazing detail out of these blooms and plants.

There is more to see as well in this cool park.  Here are two “non-rhododendron-related pictures of the park itself and it’s cute and very naturalistic waterfalls, followed by a view across a small lake onto the adjoining golf course.  The lake there has eaten a couple of my very own golf balls, for those who wonder.

Absolutely gorgeous park, right in the middle of a major American city, it is one of the things I love most about Portland and always have.  These little hidden pockets of natural bliss are everywhere.  And I use the term “little”, advisedly.  Obviously, lol.  Anyway, I’ll close with another small display, this time of a group of Mollis Azalea’s.  Tomorrow, I will complete the journey through this killer little park.