Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

We all like curves. Males are rumored to especially go for them based on some inner attraction mechanism and baseball pitchers – though not necessarily batters – are famous for their love of the swerving lines that Nature seems to deal in. Outside of crystals and the apparent flat plane of a horizon, just exactly how many straight lines do we see in Nature?

Well – Here’s a few – note the basalt (volcanic) crystals in this arrangement outside the Portland Zoo.

(left click all images to enlarge)

Note this other example of an orderly straight line in Nature:

We’ll make straight lines in our landscapes to determine property limits with fencing or walls, for sure. And if we want a formal structure, we can do it as well. But, for me, by far the primary arc in any landscaping project has the sensation of curving, growing and the sense of revelation and “emerging” within those rigid exterior forms of perfect lines:

This patio, framed inside the stucco walls containing it, evolves daintily, gradually curving to show off plant effects and softening the hard lines of its perimeter.

A look in the other direction from the same perspectitve reveals much going on – a water feature at the end of this one, if enlarged, all mitigating those straight, boring walls which provide the privacy:

Fed by curving walks, the theme is shown, then repeats itself over and over on this large project. All the hard, straight, formal constructions, from the house itself to these patio walls are rigid in their perfection. It needs to get a little less “Uptight”:

Other factors can increase the “humanity” or the “naturalness” of new constructions. Rocks, mulches, boulders themselves, terrain-shaping – we use all these methods to render a more pleasing and accepting palette for the eye and dare I say The Souls of us to relax just a bit and to allow the mind to ease off the throttle:

Even simple constructions can ring in a more relaxing take on the hard lines of sidewalks and driveways. The home below, for example, originally had itself a nice square bunch of concrete underneath the pillars and leading to the front door. We not only curved it but we also crossed the lawn for a far more pleasant journey out back:

This curvaceous sidewalk leads to a very, very curvy circle, hard by the little waterfall and has been perfect for socializing in evenings and mornings “Out by the falls” :

Curves also hold out interest by inviting the natural tendency of the eye to follow things to conclusion. We ask: “Where does it go?” and we find a nice, pleasant mystery that maintains a mental hunger but which exists to satisfy exactly that with surprises geared to make us better people.

Their form can make a patch of grass in a desert look like a small lake:

Or they can provide just enough mystery to make us wonder “What’s around that bend in the road?”:

A curving line is so cool, it can make you want to take a barefoot walk:

Nature’s curve balls are excellent fun.

The above is a “kit”. These bricks are all preformed, manufactured absolutely perfectly to form circles suitable for all the many uses pavers like this might have. They even come with terrific little designs on paper which you can use to fit in like a puzzle! I adore these, frankly, and that aint hay. There is something truly magnificent about the design artwork and the excess of care involved in breaking up all the hard lines of driveways, sidewalks and patios and putting in something for the sheer pleasurable beauty of it. As a design co-pilot, I can testify that these features add a truly value-added dimension to the curb appeal and resale value of a home – yada yada yada. As eye candy, it is even better. And that’s my thing.

Click any and all images to enlarge – even twice for detail)

Now, typical me – I have often decided long after the “kits” became unavailable to order in a timely fashion that- “Wow!” -  some sort of this circular mode of paver patterns might be ‘just the thing’!

The above picture, for example, originally looked boring as heck. All those nice tumbled pavers, set on in rows like little soldiers just wrecked my personal appreciation of a very special project overall. So – I decided to add a bit of “gingerbread!’ And did. It took Kenny about 3 days to successfully negotiate this particular feature and he took to it like a man possessed. I’d stop by and comment (not always well-received, lol) and be bossy and stuff.

This following feature was one I had my very own gnarly hands in, on a project with John Stone. Naturally, no one bothered considering whether or not “Circle Kits” were available for this particular stone and thus it became yet another round of hand work, cutting, chipping, antiquing and swearing – in no set order. In this case, that fire pit determined the desirability of circularity and I happened to agree, wholeheartedly.

I’ve posted this picture elsewhere and, as I recall, the comment was something along the lines of  “Only a landscaper could appreciate this picture.” There is definitely some truth in that. These shots give some idea as to what is involved when someone opts – late in the game – to add circularity to brick paver expanses. Inasmuch as we are dealing with “Tumbled Pavers” – those pavers intended to give a worn, antiqued sort of solidity – it is actually easier rather than harder to make them fit. In these cases “approximate” is still good owing to the greater tolerances between the bricks allowed by these “old suckers”. What is a bit more challenging, from a strict design sense, is integrating the colors and style of the two radically different bricks featured here. We’ll check out the result below.

A better look at the working environment above shows the cutting machine very, very close by. It is loud and obnoxious but walking any distance to deal with the enormous numbers of cuts involved in a circular adjustment is plain cruel and hugely time-wasting. Heaven forbid!  The other consideration involved with cutting and shaping anything somewhat Feaux aged such as these, involves how truly exact the cuts are, when completed. Naturally enough, the diamond blade saw will leave a clear and extremely well defined edge where the cut was made. It seems to sometimes shock people to watch us sit there with hammers and pound the edges down to a similar antique edge – or grind them – to replicate the other 4 edges, but that is exactly what we do. We “ruin” them to save them, as it were.

Of course, from there, we polish off all the edges from the other paver styles, having them meet the outer edge  of that stupid circle we aspired to. Band aids help the process. As in all projects, we spread the sand and sweep it in just prior to re-compacting it all to a uniform surface. Also, as in all projects, the carpenters wanted us out of the way, “Yesterday”, so they could work somewhere beside the mud which we seemed to take to so naturally. It took a total of about 7.573 minutes for us to spread the sand before the table saw in the picture above showed up.

Here is the finished look of that area, subtly integrated with some success. I was unable to get back and take more pictures owing to the rapid strain of financial necessity. We left. Hey – we were done, lol.

Now, some circles can also be rendered using other items – like wall blocks to form circular things such as Patio Fire Pits in otherwise unlikely areas:

A bit more finished look. That is a lot of grinding, lol:

Next time, I’ll deal with curves – always a favorite! – and how we do much the same thing, using boring square and rectangular items to form the curves and somehow sinewy passages of non-linear walks, patios and even driveways.

And the weather is not even bad!!!    Yaaaahhhoooooooooo!

This re-located West Coaster is quietly thrilled today, relishing every single millisecond of 70 degree weather. We even got astronomical verification from The Creator -  ladies and gents, the Solstice went off as planned.

“It is Go, Houston”.

It is in this giddy frame of mind with which I drag myself back from watching a delightful 9 innings of baseball played here at the University of Louisville’s cool new stadium which inspires me to post my favorite Spring Pictures, all drawn from various and sundry travels through those Springtime months of years past and present.

We can begin at the first – Crocuses always thrill me. They are the earliest blooms of all and they most certainly took their time getting here this season. This is not to hold them responsible, of course. Like myself – we are all merely pawns in the Great Book of Life.

(Left click to enlarge any picture)

I like the meadow-esque look they can take on when “naturalized” as in this picture. I have to admit, it is by far my favorite use of these gorgeous early Spring bloomers.

Forsythia always gets the garland for “most desired plant ever” at about this time of year. I wish I had a buck for every Springtime job I did where someone would ask for these to be planted – “Steve, do you know the name of that pretty yellow flowering shrub?”

“Yes.” (rolls eyes)

Star Magnolias are next on the Early Spring list of glory hallelujah Spring Time bloomers, showing here “in potentia”, then later as a daggone gorgeous tree. These can actually get bigger than heck – always a perfect Spring harbinger.

And later:

Early-blooming Plum have always been a favorite of mine. This neighborhood street scene in Portland, Oregon shows why I so admire 4 season climates. This one is in two phases, each of which is gorgeous:

And a bit later:

The lime-green of early Weeping Willow leaves contrast gloriously with the bloom from an early-blooming Japanese Cherry tree:

An old favorite of mine is this Pieris Japonica “Mountain Fire”, whose brilliant new red foliage is a Spring Time phenomenon, soon to revert to green.

And my old favorites, the Oregon State Shrub – the Oregon Grape – a Mahonia culitvar which travels well and is found in various varieties here in Kentucky – shines in the Sun light with a brilliant yellow:

I could go on. As Sprintime develops further, we’ll get those pretty perennials like Columbines, Lupines and stuff like this cute Bleeding Heart which now doubles as my own screen saver, lol. I like this picture.

Until then, consider me happy. Hey, it’s almost baseball season!

I recently got an email which gave me a start. It was addressed from the National Museum of Crime and Punishment. Hey – It’s really not that funny. I thought to myself – “Oh, boy, it’s that mattress tag I ripped off!!!!  They finally caught up with me!!”   With a slight trepidation, I peered inside the mail, wondering if I should give “Three Fingers” Yarmi a call from my speed dial.

Instead, to my ultimate surprise and satisfaction, it was a very gracious guy, Erik, who asked me more than kindly to perhaps host a guest post right here on my very own blog, dedicated to the Cherry Blossom Festival, with some special attention paid to this excellent and fascinating Museum.

Just the same, as I read the following: “The museum displays excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more. Currently, we’re promoting 98 years of tradition with the annual D.C. Cherry blossom festival, which remembers the long lasting friendship between Japan and the U.S.”, I have to admit, I was still on the nervous end of the crime pole. (Maybe it was the Santa I lifted at Santa Claus Land, Indiana as an 11 year old?). Nevertheless, I held off calling “Slats” Hennepin in Chicago or my West Coast Buddy, “No Nose de la Vega” for some extra work and just acted as if it were a normal letter – which it was. In the end, I was flattered. I said “Yes, I would be delighted.”

Below is the guest post, written by Erik:

“Springtime, perfect for having picnics, wearing shorts and admiring the Cherry Blossom in DC. The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an two-week, yearly event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.

DC Attractions include multiple festivals, museums, monuments, and more. The National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization that coordinates, produces, and supports creative and diverse activities promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty and the environment, and community spirit and youth education. It’s also begins peak season for an influx of tourists to Washington, also brought in by the thousands of historical landmarks, museums, and other buildings, The National Museum of Crime & Punishment, located in Washington, D.C. is one of those such buildings, with excellent depictions of historically famous crime scenes along detailed information concerning past wars, forensics, organized crime, and more.”

I have found out that the National Cherry Blossom Festival is actually the biggest annual event in the Nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C. It takes place every year to celebrate the beginning of spring and has grown into one of America’s premier celebrations of the springtime season. It is honestly pretty cool, with eye candy to absolutely die for.

The Festival commemorates the March 27, 1912 event where the nation of Japan gifted the United States with 3,000 cherry trees. On that day Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki donated the trees for the purpose of enhancing the budding friendship between his nation and America. Today, nearly 100 years later, the leaders of the world’s two largest economies use the Festival as a way of recognizing the continued spirit of friendship between the U.S. and Japan.

The Cherry Blossoms tend to bloom between March 28 – April 12. Every April along the Tidal Basin that nearly surrounds the Jefferson Memorial, millions of people from around the world walk along a pathway that glows with an unmistakable pink hue. The sea of pink is a photographer’s paradise and best of all its COMPLETELY FREE. (Yayy!!) The festival, which lasts two weeks, is opened with a ceremony that is usually attended by the First Lady of the United States and the Japanese Ambassador to the United States.

Approximately 3,750 cherry trees are on the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. Thousands of trees are located around the region as well.

That’s a lot of Cherry Blossoms, man!

“No Nose” gave me a call just as I was writing this. I suggest you all make sure and go and especially drop into the Museum of Crime and Punishment. “No Nose” has gotten into gardening recently, with an eye towards pruning. He says if you turn down this glorious Springtime opportunity, he might just have to prune your Cherry into something resembling this one:

Thinkaboudit. 

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.