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flagstone

Tuscan transformation…

It’s really quite an honor when a former landscaping client calls us back to design again at a new home. Several clients have entrusted us with repeat projects, including our current installation.

Located on a large ranch in the Hill Country, this Tuscan farmhouse begged for a fresh landscape to match the grandeur of this beautiful home.

I was first struck by the way the existing split rail fence seemed to detract from the view of the home. The entrance to the front door came in from a tight, side angle, the existing path gray and worn limestone. As I walked the front of the property, inside and outside the fence, the existing beds appeared tiny and out of scale. I realized that the front of the home, with it’s fairytale front door, roofline and window detail was lost to visitors coming up the walk from the side so close to the house.


As I explored further back, two large oaks caught my eye and I envisioned a new entrance, winding through the oaks and arriving at the front door straight on, giving guests an opportunity to experience the stateliness of the home.

With the cornerstone of the design determined, the rest of the plan fell into place.

We moved the new fence back a full 40 feet from the house, tore up the existing path and front stoop and build a mortared Oklahoma flagstone path that meandered from the driveway to the entrance. New, deeper beds enveloped the front of the home on both sides, anchored by a series of ‘tiny tower’ cypress trees and traditional xeric, Mediterranean-style native and adapted plants.

You can see where the old stone path came out and the new, albeit muddy, flagstone path meandering through the trees.

Having redesigned a landscape with these clients before, I knew their taste well, so choosing plants they would love was easy. We did leave the existing mature Crape Myrtle in the new landscape. The beds include a mix of rich red Salvia Greggii and Texas Betonies along with Zexmenia, Jerusalem sage, dwarf Greek Myrtles, ‘sandankwa’ Viburnum, Foxtail ferns, Dianella, Catmint, ‘new gold’ and variegated gold Lantana, ‘soft caress’ Mahonia, yellow shrimp plant and an existing Sago palm. The blend of texture and form gives the design a lush feel with many traditional Texas plants.

The project is ongoing – we’ve moved onto the back of the property now, building stone beds around the pool and creating a rose garden. More photos to come as we progress, though it may take a while with rain forecast for the next 7 days.

By |2017-11-29T23:26:55-06:00May 30th, 2016|cypress trees, Dianella, flagstone, landscape design, landscape project, Mediterranean, path, Sharing Nature's Garden, stone work, Tuscan, xeric plants|0 Comments
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Build beautiful hardscape projects in your garden now

Now that winter is keeping us out of the garden, what’s a gardener to do?   That’s easy — plan.  Plan for all the big ideas you’d like to turn into reality once spring planting fever hits.  It’s the perfect time to start planning structural hardscape changes in your landscape. 
Today, our landscapes are becoming extensions of our homes.  They bring us outdoors, in rooms and areas that provide entertaining space, room for kids and pets to play, or maybe a quiet reading nook. 
 
Where to start?   Ask yourself — was your patio too small for entertaining last year?  Did you, or your dogs, wear a dirty path in the grass to get from area to area?   Or do you just want to remove some grass, water a little less or solve a drainage problem with a dry creek?
 
Now what?
Ask yourself some preliminary questions.  First, consider your personal style – are you traditional, natural or contemporary?  Think about the existing area – do you want to use the same material as your house or other structures, or do you want something different? Identify whether you’d prefer creating a color contrast color or seamless hues of a single color.
 
Consider the type of material best suited to your project.  Stone is sold by the ton — decomposed granite by the yard — your local landscape supply yards can help you determine how much you’ll need based on your measurements.  Here are some of the choices that are commonly used for hardscape projects.
Flagstone – Can be used for a variety of landscaping projects, from paths to patios and walls.  It can be mortared into place or simply set in decomposed granite or gravel so it remains permeable.  Wondering what to do with the sidewalk strip in front of your house where the grass is perpetually dying?  Consider some attractive flagstone set in decomposed granite.  If you want a softer look, add a few Mexican feather grasses or a few small agaves or a boulder or two for interest. 
 
River Rock – Available in a variety of size ranges, river rock is smooth and comes in a blend of colors.  It can be used to create a meandering dry stream through your landscape or to solve drainage issues.  You can also simply replace grass with an attractive contrast of natural material in your yard.  It can be used to puddle below a water feature or a birdbath.  Always be sure to vary the size of the rock in a dry creek, scattering in the larger rocks before you put down the smaller size for a more natural look.
 
Pavers – Man-made pavers come in very imaginable color and size.  The most commonly used are made of concrete and can be used for patios and porches, paths and even walls.  They can be laid on a bed of sand, placed close together for a more manicured look, or can be laid with spacing to allow for either grass or pretty little ground covers to grow between.  Pavers create a more manicured, formal style in outdoor rooms.
 
Decomposed or crushed granite – Weathered granite that has broken down into small pieces and particles of silt, DG is commonly used in patios, paths and even beds with arid plants.  It’s versatile as a filler for many different projects – just be careful not to use it on a steep hill – our periodic gully washers can wreak havoc with it.  You’ll want to make sure to use some sort of edging – metal or stone – to keep the granite in place and separated from grass or beds adjacent to it.
Gravel – Available in many different colors and sizes, gravel is a great material.  It can work wonders to help with small drainage issues and it adds texture and contrast to the garden.  Because it is larger, when used in a path, it is less likely to wash away than decomposed granite. 
 
Chopped block – Most stone can be purchased as a rough-hewn brick-like shape that is more natural in form.  These are used to build retaining walls, benches, planting beds or pathway borders. 
River rock, flagstone, chopped block and other stones come in specific palettes of color – Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado or New Mexico – are some of the choices you can find around Austin.  From golds to browns and reds or grays and pinks, the right hues in your garden can be like a fresh coat of paint in your house. 
If you are creating paths or dry streams, remember to use long, sweeping curves to provide flow and make your garden more natural and inviting.

Adding different types of material to you landscape can make it interesting and inviting – creating contrast and texture that enhance your garden.  
These are all landscape design projects I created.  For more ideas and information, go to Diana’s Designs and see other projects.

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By |2020-06-25T08:28:49-05:00January 22nd, 2016|Blog, dry creek, flagstone, granite, hardscape, hell strip, leuders, paths, patios, paver, river rock, rock, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone, stone edging, walls|0 Comments
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New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

The dry creek remodel is done and I can’t wait for it to rain so I can see how well it works.

I know that the very front of the dry creek already works because I washed all the dried dirt from the driveway puddle area into the creek bed and it just dropped down between the rocks like it’s supposed to, instead to swirling in the dirt and lapping back at me.

The moss rocks are gorgeous. (I know my crew thought I was crazy when I oohed and aahed over the great colors on them!)  They’re set for the most part, but I will adjust them some more so that they look random.  (I don’t really do random, so it will have to be a very carefully-arranged faux random.)

And, as always, one project begets another.  During these two days, I:

  1.  created another bed which begs to be filled,
  2. extended the path and opened up more area that needs to be planted,
  3.  removed rock from a bed that now needs more of the moss rock and Oklahoma to define it
  4.  put two new Oklahoma flagstones where old limestone steps were, so now I need a few more to make it look even nicer,
  5.  need to take all of the white/gray flat native stone that used to line the bed and move it to the back of the property to make a path to the shed so we don’t have to walk in the mud back there when it rains.

Then there are the plants.  It’s time to move a few things, say good bye to a few things and go nursery trolling for some fabulous new additions to fill holes and begin new experiments.

This week’s lows in Austin range from 44 to 31 and next week’s lowest point only gets down to 39, so I will go ahead and start planting.  We can most certainly have another freeze as far out as the next 4 weeks, but isn’t that what gardening is all about?  Testing Mother Nature!

After the last two wonderfully warm days, I am eager to get into the garden – and glad to be done with digging and moving rock.  Plants are much easier.

What tops your garden to-do list for this spring?  Happy Gardening.

By |2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 22nd, 2015|Blog, drainage, dry creek, flagstone, hardscape, landscape project, moss rock, Oklahoma, path, projects, river rock, river rock bed, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone|0 Comments
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Winter is perfect for spiffy new hardscaping to satisfy gardening urges

It’s almost planting season here in Central Texas, but to keep me from jumping the gun, I’m starting my winter hardscaping project.  Winter is the perfect time to work on the bones of the garden — getting everything ready for the fun to come.

 

This was the path/dry creek when it was at its best with native stone that we collected from our property.  But over the years, the rock has been kicked around, gotten buried with soil and mulch and the side rocks  have moved out of place and gotten scraggly looking. So, yesterday my crew came here to start on this year’s main hardscape project.

They moved the existing flagstone and river rock and I outlined the new, curving shape.

Then they dug a deep trench and put in a French drain – perforated pipe with a sock on it to prevent soil from getting inside of it.  A flood of rain water comes across our driveway from our neighbor’s house and we have two downspouts that empty onto the driveway.  We (that would be the royal we) also buried the one downspout at the entrance of the creek.  This will allow the water to rush on down the path and empty into the end of the path in the woods.  This is where it normally puddles, because there isn’t much of a slope down the creek, it also backs up onto the edge of the driveway by about 4 feet by 4 feet, leaving a dirty, wet mess when it rains.

I also brought in moss rock to match the two most recent dry creek projects that we’ve updated the last two years.  You can see those projects here and here. The big, beautiful rocks along the sides are moss rock – they have great markings and lots of character and color and, yes, some mossy stuff.

At the beginning of the path, the crew had to use a chipping hammer to get out some big rocks to create a large rock basin that will help absorb the leftover water when it’s a light rain or it stops flowing.  Now it will be in the creek bed instead of in the dip on our driveway.  (Don’t get me started on the architect/builder that created this problem by not adequately assessing the drainage issue!)

Today we’re putting in some more pipe, placing some medium-sized Oklahoma stone and the final 1-3″ river rock and flagstone stepping stones.  I’m out digging and placing the decorative rocks, because they have to be just so to give it a more natural look.

So much for having the day off!

By |2016-04-14T02:38:53-05:00February 21st, 2015|Blog, dry creek, flagstone, hardscape, moss rock, Oklahoma, path, river rock, rock, Sharing Nature's Garden, stepping stones, stone|0 Comments
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