New Landscapes for 2011
Okay 2011 had to be the nastiest year I can remember. The
snow I am sure will be referred to for many years to come. At my house the
snow pile was well over 6 feet tall. We then had a decent spring that was
replaced with weeks of rain and consequently mud and a scheduling nightmare.
But luckily, the mosquitoes were so incredibly voracious that I spent most
of the summer hiding in the house. You may remember way back in 2008 I
dropped wine in my computer and lost all of my pictures for that year. This
year I lost my camera and took extremely few pictures. I did quite a few
smaller projects, and an apartment building. I have a couple projects shown below.
Modern Landscape design
This style of design is more popular in Kelowna and
Vancouver but is really starting to make in roads in Edmonton. This style is
characterized by a geometric arrangement of the elements with plants often
put in layers. The look of the landscape is not coloured by lots of flowers
but primarily with leaf colour and the designer plays with leaf texture.
Bold patterns and strong line is the order of business. In 2012, we will
work on the back yard adding extra patios, walls, and a waterfall that will
run into a 30' stream and end in a pond. (This will work both to catch water
and be a focal point.)
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Guest house
The guest house had no privacy from the street as well as no personal deck space |
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Hardscaping too imposing
I came in to do the design after the main hardscaping was put in by the builder. |
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Contemporary or Modern design
I used blue and burgundy as my base colour palatte to work off the rundle stone work of the house |
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Private patio
Integrated into the top terrace allows guests to have coffee outside before going into the main house |
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Huge run off problem
Luckily we had 13 straight days of rain that exposed massive run off problems that were washing out the foundation of the patio work. We added a fairly deep faux stream to catch all the water and guide it around and away from the house. |
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Love making streams
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An English Woodland Garden
I just made this up but this yard is primarily an English design that has
just been cleaned up a bit. It is in a strolling garden design that links up
multiple lounging areas. This yard has actually taken 3 years to build from
start to finish. The main hardscaping went in in the late fall of 2009 when
we had warm temperatures well into late November. The main plants went in
during the summer of 2010, the final plants and last of the hardscaping this year.
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Small Back Deck
Often the house builders make the deck too small and in my view not usuable |
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Great Back view
A beautiful forest view |
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Draw out the design
When starting it is often helpful to draw out the design and put out the furniture to find out how much room you will actually need |
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Hot Tub
The hot tub should be pre chosen if not purchased so that the design can properly encompass the shape and size, as well as run electrical |
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Gazebo
This as well needs dimensions before designing, and is the focal point of this design |
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Limestone path
Full brick pathways are expensive, so here we went to a limestone dust path so that we could purchase other items. |
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Waterfeature
This is an all year running waterfall, with evening lighting. |
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Fireplace
There are many different varieties of fireplaces, unfortunately they are also fairly pricey items but so important to create that ambience. |
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Double sided Retaining Wall
A new product that just came out this year gives a fairly natural look. Called a Belvedere wall from Canar Rock Products |
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One year later pics
About 90% of everything went in in 2010, these are the pics in 2011 after the wall went in |
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One year later pics
The waterfall is already starting to integrate well into the design |
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Moist shady spot
Did not realize how moist this area was and we had to replace a couple of trees that had died but the perennials are doing exceptionally well. |
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Annuals still Necessary
I often plant short lived perennials and annuals just to fill out the installation until the perennials and shrubs can catch up |
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