Landscape Architect Articles

Above & Beyond06-10-16 | Feature

Above & Beyond

Complete Landsculpture, a full-service landscape firm headquartered in Dallas, was called in to do the landscaping for this 17 acre ranch in Flower Mound, Texas, about 30 miles outside the city. The company emphasizes their completeness: they did 100% of the landscaping without subbing out any of the work, with the goal of exceeding the client's expectations. The estate includes gardens with shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials and succulents in the front of the home, as well as many traditional backyard amenities and non-traditional amenities in the surrounding acreage.

The primary feature in the home's backyard is the oversized 11' deep pool. The 25-ton boulder waterfall and grotto with built-in slide was set using a forklift. An elevated circular spa cascades water over its edge into the pool, adding to the waterfall effect. Two tiled wet chaise loungers were built onto the bench seat wall inside the pool.

The outdoor kitchen area, located near the pool, is sheltered by a covered patio that has recessed lighting, a rustic chandelier and a ceiling fan. The lighting was wired with marine grade kits for longevity and safety. The kitchen itself includes a barbecue grill, a smoker, an outdoor sink and storage drawers. The furnished patio area has two outdoor televisions.

Designing and installing the full landscape for a newly built ranch house on a 17-acre lot is not the task for just any contractor. Complete Landsculpture, a full-service landscape company based out of Dallas, rose to the occasion to perform all of the landscape work at this particular estate. We spoke with Gene Freeman, the company's co-owner and vice president, to get an idea of the scope of the project – which is far beyond what we had anticipated or could begin to show in these pages. They say everything's bigger in Texas, and this project in the town of Flower Mound is no exception.

Between the landscapers, masons, arborists, irrigation technicians, concrete and pool installers, and plumbers, more than 100 people from Complete Landsculpture worked on the landscape. The crews had to work with outside companies including the homebuilder, an audio/visual installation team, security camera installers, and barn builders, as well as around livestock and other animals on the working ranch, to complete the job in just six months, ultimately finishing in late 2014.

Backyard Amenities
While this project is in many respects out of the ordinary in size, scope and nature, some of the elements might also be found in a more typical American home. Complete Landsculpture installed an oversized, 11' deep custom pool in the backyard area. The 25-ton waterfall with grotto and waterslide were set with a forklift. The adjacent raised hot tub spills water over its edge into the pool. Tiled wet chaise loungers were installed on the bench seat wall in the pool.

Nearby, an outdoor kitchen and lounging area provides a place to relax and entertain. The kitchen space includes a barbecue grill, smoker, sink and storage drawers. There are two outdoor televisions in the area: one next to the barbecue's vent hood, and another in one of the seating areas. Farther down the patio, a square fire pit provides warmth in the evenings. Across the entire project, the team laid a total of 100,000 square feet of colored concrete; for the backyard area, they used about 8,000 square feet. Concrete buggies were used to transport the concrete before it was laid.

Past the kitchen, the patio extends for lounging and includes a square gas fire pit. Across the whole property, 100,000 square feet of colored concrete was installed in the paved areas; 8,000 square feet of this was used in the backyard area. The concrete was transported and poured using concrete buggies. In total, more than 100 Complete Landsculpture workers with different areas of expertise came together to complete this project.

To the front of the house, they bulldozed a 1 acre, 20' deep stock pond to be used for irrigation and for fishing. Drainage consists of 5,900' of subsurface PVC pipe, which was installed at 12"-24" depths using a trencher. One of the major challenges, beyond the scope and size of the project, was keeping the pond environmentally friendly for the fish and for irrigation. *See https://www.landscapearchitect.com/research/article.php/28386 for more information.*

Beyond the Backyard
A concrete driveway leads to the front of the home, which is planted with shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials and succulents. Over 50 trees were transplanted onto the property, ranging from 3" caliper natives to 15" caliper oak shade trees standing 30' tall. Steve Jackson of Shademaker Trees assisted with this process. The garden areas are topped with decomposed decorative granite for aesthetics and low maintenance.

Approaching the driveway, before reaching the gate that opens to the home, a bridge had to be built over the 1-acre stock tank pond – which was constructed by Complete Landsculpture with a bulldozer. Five-thousand, nine-hundred feet of subsurface drain lines, installed with a trencher at 12"-24" depths, all direct to the pond. A stream garden, 175' long, recirculates from the 20' deep pond, which is used for irrigation as well as for fishing. A major challenge, said Freeman, was making the pond work for irrigation while keeping it eco-friendly for the fish.

Of the equipment used for the project, about 75% is owned by Complete Landsculpture. Some of the larger, more specialized equipment was rented for the project.

One of the ultimate goals for Complete Landsculpture was to exceed the customer's expectations. As a company, they strive to transform dreams into reality and provide a complete service for each client. For this estate, that meant working around livestock on a working ranch, creating a fully functioning pond stocked with fish, and more. Uniformed crews specially trained in their craft worked together in synchronization to create this larger-than-life landscape - one fit for a Texas ranch estate home.

As seen in LC/DBM magazine, June 2016.