Impullitti Landscaping Inc. is celebrating its 58th year in business. We are a design?EUR??,,????'?????<

The Dog Pond: We designed, installed and now maintain a swimming pool/pond for pampered pooches. As anyone who has ever had a dog knows, these four-legged creatures who provide unconditional love quickly become members of our families. A 35,000-gallon concrete pool with a recirculating waterfall provides the pets with hours of exercise and keeps them out of the lower ponds. They have their own diving dock made of Pau Lope lumber located at one end of the pool. Steps at the opposite end of the pool make egress easier on the animals. The dogs walk out onto a stepping stone/gravel path and then onto grass that acts as a paw wipe. They are given a quick rinse in a gravel area by the back door before being taken to their private pooch shower in the house.

Reclaimed sidewalk stone and natural river stone form the floor and walls of the upper terrace, which offers an outdoor kitchen veneered in river stone. The cedar arbor, designed for simplicity and function, is ledgered to the house just under the gutters.

A broken glass reclaimed sidewalk stone patio for observers to relax and share the experience with the dogs flanks the pond. Our lead foreman for this project, Mike Paul, enjoyed the pool project the most. He did give me a look of confusion when I asked for an addition to the pool. We placed a three-ton flat rock on top of a 2'x2'x2' concrete pedestal for stability. The rock cantilevers over the pedestal on all sides so the pedestal is not visible. The top of the rock sticks out of the water about two inches. I looked at Mike and said, ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The scope of this project was quite extensive and also included these elements:

400-Ft. Chip/Seal Heated Driveway: The old driveway was eliminated and replaced with a walking path to a secret garden that doubles as an emergency parking area and access up to the house during flooding events. The new drive meanders through the woods up a 40-ft. incline. Swales divert rainwater to drains and extensive boulder walls retain necessary cuts in the hillside. Heavy Ohio snowfalls are not a problem as the entire drive is heated. The finish is chip and seal pea gravel, which gives the home a country estate look. It has bump outs and overflow parking for events. Between 5,000-6,000 yards of fill were brought in to create the necessary grading.

A reclaimed broken glass sandstone walk with a brick soldier course leads through and circles the knot garden. A twin pair of custom circular stone benches with round hand-cut and chiseled bases completes the circular theme. An armillary (celestial sphere) marks the radius point of the entire area.

A Brick Vehicular Court Yard: Arrival to the home is gently announced with a 2,200 square foot vehicular courtyard. Pawnee clay bricks are dry-laid over a concrete base. This area is also heated. The house and garage provide enclosure to two sides of this area. Approximately 700 face feet of dry laid briar hill sandstone peppered with reclaimed barn stone tame a four-foot cut into a hillside and provide enclosure on the third side of the court yard. Intricate soldier courses break up the vast area, while a subtle dark gray brick inlay in the shape of an eight-foot horse reminds the client of their hobby.

Front Walks: A crab orchard sandstone walk connects the garage to the house. The front walk is made of the same materials and both are heated like the driveway. A Pawnee-paver soldier course around the front walk transitions into the driveway.

Four Custom Designed Masonry Stone Columns: Two columns serve as a transition point where the chip and seal drive meet the brick section. They are made with native natural river stone and brown sandstone banding. The top is capped with the same rock-faced sandstone. Ornamental lighting on top of the columns completes the look. The second column pair has subtle design differences and serves as entry and security to the property. Hand-hewn cedar gates with hand-painted and antiqued bark finished spindles work in unison with the columns to create a stately entrance.

Formal Knot Garden Melds into an Informal Landscape: A reclaimed broken glass sandstone walk with a brick soldier course takes visitors through the knot garden, or around it in a complete circle. A twin pair of custom circular stone benches with round hand-cut and chiseled bases completes the circular theme while offering a secluded place to rest after cutting some fresh herbs for a special dinner. An armillary marks the radius point of the entire area.

Stone/Metal Sculpted Focal Point: A six-foot tall tapering piece of barn stone was brought to the site, not knowing exactly where it would wind up. After setting it in a circular bed where four walkways converge, it needed something to be a truly unique focal point. A metal sculpture was designed and fabricated, complete with veining branches and leaves. A living vine growing up the sculpture provides the right finishing touch.

The retaining walls, which emulate one existing wall, are veneered with a natural river stone. Brick complements the river stone on the lower terrace and reclaimed sandstone curbs provide a staircase to the lower ponds, with a barn stone bench half way down. The landscape lighting is controlled via computer from the home.

Patios and Terraces: A series of terraces located on three different elevations work in unison to provide traffic flow, outdoor cooking, entertaining, private contemplation and exploration. The retaining walls, which emulate one existing wall, are veneered with a natural river stone. The built in kitchen counter houses a sink and refrigerator, has teak access doors and is veneered with the same river stone. A cedar arbor provides shade over the main patio. The arbor is simplistic in design and ledgered to the house just under the gutter.

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Back Yard Drop: The back yard falls off abruptly with a grade change of about 30 feet down to two existing ponds. This severe grade change was terraced and tamed with numerous truckloads (hundreds of tons) of natural sandstone boulders. A staircase created from reclaimed curbstones with a sitting bench halfway down provides access two-thirds of the way down to the ponds. A series of smaller steps and secondary gravel paths lead visitors to the pond?EUR??,,????'?????<

The vehicular courtyard is colorfully announced in 2,200 square feet of Pawnee paver clay bricks dry-laid over a concrete base. Intricate soldier courses add interest, while a subtle dark gray brick inlay in the shape of an eight-ft. horse proclaims the client?EUR??,,????'?????<

This amount of hardscaping needs a lot of softening. The extensive planting includes 57 shade and ornamental trees, (some spaded in with a 90-inch tree spade), 41 evergreen trees, nearly 1,000 shrubs, 1,600 perennials, 2,700 containers of groundcover and annuals for additional summer color.

Wayne Impullitti, the president and owner of Impullitti Landscaping, was the main liaison with the client during the installation. The client?EUR??,,????'?????<

Between 5,000-6,000 yards of fill were brought in to create the necessary grading for the driveway. A small rubbish can shed (right) mimics the architecture of the house and is flanked by sandstone walls.

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This was truly a challenging, exciting and fun project to design and manage. You won?EUR??,,????'?????<

The new 400-ft. plus chip and seal pea gravel drive meanders through the woods up a 40-ft. incline. Swales lead excess rainwater to drains and extensive boulder walls retain necessary cuts in the hillside. Heavy Ohio snowfalls are not a problem, as the entire drive is heated. A pair of hand-hewn cedar gates with hand-painted and antiqued bark finished spindles work in unison with the stone veneered columns to create a stately entrance.