by Christy Almazan

	Fountain Grass (Pennisetum sedaceum) Generally clum forming, with arching stems tipped with fat, furry flower plumes in summer. Used in containers, in perennial or shrub borders, or as bank cover. Zones 8-24, 26-29
	To keep the "animal" theme consistent throughout the project, colorful 4" x 4" ceramic tiles (#2) featuring frogs or lizards were attached to the entry pilasters. The pilasters consists of a 20" square cast concrete cap (#1) in a natural color with a medium sand-blasted finish. The entry pilaster complements the kiosk and walls, and is also constructed with alternating 8" x 8" x 8" grey precision and split faced blocks (#4 and #5), which are topped with an 8" x 2" x8" gray precision cap (#3).
	Animal paw prints-- mother bear and cub, deer, squirrel, raccoon, mountain lion, coyote, rabbits-- were embedded throughout the park, converging nto a "watering hole."
	The entire park was constructed with a multitude of "secrets" that children can discover. The hardscape contractors stamped various plaster-of-paris animal track molds into the parks surface. The playgrounds are separated by a "talking mound"-- a pvc pipe that runs underground, connects to the other end of the mound, and has two speakers on each end, so kids can talk through it. Huge slope slides.
	also beckon to adventurous children who dare to ride them. On each gateway to the play areas, one side has a "reading room," which is surrounded by stonehedege rock forms On the north side is the watering hole--a fountain that drains off of itself to form a river that goes into a drain. The river then goes around a series of rocks where kids can play.

Accurate Landscape & Maintenance, based in Orange, CA, installed the unique landscape for this community park. The contractors moved the plant materials into the center of Acorn Park and spotted-- or placed them to be planted. The design intent of the plant material was to not look manicured. A 13-man crew (consisting of a manager, supervisor, foreman and ten laborers) installed all native plant material such as Toyon, Creeping Mahonia, Deer Grass, Eve Case Coffeeberry, Catalina Evergreen Currant, and Dwarf Coyote Bush. According to the firm's Project Manager Brian Olsen, "The most useful pieces of machinery that the contractors used during the landscape installation of the park were the skiploader and trencher," and recommends them both to other Landscape Contractors for their productivity. A John Deere Skiploader was utilized for ground preparation and the grading of large turf areas in the park. Ditch Witch Trenchers were chosen for the project due to their dependability and were quickest production-wise. For easy access into tight areas, a B2250 Kubota tractor was also used in constructing the landscape. 15 gallon, 24" box, and 36" box trees were also placed throughout the site with the tractor-- as well as the skiploader. The trees on the slopes are planted at a 45 degree angle with plant basins and double-staked. Olsen was challenged with, "the many changes along the way-- such as in types of plant materials, sizes of trees, and sprinkler heads-- and coordination with all hardscape and structures." He adds, "The plant materials and trees used presented a challenge in themselves-- a lot of the materials were difficult to find." As a result, the contractors scoured numerous local nurseries, including Mockingbird Nursery, Riverside, CA; Tree of Life Nursery, San Juan Capistrano, CA; and Valley Crest, Irvine, CA.

The irrigation system of the park consists of a Rainmaster Evolution controller; Hunter rotors, Rain Bird Pop-ups, Rain Bird Valves, and a Griswold Master Valve, as specified by the AVCA and deemed an industry standard. An AVCA representative states that the irrigation system is innovative, due to the advanced evapotranspiration (ET) software and explains, "It only irrigates when the soil reaches a user set depletion level; whereas other systems irrigate on a regular basis. Basically when the weather is cooler, the system irrigates less and when it is warmer, it irrigates more frequently. The system also meets the needs of the park because there is a minimum amount of water waste." For liability issues, the irrigation lines are both buried on flat level surfaces, in order to avoid injuries and breakage; and exposed on the slope because there is no traffic or activity in these areas. Olsen explains, "We don't normally trench on a slope area because we don't want to disturb the compaction of the slope." A total of 12,400 feet (2.3 miles) of pipe was laid out. The maintenance contractor, Pacific Environmental Landscapes in Lake Forest, CA, sets the time and amount of water to be given to each tree. In combining the two controllers, there are approximately 44 individual irrigation circuits throughout the park. The water usage-- based on a .12 ET-- total to an average of 416 units per month (309,000 gallons). Olsen adds, "The AVCA has a central control system and we ran the communication wire to hook it up," so that they could operate the controllers through a central computer system.

Erosion challenges presented by the landscape architect included areas under the playground slides on the slopes. The slides were tied into the slope with anchor-type footings and attached to the retaining wall at the middle of the hill. Owner Don Rondeau of United Builders explains that when they worked during the summer there was not much worry about erosion control; those problems arose during the winter. Olsen adds, "We used a great deal of jute netting and mass planting in this area."

Reclaimed water and water lines were installed per the Moulton Niguel Water District's guidelines. Ruth Bakkedahl, a district lab tech briefly explains that in recycling water, "The water goes through different treatment processes. But after the second treatment, the water goes through a terciary treatment, which polishes the water by using sand filters until it looks identical to drinking water. Also, chlorine is added to kill whatever bacteria is in it." In the end, the water goes to the reservoirs and pumped for watering into landscapes in medians, parks and freeways.

Rondeau and his hardscape crew-- 1 foreman, 6 concrete finishers-- were involved in various activities including installing the four foot tall concrete retaining walls (which travel from the street into the park and provide access to the slides and into the park) to stamping the animal paw prints (including those of a mother bear and cub, deer, squirrel, raccoon, mountain lion, coyote, rabbits) in the concrete with plaster of paris prints. Due to limited access to the terrain, a concrete pump--a pump with a 300 foot long hose-- was utilized for the concrete paving system. The retaining walls required a backhoe initially to dig out the footing for the retaining walls, then the concrete finishers installed split-faced Orco masonry blocks by hand. According to Rondeau, "The biggest obstacle was the terrain. The retaining walls were on a very steep slope and because of the unusual terrain it was difficult to move equipment and materials around." In addition, the hardscape specialists installed the concrete stairs, rope hand rails, railroad tie stairways leading to the big slides on the slopes, a dry river bed with concrete curves on both sides and filled with play sand, and custom-made ceramic tiles with frogs and lizards on the masonry pillars.

Due to the teamwork of the Landscape Contractors, hardscape specialists, landscape architects, and the AVCA, visitors can discover the "secrets" of Acorn Park in a setting that provides structural integrity and a sense of pride for the Aliso Viejo community. lcm