Landscape Architect Articles

Two Landscapes, Five Minutes Apart, A World of Difference07-07-08 | News

Two Landscapes, Five Minutes Apart, A World of Difference

By Gregory Harris, assistant editor

The heavily forested backyard of this residence was transformed into a watery retreat with the installation of this waterfall. Many existing plants were used to give the appearance of this water feature being a natural part of the landscape rather than a man-made addition to the property. Photo courtesy of The Pattie Group

The Pattie Group, a Novelty, Ohio-based landscape architecture firm, was given the task of transforming two residential landscapes into backyards featuring magnificent water features.

A homeowner in Hunting Valley, Ohio ?EUR??,,????'??? a suburb of Cleveland ?EUR??,,????'??? who worked primarily from home was confronted with a difficult to navigate driveway. The 1/4-mile long driveway is hilly and winds from the street to his house. Trees close to 100-years old lined the driveway, with their branches hanging over the road. Major problems arose with this driveway during the winter months, when delivery trucks would try to navigate the driveway in snowy conditions. On several occasions, the trucks could not make it up the driveway to the house; instead, they would end up sliding down the hill and getting stuck in a ditch.

With much coaxing, the homeowners agreed to have an old deck replaced with this new, multi-level pine deck with a built-in planter. The new deck offers better views of the waterfall than the old deck, which was located at a higher elevation. Photo courtesy of The Pattie Group

Jonas Pattie, director of product development at The Pattie Group, said the homeowner had laid stumps along the driveway to act as curbing, but this did not solve the problem. After consulting with the homeowner about the driveway issue, Pattie suggested using asphalt curbs rather than the tree stumps.

After this initial consultation, Pattie asked the homeowner if he wanted him to take a look at anything else outside of the home, with the homeowner responding that he and his wife did not spend much time outside due to the abundance of deer flies in the heavily wooded area.

Rhododendrons, azaleas, jack pines, hillside creeper pines, cotoneaster ferns, and ivy were used to create a lush backdrop and provide a natural softening to frame the waterfall.

?EUR??,,????'??We went to the back of his house, and there is a hillside that goes down to the house,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??I told him that hillside is crying out for a water feature.?EUR??,,????'??

Pattie said in discussing potential plans for the backyard, the homeowner said that he wanted to create an oasis for his wife, in part to make up ?EUR??,,????'??for all the vacations he never took her on.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??The planning kind of snowballed from there,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said.

The design package started with a clean up of the front of the house, including trimming the overgrowth that had formed due to the many trees on the property, but focused primarily on the back of the house.

The waterfall was built into the hillside and constructed of shot concrete, rebar, natural Ohio sandstone and river stone. Each rock was carefully chiseled to allow water to cascade perfectly.

?EUR??,,????'??The site can best be described as an overgrown jungle,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??The first thing we did was a massive, three-day long cleanup that included pruning the trees and removing saplings. We tried to reuse and work around as many trees that could be kept.?EUR??,,????'??

Pattie noted that the deer flies made the cleanup work much more difficult for the various crews on site. Two pounds of pesticide were used to eradicate the deer flies.

Once the trees and shrubs were cleaned up, the potential of the backyard came into focus. One hurdle to the vision of the backyard design was an existing deck.

?EUR??,,????'??The existing deck was not in bad shape, it was actually constructed very well, but the view from this deck was not conducive to taking advantage of viewing the new water feature,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??The water feature is the focal point of the project and the major feature of most views from the house.?EUR??,,????'??

After a bit of coaxing, the homeowner agreed to replace the old deck with a new multi-level pine deck. The waterfall plan fit perfectly with the slope of the hill.

Plants native to woodland areas such as ivy and ferns were used to give the water feature a natural look. Existing evergreen trees were allowed to have their branches hang close to the water to give the impression that the site was formed by nature. Photos courtesy of The Pattie Group

?EUR??,,????'??We just had to take the hillside, carve out where the stream would flow, find a spot for the water at the top of the hill and the pond at the bottom,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said.

In Pattie Group-speak, this water feature is described as being ?EUR??,,????'??large,?EUR??,,????'?? on a scale of ?EUR??,,????'??small,?EUR??,,????'?? ?EUR??,,????'??medium,?EUR??,,????'?? ?EUR??,,????'??large?EUR??,,????'?? and ?EUR??,,????'??extra large.?EUR??,,????'?? Gravel was placed in the bottom of the source pool and boulders were mortared to the concrete structure of the water feature. The waterfall ?EUR??,,????'??? built into the hillside ?EUR??,,????'??? was constructed of shot concrete, rebar, and natural Ohio sandstone and river stone. Each rock was carefully chiseled to allow water to cascade perfectly.

The project includes an irrigation and autofill system, which helps to maintain the flow of water at a constant level. The source pool is approximately two feet by four feet with a depth of about 18 inches, and a tanker was originally brought in to fill this pool. Water flows from the source pool down the waterfall to the pond at the bottom of the hill. The source pool was installed as a way to make the water feature appear more natural to the landscape.

It is so much fun when you work with someone who respects your artwork and the work that you do.?EUR??,,????'??+Jonas Pattie

Pattie said the waterfall was originally designed to have a substantial flow with a 900 gpm pump. The homeowner wanted more volume to the flow of water, however, so a 600 gpm pump was added to the waterfall. The water feature was also designed to have water flow from the sides of the structure, giving the waterfall a more substantial feel.

The large amount of trees surrounding this backyard and the fact that the area is flush with deer made selecting the proper plants for the site very important.

?EUR??,,????'??The deer will eat everything,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie noted.

Plants such as rhododendrons were used, which Pattie said the deer nibble at but do not devour. In addition, plants that thrive in shady conditions were selected, as the numerous trees surrounding that backyard block the sun from beating down on the plants. Ivy and ferns ?EUR??,,????'??? plants native to woodland settings ?EUR??,,????'??? were also used.

The water feature originally had a 900 gallon-per-minute pump, but the homeowner wanted a more substantial flow. A second 600 gpm pump was added, and some of the water was designed to ?EUR??,,????'??shoot out?EUR??,,????'?? from the sides of the water feature to give more volume to the waterfall.

?EUR??,,????'??The plants at the top of the water feature soften the site and help to hide where the pool starts,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??We wanted to make the site look as natural as possible.?EUR??,,????'??

Pattie said this Hunting Valley project represents one of the most memorable projects that he has ever worked on.

?EUR??,,????'??It is so much fun when you work with someone who respects your artwork and the work that you do,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said.

Pattie said the homeowner, who was on site during much of the construction project, was very pleased with the end result.

?EUR??,,????'??When talking about this project, he said ?EUR??,,????'??I sit and stare at this beautiful scene, and my cup runneth over,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'?? Pattie noted.

The steep slope of the hill at this Gates Mills residence allowed for a lengthy waterfall that flows from a koi pond located near the front entrance of the home down to this lower pond. The small footbridge follows a path that leads to the home?EUR??,,????'???s lower pool patio. Photos courtesy of The Pattie Group

Bigger and Bolder

The second project involved a client who resides in Gates Mills, Ohio. Gates Mills is a community about five minutes away from Hunting Valley, but the landscape for this property is a world away from the previous project.

Unlike the Hunting Valley project, the Gates Mills landscape project offered more open space for construction. Additionally, unlike Hunting Valley, the landscape design for this project was undertaken on a house that was under construction.

?EUR??,,????'??The client on this project built a total dream house with a luxurious, stately feel and he wanted a landscape to match,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??This property has an entrance gate, a large winding drive, a bridge that runs over a creek. When you drive in, you say ?EUR??,,????'??wow?EUR??,,????'??? which is what the homeowner wanted.?EUR??,,????'??

Above and below: A close-up of view of the koi pond shows the contrast of the serenity of the pond and the jagged edge of a small waterfall. The koi pond sits next to the entry of the house, with a bridge serving as a point of reference to where the rapids begin. The rapids in this water feature were produced with the help a 5,800 gallons per minute pump combined with a relatively steep decline in the landscape. The size of the project resulted in the plants being massed in groups of 11 and 15 rather than the typical threes, fives and sevens. Photos courtesy of The Pattie Group

The landscape for the Gates Mills project includes a koi pond located off of the main residence ?EUR??,,????'??? yes, there is a guest residence on the property ?EUR??,,????'??? with a waterfall that flows down toward a lower pond. A footbridge and pathway leads visitors through the garden, over the creek, and to the lower pool patio. The water feature on this project uses one large pump, a 5,800 gpm monster, to help push the water through the landscape.

As with the Hunting Valley project, deer are an issue for Gates Mills residents, requiring the plant pallet to feature deer resistant plants. As a result of the house and property being so large, care had to be taken in placing the plants.

?EUR??,,????'??Usually on landscape projects, we plant in groups of threes and fives,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??Everything is so big on this site, so in order for it to look good, we had to mass them in groups of 11 and 15.?EUR??,,????'??

Pattie said installation of the water feature and of the landscape was a challenge because the various contractors working on the house were trying to complete their projects at the same time. This problem was solved, but it did lead to a new approach for the Pattie Group for future projects.

?EUR??,,????'??We like to get involved with the architects while they are designing the project,?EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??This way, we have input on the placement of the house and things like the driveway approach. This helps with the design of the water feature, as we can determine the best drainage options before the house is constructed.?EUR??,,????'??

The pond is a little deeper at the Gates Mills residence because the homeowner wanted to have koi fish in the pond, but both water features have their origins in one philosophy.

?EUR??,,????'??We come in with the question, ?EUR??,,????'??what does the setting ask for??EUR??,,????'?? Pattie said. ?EUR??,,????'??We design around that question, which makes the water feature look like a natural component of the landscape.?EUR??,,????'??