Santa Cruz Landscaping: Central Home Supply

 

I have been landscaping in Santa Cruz for more than 6 years now. I have, since the beginning, used Central Home Supply for all my stone, soils and bulk materials.

Central Home in Santa Cruz has an amazing selection of natural stone, as well as, pavers, concrete products, veneer stone and Allen Block, which we use for our retaining walls.

Central Home Supply has a friendly staff that has helped me on numerous occasions, get the product I need for my clients. Too, they are locals & know all the ins & outs of landscaping in Santa Cruz.

I recommend them for any of your landscaping or masonry needs, whether you are a homeowner or a landscape contractor. Central Home in Santa Cruz is an incredible business to be a part of.

www.livingwaterslandscaping.com 

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Vanishing Waterfall Construction

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Clay Lined Ponds

I had a chance this week to return to a project that we finished last year in Watsonville, which is just outside of Santa Cruz.

This project was an existing 50,000 gallon natural pond with a small stream flowing onto it. 

Our job was to re-work the pond, stabilize the edges and add a waterfall.

So, we drained and reshaped the pond and imported clay pond-fill. 

Using clay as a pond liner is great for natural ponds that don't need a contained system or a consistent water level. Bentonite clay makes a great pond liner, because it expands when it gets wet and seals in almost all the water.

We did some rock work around the edges of the pond for stability, and added a gravel beach area for swimming access. The pond was to be kept as natural as possible because it is going to be used as a turtle and frog habitat. 


Once the pond was complete we added a waterfall and a biological filter system. We wanted this system to have natural filtration only. 

We used locally harvested Limestone for all the rock work.

The waterfall runs off a 3/4 horse power external pump. We installed two 6 inch bottom drains that gravity feed into a small bog. 
The pump draws water from the bog and pushes it to the top of the waterfall. 

At the top of the falls we installed the biological filter. This is a small bog like area that the water percolates through. It is filled with gravel and has filtering and decorative aquatic plants. The biological filter works by allowing beneficial bacteria a place to live and help filter the water as it passes through.

We added some low voltage landscape lighting and landscaped the project area.

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Los Gatos Retaining Wall #2

Just wanted to post a few pictures from the retaining wall we are finishing up in Los Gatos. 

As I mentioned before, it is a two tiered  Allen Block wall with a stair case. We added some pathways around the yard and did some re-vegetation work in the project area.


Working with Allen Block is always refreshing for me, after working with natural stone for a while. Allen Block is always perfect, just set it in at the desired height, and you have a beautiful and functional retaining wall.
Don't get me wrong, I love walling with natural stone, but it is healthy for me to break it up occasionally with some pre-cast wall block.

Here are some before and after pictures:

Excavation

 Construction

 Finished

As always, feel free to contact us with any landscaping questions or to request a free proposal in or around Santa Cruz for your project.

Thank You,

Jacob 

Living Waters Landscaping

831-566-8346 

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Pergola in Felton, Ca. #3

Here is the near finished Pergola.

We had to build around the established Wisteria vines in some places.

We also added a Redwood fence and a 6x6 timber retaining wall.

Old Wisteria Vines

As we were building this Pergola, we were able to meet a lot of the neighbors on the street. This is a really friendly neighborhood and everyone seems to know each other. As people walked by with their families or their dogs, we found out that a large percentage of the  neighborhood comes by to see the Wisteria in bloom every year.  Some people say the come by to take pictures even. The people we talked to were very happy that we were taking extra precautions to save this neighborhood heirloom.

I have yet to see this old vine in bloom, but I am happy to be a part of a somewhat historical restoration and plant preservation. 

Working Around the Wisteria

We will come back in a week or two for some final touch ups. We still need to sand and stain the entire structure and tie up some vines that are loose.