Santa Cruz Landscaping: A Bit of Landscaping History

Here's a bit of history on the art of Landscaping. Landscaping isn't just making a yard look better it really is an art form; or at least it is for us, our landscaping in Santa Cruz is more than rearranging dirt, it's art. (This article was taken from: Wikipedia.)

Thales the Father of Landscaping

"Landscaping is both science and art. This requires both good observation and design skills. A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction, and blends them accordingly.

Thales, an early Greek philosopher known for his view that "all is water," spent a considerable time thinking about the nature and scope of landscaping. Some of his students believed that in order for human activity to be considered landscaping, it must be directed toward modifying the physical features of the land itself, including the cultivation and/or manipulation of plants or other flora. Thales rejected this notion, arguing that any aspect of the material world affecting our visual perception of the land was a proper subject for landscaping. Both Plato and Aristotle praised Thales' analysis as a model for philosophy. In the early 20th century, British philosopher G.E. Moore cited Thales' reasoning as one of the few historical examples of how philosophical inquiry has led to genuine human understanding and progress.

Philosophers in the 17th century debated whether visual beauty was a necessary goal of landscaping. With the advent of the positivists by the early 20th century, however, most western philosophers had rejected the notion of an objective esthetic standard for any form of art, including landscaping. Practitioners since the mid-20th century have experimented with jarring visual panoramas that are now generally accepted, at least in western societies, as falling within the scope of landscaping."

A yard isn't just a yard when we get done with it; it's a piece of art. Thales would be proud.

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Creek Koi Pond #4

Mugo Pine

Well, we finished up all the final touches on the koi pond, filtration system, irrigation and landscaping today at our Boulder Creek project just outside of Santa Cruz.

We had such a great time working on this project. Our clients are wonderful people, the job site has a beautiful view, and we were able to do some nice stone work, plantings, & other landscaping features.

Our clients were looking for a Japanese/ Asian style landscape design. This allowed us to install some nice features. A small Mugo Pine, Mondo grass, a red leaf Japanese maple and a Bamboo hedge were a few of the features.

The Bamboo hedge we planted near the entrance to the garden, has three different types of clumping Bamboo: A Golden, a Buddha's Belly and a purple stock Bamboo. These will grow together to give a beautiful display, as well as provide privacy in the garden. We chose clumping Bamboo because it will stay more contained compared to a running Bamboo. This is important for smaller garden spaces.

Entrance to the Garden

The Japanese Maple we planted will grow out over the Koi pond and give the Koi a little bit of shade in the hot summer months. Although it will shed its leaves in the fall, creating a little more maintenance, it will be a treasure to the garden and pond as it matures.

Some other features in the garden are, landscape lighting, statuary and a 650 pound Zen boulder that we placed strategically near the entrance to the garden.

My client has introduced 5 new Koi into the pond this week. They are all happy and well.

We will have some more work to do on the property this season, but for now, its off to the next landscaping project!