Timber Stairs

 We are installing a new set of timber stairs for our clients in Asheville this week. Using 6x6 pressure treated lumber we are creating a nicely curved staircase from the back patio to the lower lawn area. 

The new stairs will help our clients get safely through their garden and keep them out of the mud. 

The previous staircase was dangerous and needed to be replaced. 

We will fill the steps with decorative gravel to create a simple and functional path through the garden. 

Jacob

Living Waters Landscaping 

828-301-8017

Asheville Area Pond and Waterfall

So I have been in the Asheville area for about 4 months now and I have been inspired greatly by all the beautiful waterfalls and streams in the mountains here.

I have been working on a waterfall in Madison County, just outside of Asheville, this past month. It is an amazingly beautiful place, in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from the Appalachian trail. It has been a great place to do some fun rock work and landscaping.

I have been working with Reems Creek Nursery and Landscaping out of Weaverville, NC on this project. Reems Creek is an awesome outfit with kind and talented people. I hope to be able to continue to do projects with them for years to come.

The waterfall and pond we have been working on used approx. 35 tons of local Granite fieldstone. It has 3 ponds and two waterfalls. The first waterfall is a cascading fall that drops about 6 feet into the lower pond that we built.

The second waterfall is a straight 3 foot drop off a 1000 lb flat Granite falls rock. Both falls offer a stunning view to our clients from any place in their house. 
It has been fun to work with local stone, trucked in from no more than 30 miles from where they where harvested.
This is different from working in Santa Cruz, where we would have stone trucked in from all over the state, if not from farther away.

I am excited to see the plans God has for us and this company working in Asheville, recreating the beautiful waterfalls and landscapes we all enjoy in this area.

Being a landscape contractor in Asheville, or anywhere, can be difficult, but at the end of the day when we look at the waterfall or landscape we have helped to create, it makes all the hard work worth it.

More Pics soon to come!

Japanese Gardening Asheville

We have spent most of our summer working on this Japanese style garden.
We were chosen, by our clients, to work on this design created by Bud Stuckey. 
The design called for a rather traditional style Japanese Garden in a small backyard.
Although I have only worked on a few Japanese gardens in my career, I felt that I learned a lot and was able to grasp some of the philosophy and patterns in traditional Japanese gardening. The pace, precision and meditation of working with this design, felt very natural to me. It also humbled me and gave me more respect for this type of gardening and stonework itself. I leaned that I have a lot more to learn!

Working with the design, we were able to create some beautiful features that are consistent with traditional Japanese gardening, but had our personal touch.

We installed a Stone Seat at the foot of the stairs to create a place to stop and enjoy the garden and even take of your shoes, if you want.

We also created a Stone Island feature using three hand selected boulders that created a simple triad. This feature was designed to bring a meditative center piece to the garden. 


This garden included a great deal of carpentry to bring a wood element into the space. We installed three Verandas, a deck and some custom planter box benches. 

One of my favorite carpentry features on site is the 'Butterfly Ramada'
that we built over the hot tub deck. It allows our clients some cover and privacy while soaking in the hot tub, and also leaves the sky open for nighttime stargazing. 

Our designer found this beautiful 700 pound slab of 
Cold Water Canyon stone that we used as a bridge from the 'Dry Garden' or Karesansui, to the hot tub deck.
The bridge also gives the illusion that the stream flows under the rock and disappears into the Karenagare, or Dry Stream Bed.  

We finished the project with low voltage landscape lighting throughout, and Japanese style plantings. 

Overall we really enjoyed working on this project, and are thankful to our clients for letting us 'play in their backyard'!

Redwood Fencing in Felton

Here is a before picture of a project we have been working on this week.
Our clients just recently had their septic system renovated to use the treated septic water to irrigate the existing lawn and new landscaping.

The installation of the new system unfortunately left them with an exposed yard with little plant life.
We installed a new decorative Redwood fence and a simple landscape plan to bring this yard back to life.

 The large box at the end of the path is the septic treatment system. We decided to accent the box and use it as a bench instead of trying to hide it.

We also installed a 'Good Neighbor' style privacy fence in the backyard.

Stone Veneer in Los Gatos

Here are some progress pictures from a job in Los Gatos we are working on.

The project includes a Slate patio, a planter box and a retaining wall.


We are using Multi-Classic Stone for all the features on the project. The ledger, slate and cap stones are all Multi-Classic Stone.

We have only finished the hardscaping in these pictures, with the finished landscaping soon to come.

All the stone work was sealed with a Low-Sheen
Stone Laquer. 

Here are some more progress pictures. Enjoy! 

Patio and planter box formed and ready to pour.

Forming the retaining wall.

Finished wall.

As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or inquires about new landscaping projects in Santa Cruz County and the surrounding areas.

Using Recycled Stone in the Landscape

There is a sort of 'Alchemy' applied when working with recycled stone. 

We had a project last week that required us to use a Fieldstone that was pulled off of the interior fireplace during the renovation of the house.

The project required us to wrap two front entryway posts with this natural stone. Using fieldstone to make a square feature can be difficult. Building with used fieldstone makes it even more complicated. 

Fieldstone is round and irregular by nature. Any type of stone can be considered a 'Fieldstone' as long as it has been weathered above ground for some time.
The weathering gives it an aged looked and usually rounds sharp edges. In Santa Cruz, we usually use Sonoma Fieldstone, because it is harvested in California.

Using a stone that is round or has rounded edges can make our job more interesting, when we are trying to create a square column. 

The stone work was capped with recycled Bluestone. The patio at the entryway is made of Bluestone, so incorporating it into our feature helped to bring everything together. 

Landscaping in Santa Cruz:

Slate Entryway Steps

We worked hard this last week to finish a stairway at our clients house in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The design for this project was to create a pathway from the driveway to the front door. We came up with a modern looking, staggered stairway that is veneered with 16 inch 'Multi Color' natural slate.

After initial grading and excavation, we begin the layout and forming. 

Time is taken at this stage of the project to get the design and layout perfect.

Making sure the forming is right will allow the the next stages of the job to go more smoothly.

After the forms are up and secured, we install a grid of 1/2 inch rebar to give strength to the new concrete. The rebar grid is laid on 12-16 inch centers, leaving 2 inches on any side of the rebar from the ground and forms. 

We then pour and finish the concrete. Since we are going to be veneering the steps with natural stone slate, we only need a rough finish on the concrete.

Although the finish is 'rough', it is still very important that the steps are completely flat.

After the concrete has cured, we begin laying the slate. We start with the risers of the steps so when we lay the flat work, or 'treads', they can be set over the risers.

We use Thinset to glue the slate to the concrete. 

The slate is carefully spaced and cut into place when needed.

The 'Multi-Color' slate is a very common slate, and has some rich colors.

The 'nose' of each step tread is bullnosed, using a special diamond blade on the tile saw, prior to installation.

The steps are then grouted with a colored, sanded grout. 

We will also be coming back next week to seal the slate with a 'low sheen' stone sealant.

Please visit my Facebook page and website for more info and pictures of other stone installation projects in Santa Cruz.

www.livingwaterslandscaping.com

Front Yard Landscaping in Santa Cruz, Ca.

We Just finished this front yard landscaping project in the West Side of Santa Cruz. It is a simple design, but has a beautiful impact on the house and neighborhood in general. It includes some sod, plantings, landscape lighting and a brick entryway staircase.

We used the Amaryllis Path Light by Aurora Lighting to illuminate the entryway stairs. They are an elegant, flower like low voltage light that are very functional and add an artistic statement to the new landscape.

Please visit Living Waters Landscaping.com for more information on our services.

Pondless Waterfall Construction in Ben Lomond Ca

Boulder Fountain in Boulder Creek

Here is an example of a simple boulder fountain we just built in Boulder Creek, Ca.

A minimalist design gives this feature a very meditative feel.

Landscaping in Santa Cruz: Bonsai in the Garden

Asheville Landscaping: Japanese/ Bonsai Garden

I recently revisited a project we worked on a couple years ago to see how it has looking.

In this project we teamed up with a Bonsai artist to create a beautiful Japanese style garden. 

We installed a large pond and waterfall with a meandering stream that was framed with lots of stonework. We then accented the landscape with both potted and planted Bonsai trees. Some of the trees are nearly 400 years old!

Adding Bonsai to a garden gives a newly installed landscape an established look and feel.

Working here in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where this project was done, allows us to use a variety of plants and trees in the landscape. In the Santa Cruz Mountains we have a diverse selection of ecosystems, from Riparian corridors to Redwood forests and Chaparral hillsides.

With few days of freezing temperatures and the costal fog, we can play with lots of plantings in our projects. 

   Using potted Bonsai in the project gave the garden points of intrest to to stop and see as you walk through the yard.

We made Redwood pedestals for some of the potted trees to keep them out of the soil and aide in visual interest.

 Adding wood elements to your garden brings a wonderful harmony and contrast to the stone and plantings.

Along with the Bonsai Pedestals, we have a custom Redwood fence with a traditional Japanese Shoji entry gate as a backdrop. 

We also constructed a wooden bridge over the stream, and a Redwood viewing bench at the edge of the patio.

We added the planted Bonsai along the edge of the patio as an anchor and focal point to the garden.

Please visit our website to see more projects we have worked on in the Santa Cruz Mountains:

LivingWatersLandscaping.com

Or on Facebook:

LivingWatersLandscaping/facebook.com

Pondless Waterfall Rebuild in San Jose, Ca.

Filtrific Vanishing Waterfall in Santa Cruz #2

Here we are installing the 'fixed skimmer' that will connect to the waterfall tank. The skimmer allows us to create the 'vanishing waterfall' effect that makes the Filtrific system unique. 

Filtrific Vanishing Waterfall in Santa Cruz

Just starting a new Waterfall project in Bonny Doon, outside Santa Cruz.

We are installing a Filtrific vanishing waterfall for this project.


Using the Filtrific system not only makes the installation easier, it makes the future maintenance much easier.


The tank in the picture is a 400 gallon waterfall filter tank. We will use this tank to house the pump, automatic fill valve, filtration and overflow. The tank is designed to allow for future additions to the system, such as, biological filtration, UV filtration and additional pumps.


The best part about the Filtrific system is, it allows us to create a 'vanishing pool'
effect using a fixed skimmer. 


The skimmer draws debris from the waterfall into the filter tank, where it can be easily accessed.

Inside the tank there a two leaf catch basket filters. Any debris drawn in from the skimmer is caught here.


This system is a much needed improvement to the Pondless Waterfall industry.

In a traditional pondless waterfall, the pump is located in a 'pondless basin' at the bottom of the waterfall. The basin is constructed using 'Matrix Boxes' and various grades of gravel.


The waterfall looks the same, but functions differently. Any debris in the waterfall will be stuck at the top of the pondless basin. This makes maintenance difficult, and can result in pump failure and poor water quality.


We still install both types of features, but we feel that the Filtrific system is superior.