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.

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.

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: Pergola in Felton #2

We set the posts and lifted the beams today.

We shopped around the county to find some really nice Con-Heart  Redwood. We think it's not only a beautiful wood, but also a practical choice for this arbor. We had to wrestle with the Wisteria vines a little to get the beams in, but once we set them, everything really started to take shape. Check out these pictures & the ones below.

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Retaining Wall Los Gatos

We have had an amazingly busy January and February. This is probably our busiest yet for our landscaping company. We have been working hard on a couple of different projects this week. Here is a look at the construction of a wonderful retaining wall we are building.

Retaining Wall excavation

We are installing an Allen Block Retaining Wall in the hills above Los Gatos, which is just outside Santa Cruz. We dug out the footer and laid our base course to the retaining wall this week. This can take up about 70% of the total time in the construction of an Allen Block Retaining Wall. However, once the base course is set, the rest of the retaining wall can go up in a day!

So, we laid out our lines and dug in our footer. We all had our fair share of digging in the great Santa Cruz mountain clay! After the excavation, we set our footer of compacted drain rock and laid in our first course of block. Our clients chose the Classic AB block in the tan color, which not only make an attractive retaining wall but very secure as well.

In particular Allen Block is a great choice for retaining walls. It is functional and visually appealing. It has excellent drainage and will last a lifetime.

These retaining walls will be used to retain our clients garden space, as well as give an excellent access to their upper patio. We will also be building in two sets of stairs that will run from the lower garden to the upper patio area, which will make this landscaping project not only very functional, but beautiful as well.


If you have any questions, comments, or job requests please visit our website: www.livingwaterslandscaping.com

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Creek Koi Pond #3

Well, we are finishing up this rather fun landscaping project in Boulder Creek, which is just outside Santa Cruz. At this project we are retrofitting a Koi pond and dressing up the existing landscaping.

Grouting the pathways

The new filtration is done, the pathways are done and the planting will be done tomorrow.

As with any pond retrofit or re-build, we have found some issues that need to be cared for:
First, we finally got all the new pumps and filtration installed. This included building a new deck and retaining wall to house the pumps and filters. We have two external pumps running, one for filtration and one for the waterfalls. When we finally turned on the waterfall pump we noticed that the existing falls was leaking drastically out the back! It looked like the builder of the waterfall did the installation rather well, so I was confused as to why it was leaking.

Fixing the waterfall

So, we decided to dismantle the upper part of the waterfalls to start the troubleshoot. We quickly found the issue....
a 6 inch hole in the liner that looked like it was chewed out by a gopher or a rat!!

This can usually mean that we would have to rebuild the whole waterfall. Luckily, we only had to fix the upper falls. We pulled out the rock and installed a new biological filter box and seamed the liner to that above the hole.
It is now flowing great and our client actually likes it more then the original waterfall!!!

Our client had one koi fish left from his original pond.
It had been living in a small tank for the past 3 weeks as we finished the retrofit. Yesterday we set the koi free and he seems to love his new home.


The filtration system is running well and we are all happy with the landscaping project so far. I  look forward to seeing the pond, koi , and plant life grow and mature over the years.

6 Light 240 watt UV filter with large Advanced Bead Filter

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Creek Koi Pond #2

In my last post I was talking about a landscaping project we are working on this week outside Santa Cruz in Boulder Creek.

It is a Koi pond retrofit with some pathway work and some general landscaping.

I wanted to post some progress pictures from the pathway work we are doing. We just finished setting the stone and we will come back on Monday to grout.

We are using an Arizona Rose Select stone for the paths. We set the stone on a concrete footer and mortared it in.

 

We took care in our selection of stone and took some extra time in 'cutting in' the stone so that we could give our client a quality pathway.

Each stone was hand cut using a diamond blade on an angle grinder.

It looks a little messy now, but we will get it cleaned up next week when we grout and bring in some new plants and mulch!

www.livingwaterslandscaping.com

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Creek Koi Pond

Here are some pics of a landscaping project we are working on this week in outside of Santa Cruz in Boulder Creek, Ca.

My client contacted me to help him upgrade the filtration system in his existing Koi pond.

The pond had a skimmer box with two submersible pumps circulating water to two separate waterfalls.

We discussed the different options for retrofitting the pond to give them a more adequate filtration system. We decided to keep the existing pond in tact and upgrade the pumps and filters. 

We removed the submersible pumps and installed two 1/3 horsepower external pumps.

Pump #1 will draw water from the skimmer box and return the water to the waterfalls. This pump will only run during daylight hours.

Pump #2 will run the filtration system. This pump will draw water from two separate bottom drains and push the water through a 700 gallon bead filter and a UV filter before returning to circulation jets located in the pond.

This pump will run 24 hours a day.

 

 We also installed an aerator with two diffusers  to help circulate and add oxygen to the pond. 

In addition to the pond work, we are building a concrete retaining wall, a pump and filter housing, flagstone walkways and some basic landscaping around the pond.

We will upgrade the irrigation system and and check the low voltage landscape lighting to make sure all is working properly before we depart.

I will post some more pictures and details next week as we finish up this project.

www.livingwaterslandscaping.com

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Another Pondless Waterfall

Here is another Pondless Waterfall we built in Scotts Valley, Ca, which is a city just outside of Santa Cruz. Pondless waterfalls are a beautiful piece of landscaping. This was one of my favorite features to work on. Although the excavation was tough, it was a solid rock hillside, it still came out beautiful.

The first picture was taken just after excavation. As you can see we are about to put the liner in and start building.
For this job we used a Bobcat and a Mini-excavator during this construction. This allowed us to use some good sized boulders.
Our clients chose Sonoma Fieldstone and Cold Water Canyon stone to use in this landscaping feature. These stones work well together and make a very natural water feature. Once again, its our goal to create waterfalls you might see in any mountains whether Santa Cruz or some other beautiful coastal range.

I will be posting more on pondless waterfalls, pond filtration, pond maintenance and other landscaping features in the future. If you want more information please visit my website @ Living Waters Landscaping.com 

The rest of the pictures show the finished product. I plan to go back for some more pics next year when the plants have had a chance to mature.

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Maintaining Pond Balance

Maintaining balance in our ponds is important. The ponds we create are designed after what we see in the Santa Cruz Mountains streams and water features. In the same way that we design our ponds and waterfalls after nature, we want them to function like they do in nature. As always our landscaping is meant to recreate what we all enjoy in the mountains. 
 

The thought behind the filtration on our ponds is based on the natural ecosystem of a pond or waterfall. Water is filtered by flowing over and through rock and sand. Then the water is aerated when flowing over waterfalls. When the water reaches the pond, thats where the natural eco-system thrives. Plants in the pond cleanse the water while drawing nutrients in through their roots. Fish eat algae and mosquitoes. Then the beneficial bacteria in the bottom of the pond goes to work. Beneficial bacteria consume fish waste and other organic matter. They convert deadly ammonia into nitrites and then into harmless nitrates and nitrogen. Ponds are truly a wonder when considering landscaping! 

After all the biological filtration is done, the water is then mechanically filtered. The water is drawn into a skimmer box from the pond. In the skimmer there is a leaf catch for large debris, and a woven mesh screen for smaller particles. Water is also gravity fed through bottom drains into settling tanks that help separate waste and clean water. The clean water is then pumped through a pressurized bead filter. The bead filter is another great place to house beneficial bacteria. The clean water is then pumped back into the system, either to the top of a waterfall, or to underwater circulating jets. Some other features we install to help with water quality are, aerators, UV filters and natural bog filters.
Although this sounds complicated it is a relatively simple landscaping feature for all to enjoy; especially the Koi! 

I will be posting more on pond maintenance and pond filtration in the future. If you want more information you can always visit my website @ 
Living Waters Landscaping.com 

Santa Cruz Landscaping: Filtrific Water Feature Equipment