Small patio remodel: concrete work

This patio is the focal point when looking from the house. Formerly cracked old concrete, it will be warm colored flagstone banded with integral color concrete. A fountain on a pedestal will add movement and sound, and the overall effect will bring the Spanish look of the house and existing patio all the way toContinue reading “Small patio remodel: concrete work”

A step forward: new concrete paths

The concrete was installed today, pumped from a truck into the forms set up earlier, then textured. It won’t be walkable for three more days, and it will take three more weeks until anyone can drive on the banding. The concrete arrived pre-mixed in trucks, with color already added to the mix. The wet “mud”Continue reading “A step forward: new concrete paths”

A new garden comes together in Fair Oaks

By spring, this natural-looking landscape should be growing in. The plants are supposedly deer-resistant, although I say, “supposedly” because deer can’t read and don’t always know they’re not going to like something. Many of the plants are natives, so there should be more birds and butterflies adding life. This is a borderline area, more visualContinue reading “A new garden comes together in Fair Oaks”

Dirty hands: demolition & fun with recycled concrete

Who says landscape architects never get their hands dirty? That they sit at their computers from the rising of the sun to its sinking in the West dreaming of landscapes, creating plans and never having, say, a pair of pants ruined by getting splashed with uncured concrete. Well, our showcase garden isn’t going to buildContinue reading “Dirty hands: demolition & fun with recycled concrete”