Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples are always a great addition to the landscape...

Their vibrant colour and soft architectural form add a great focal point to the overall look of a garden.  In many examples of my work, I always try to incorporate a Japanese Maple in the planting plan.

Most often when planning the gardens for the front yard of a home, the Japanese Maple is a must for me... it serves as a "sign post" to draw a visitor's attention to the front entrance of the home.  The garden tells a story for your guests... it should always lead a visitor to the front door of the home.  The bright colours of the Japanese Maple will attract a person's eye and if carefully placed, it will allow the visitor to instantly find the front door of the home!

My rule of thumb is to place it slightly off to one side of the front door... never directly in the main sight-line of the door...

Working Hard on a pool landscape plan...

 Its been a very busy spring...actually a busy winter as well.  I worked on landscape projects right up until New Year's Eve of 2011....took a small break after that in January and have been going strong since...

Below is a plan that I did back in January...

I started out with this customer in the fall of last year and we talked a fair bit about certain wants in their landscape project.  There were some "must haves" to accompany the pool design and so the budget needed to follow a set number...otherwise this project would be a lost dream!

Anyway, I am happy to say that we came within reason of the anticipated budget numbers.  I did my best to keep the patio square footage numbers to a minimum and that helped to balance the rest of the project costs out.  There was a previous landscape plan drawn up by a pool company for this particular project with almost 30 percent more patio included in the proposal...I just did not understand, nor did I see the need for so much more square footage.  The only other reason I could think of was for the contractor to make more money! 

A good landscape designer should always be looking out for your best interests in the design plan....after all, you've hired them!  If patio numbers/sizes start looking like crazy figures... do your research!  Most patios can function comfortably at 300 to 600 square feet....if you add in a pool you are usually closer to 1000 square feet when you factor in walkways and sun areas.  This particular project shown in the pictures ended up closer to 2000 square feet as the customers expressed to me that they do a lot of entertaining and tend to have large gatherings of family and friends...30 to 40 people as a maximum!  Obviously a 400 sq ft patio just would not do for those kinds of numbers.... so my job was to plan accordingly!

Choosing the right Pool Contractor

Choosing the right pool contractor can be an endless game when you are looking for rock-bottom pricing! Sometimes that idea can really backfire on you and you will be stuck paying more money to fix problems created by the inexperience that comes with the low prices...

In my line of work, I have come across some great pool contractors and have come into projects where it has been absolute pool nightmares for the customer because their chosen contractor was not all he cracked up to be.

In the photo above we see a pool design I had put together. The drawing was completed a few months before the pool was dug in the ground. The chosen contractor sold the client on a great project and convinced them to change my drawing plan in an attempt to save them money. In reality, the contractor was essentially trying to save himself on construction costs so he could obtain more profit from this particular job.

My drawing showed the pool sitting lower in grade than what the existing grade at the back of the home was. The yard sloped downward and so it was important to drop the pool level with a small retaining wall between the home and the pool like in the picture...

The contractor's idea... leave the pool at the same level as the existing grade of the back of the home... which would give them more usable patio space and save them money! Well, on a flat lot, that would be true! Anyway, they trusted his advice and when he started the work, he only had to dig the pool half into the ground... there was the money savings...for him! After he set the pool up he realized that now the back of the pool called for an even higher and longer retaining wall than my original small step-down in the original plan.

He went back to the customer asking for a large sum of money to complete the project and that is when my phone rang.... questions arose as to why things were not working. When I came on site, it was obvious, the plan was not followed and this contractor did not have a clue about grade heights! Solution!...a painful one at best....pull the pool apart, dig the pool pit deeper and re-install everything...follow my plan and everything will work!!!!

The right pool contractor will start with the right design and the right contractor will consider all options before digging a pool in... How professional is it to start a project and ask for more money halfway through because the contractor did not see that what he was doing will end up needing a huge retaining wall!? My plan anticipated that factor and my solution was as shown in the picture. My plan was intended to save the client money and the headache of paying to build a retaining wall in TRCA protected land.

The contractor was fired shortly after my meeting once he fixed the pool height! The customer was forced to find someone else to complete their project...