Mock Orange Flowering Shrub - Philadelphus coronarius

Well it's been a while since I posted about a plant or shrub to use in the landscape... Here is a shrub that I use consistently in my designs where space and growing conditions will allow...


This is a shrub that will tolerate Full Sun or Part Shade...but does better in full sun as it will develop more blooms. The fragrance of the blooms is amazing! They have a citrus-like scent to them and when the wind blows just right, it will carry the perfume all around.



Mockorange grows in climate zones 4 to 8 and there are many variations that are native to a number of places around the globe. Good shrub for butterfly gardens as well... height and spread: anywhere from 8 feet tall to 8 feet wide up to 12 feet x 12 feet depending on which variety you find.

Make sure you read the plant tag when you purchase this shrub from the nursery to find out it's mature size and spread...then choose a spot that will fit. Also, consult with the people working at the nursery to ensure the variety of Mock Orange you pick is fragrant or not fragrant...again, depending on the specific variety, some are more fragrant then others. Once established The Mock orange shrub can tolerate somewhat dry conditions...

The backyard living space

At the tail end of 2009, Jason from Pool Craft came to me with this project. The customer had a small list of things they wanted in the yard (pool, patio and hot tub). Jason was asking me to do my best to lay out everything within the given backyard area. The end result was as follows in the pictures below....

As Spring of 2010 approached, a couple more things were added to the list of what to fit into the backyard space. There was an idea for a pergola sitting over a bar area and a lounge area with a gas fireplace feature...


Granted that the yard was not very big to begin with... I wrestled with the spacial limits in my head...then plugged away at the plan on my computer... I like a challenge where the design restraints must conform to what the customer wants... Sometimes the answer absolutely has to be "No" but in most cases I try to find a way around the "No" and look for alternatives that will make my client happy...


The end result was a yard without grass... (which conforms to my dream to not push a lawnmower around!) ... the end result is a yard that is now part of the home... a backyard living space that can be enjoyed for many months of the year. The addition of the fire pit can take the chill out of a cool September evening... the hot tub can be used year round due to it's proximity to the back door of the home.


The Pergola Bar... a place for the "adults" of the pool party to sit while enjoying drinks, conversation and shade! On a hot summer afternoon, while the kids are playing in the pool, this sort of space allows you to be out in the backyard and keep dry from both the pool splashing and summer heat...


Lastly, the most important part of the backyard, the pool! When you are considering a pool, most often the ideal design includes an entertainment space. Having a small strip of concrete around a pool with grass clippings and grass areas is not always fun when you come out of a pool soaking wet. You want a good sized patio to place chairs and allow time to dry off before going in the home... if the yard is large enough and budget is big enough... a Cabana house is always a welcome sight!


But as in most cases, the pool itself is a big investment for most families. So budgets are taken into very strict consideration as to what can be done with a backyard space. My advice to the potential pool owner... when getting estimates and quotes for a backyard pool installation, have someone plan it out for you first!

A proper pool company (like Jason's company) will do this for you... understanding that there is a budget for the project and leaving room for expansion in the future is the key to a successful backyard living space. I often make sure that my plans take into consideration the patio space and structures that may come into play... be it a tool shed, cabana, or even an addition put on a home. If it is a phased project over a set number of years, the plan is a key factor to the backyard success.
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All photos used in this blog post are the sole property of Pool Craft. Pool Craft can be reached at:
Telephone: 905 884 2720
Toll free: 1-877-469-6649

Outdoor Furniture

Okay, so you've had the patio installed and now it is time to find that perfect piece of furniture to add to your new backyard makeover....

Last summer I was out and about in cottage country near Burk's Falls, Ontario... I happened upon a quaint little wood furniture store that had this gem of a patio table on display....


This table set was made with fine craftsmanship by the Mennonites here in Ontario. I sat there and examined it's construction and attention to detail... everything was well put together and properly stained for maximum protection against the elements. Granted that anything made from wood will need upkeep... maybe and extra layer of stain every so often to keep it looking fresh and new...



But it's look and feel is something that can't be replaced by the generic (and dare I say it, cheaply constructed) tables being shipped in from overseas... The price tag on this table with the 4 chairs was a little steep at $2000.00 for the set... but steep when compared to what?


As I mentioned, your typical choices on a lower budget are things with the stamp or tag that says "Made in China" Usually they are fabricated out of metals that are not quite refined enough and end up breaking where air pockets exist inside the metal... or the welds are applied with "just enough" tack to hold things together...but not enough to withstand snow and heavy winds...or a BBQ dinner for 20 people... The next time I see a patio table sagging under the weight of the food on it...I am snapping a picture to update this blog post!

With a properly designed and crafted furniture piece you get things like the little detail you see in the above photo where there is a chair hook cleverly crafted into the table... a place for the chair to sit securely during a windy day...or even a spot to hold all 4 while you shift the table around for patio cleaning...

In my experience, some of the cheaper sets of patio furniture ends up being replaced after a few years because it was designed on a computer without any thought given to what Mother Nature can throw at it... Spending that extra bit for a good quality piece will stretch your dollars a lot further. The good thing about this set is that when it rains, it won't hold and store water within so it can start to rust the structure from the inside out and cause the paint to start flaking off to create a nice rust-orange stain on your patio or the piece itself.


Oh yes!!...and for those of you wondering why there is a trap door in the middle of the table... it is my most favorite detail of all (in the above photo). Not many of the "Made in China" sets come with this much thought put into them.... a place to put beer and or other drinks on ice... as you sit and chat with your guests you can help yourself to a "cold one"...or simply instruct your guests to please do the same... without either of you having to travel very far!!

Cabana House Update

After a few months of work and some small delays on the roof trusses, the masonry aspect of the Cabana is complete...also, the roof is now on so the place will be forever dry inside!

Still a bit more work before it becomes a year round structure that can be used comfortably in the dead of winter....

Pool Cabana

Not complete just yet, but here we see the timber frame assembling for a Cabana. This article is a continuation of my recent one: Pool Coping

When I was called in to this project back in February of this year, the home owners already had a landscape design drawn by another designer for their yard. They expressed to me that they were not too crazy about the design as they felt something did not fit right...
I had to admit that my first reaction when I saw the design was...why is there a big Cabana planned to be positioned right in the middle of the yard...blocking the view of the forest behind it and right over top of a group of 30 foot tall trees?

The trees were a nice feel to the yard and I wondered why they would be slated for removal?
I asked that question to the home owners and they expressed that they loved the trees on their property...all of them! That said it all...this is why they were not crazy about the design plan they had....

So I pushed aside the landscape plan they had...and said lets start fresh! We work around the trees to preserve them for you to enjoy and give you everything else you wanted in the yard!

The end result is the pictures above...I call it my wrap around Cabana! I am sure those trees thank me for my design every time I visit the yard! When the Architect came to visit the site to get an understanding of my layout...he smiled and loved the idea of the structure being able to work around the existing trees and having wide open views all around the yard!

I smile every time I think that those trees in the middle of the yard will grow to a big healthy stand of mature Ash trees in the years to come...

Privacy Screen...

This recent project was a simple deck overhaul in Downtown Toronto. The home owners had started out with an interior reno-project through the winter and worked their way right out to the backyard this spring.

Basically the old deck had consisted of rotting boards and very little space for today's style of furniture... A simple addition of a few more feet to the deck and eliminating a big step out from the back door gave the deck a lot more space to use for furniture and walkway room.

Add to that a very simplified design of a privacy screen to help create that feeling of a room and you have a nice outdoor extension to your quaint little downtown backyard.... without a major renovation expense.

The wood used here is Tigerwood...not to be confused with the golfer... it can be stained to preserve the beautiful rich colour you see, or left to weather to a silver-grey colour. The project was crafted by the expertise of Tony Fredricks of the wood crafters... 416-420-3999

A little of everything...

Recently I was asked to do a design that had a touch of everything in it...


The property owner had made requests for:

• a pool with a water feature
  
• enough patio space to allow for a chiminea and sun lounge chairs
  
• deck space for dinning and BBQ area
• a covered hot tub space
• the cabana house with a small bar area incorporated in it
• privacy
• grass or lawn space to allow for kids to play and possibly have an ice rink in winter
• storage areas
• and last but not least....gardens!!!

When presented with these requests...it can sometimes seem like a tall order for smaller yards but the idea of a landscape design is to make things fit and organize the space so it fits well! The particular drawing shown above displays a slightly larger than normal typical sub-division lot which allowed for me to fit everything in that the customer had on their wish list! I was able to do it in a way that kept things in balance in terms of where things were located.

The end result.... a cool looking backyard that will provide hours of entertainment that would extend into the winter months with the addition of the skating rink, the chiminea spot and the hot tub!!!

Landscape masonry edicate...

As I have always mentioned before... Landscape Architecture is about using materials from an existing structure to bring into the landscape and tie things together. This particular project was about just that...

The homeowner was very fun to work with from the start. When I first arrived on his project he asked me to drive up and down his street and pay attention to all the homes on his street....look at all the landscape ideas they have done....then come back and show him something different!!! (I like a challenge!)

I did exactly that and came up with the walls and pillars matching the stonework on the home. I decided to go with squares and rectangles as the paving shapes for the pathway rather than sweeping curved lines.

In the end, the client was very pleased and the look of the landscape was said to bring a bit of the old Forest Hill in Toronto look... into the Suburbs of the G.T.A. (Greater Toronto Area).

The Man's Outdoor Kitchen!

Yep, this one was fun... now I just drew in a counter space for my client and suggested where the kitchen area should be in his yard. What came out after was mostly my client's design ideas for his kitchen.

It was completed with:

-A pizza oven that one will become popular with the neighbors, friends and family as you can open your own private backyard pizzeria!!!

-A stainless steel counter top for EASY CLEANING!

-A large BBQ cook-top for grilling top quality meats.

-A large outdoor refrigerator for holding many a beer, meats waiting to be grilled and pizza dough plus toppings.

Now all of this is designed with the idea that once you are done making a mess and partying around the bar area, you can take a garden hose or power washer and hose down everything to clean up! Ready for next weekend's party....

The outdoor fireplace

A lot of times I am asked by clients if I can incorporate an outdoor fireplace in my designs for them. It is usually the thought of having a lovely open log burning fireplace with a beautiful stone hearth and elaborate mantle piece to create some cozy little corner in the yard that brings in this request.
Unfortunately in some urban areas, the fire code bylaws prevent open flame burning in this manner...check with your local bylaw office on regulations in this regard. Now, having said that...there is nothing against having an outdoor gas fireplace...provided that it is installed by a certified installer! When you consider this option, the possibilities are endless in terms of the outdoor living room you can create..... the particular fireplace in the above picture is a gas unit made to look like a wood burning installation....perfectly safe and bylaw compliant!

The Toronto Fire Bylaw says that open air burning is not permitted unless used for cooking purposes... click here to read more

A unique dowtown backyard

In the confining space of some of the areas in downtown Toronto, deck designers can find some unique challenges. The picture below shows such a challenge. This is a continuation of the Deck spans article... showing what the 20 foot beam is holding up!


I was called into this project last year to help dream up a new look for the privacy screen/railings that enclosed this "backyard". The space is approximately 20 x 20 and sits at the second floor level over top a parking area in the back of a townhouse complex. The clients asked me for something that kept the privacy, allowed for air flow and gave them a view to the surrounding tree tops, all the while keeping it stylish and appealing to the eye.

I came up with a combination of the privacy screens for the sides of the deck and the glass windows along the back with etched in window frames on the glass. The glass windows were placed strategically so that when seated on the deck, no one could see you from down below but you had all the pleasure of the green surrounding from the tree branches.

This effect makes the space feel larger and more connected to the landscape even though it is 9 feet off the ground. The deck carpenter for this project was Tony Fredericks of The Woodcrafters (416-420-3999).

The glass panels for the screens were supplied by Verrage Glass and Mirror Inc. (416-631-6500 or 905-738-6565)...they are a great group to work with and will customize any glass shapes, sizes, patterns and specifications for your project!

The outdoor living room

Recently I have noticed a growing trend in the sense of the outdoor living room. A concept that was widely used in California back in the 50's is now making it's way here to Toronto!


With the warmer summers and longer growing seasons we are having ... there is a push to be outside in your backyard rather than in the home and in front of a TV. Actually, they are making flatscreen TV's for the outdoors these days... so you can have all the comforts of inside with you as you enjoy the outdoors in your yard.


Why not create that dream living room or dinning room space in your backyard? You'd be surprised what a few well placed pieces of furniture or even well planned out gardens would do to a space.


Complete that with an Outdoor kitchen with a bar and you'll never have to leave home to find a fun spot to entertain in! If budget is a concern, doing something as simple as planting a tree in an ideal spot would create that shady area needed to have a table and chairs set up so you can enjoy an outdoor space. When decorating the landscape, the possibilities are endless....

Art in Architecture

A few months ago I was contacted by a very pleasant couple in the Etobicoke area for a landscape design. They were building their custom-dream home which became very apparent as I first pulled up to the site to meet with them.


We walked the property and talked about the various things they would like to see in this place. The conversation which is always more like an interview, allowed me to grasp a general direction in which to take this particular design.

After discussing some of the key elements they wanted in their space, they brought me to a problem area! The driveway....


The definition of Architecture can vary across many professionals... to me, Architecture is the use of building material to create aesthetically pleasing art for a functional living space. Landscape Architecture is the same process, only we use Nature's tools mixed with outdoor building materials.

The Architect for this home no doubt did the job as it is a very beautiful place. But the layout created a problem in the landscape! The garage was tucked under the home to save space on the property. A cleaver design detail but the ensuing grade change resulted in the need for retaining walls.

I won't go as far as to say the Architect left them hanging on that detail... the site plan does show some sort of grade change and armourstone retaining wall. But it was the tree at the top of the slope that threw a wrench in the plan.


I like trees and try to save them when I can... but when the damage is done, you cannot avoid the fact that saving a tree will cost more money then it would to just plant a new one.

The house was built around this tree and a lot of the soil was removed in the excavation of the driveway. We then had an extremely dry Summer which added even more stress. The architect proposed a set of stairs to go in between the home and the tree. A process that would have no doubt driven the last nail in the birch tree's coffin.

So I was asked by the client... "What are the options for a retaining wall here?" I suggested 3 choices, one was to build the wall with armourstone, the second was a precast retaining wall systems and the third was to build a wall with block foundations and use the same stone facing from the home on the retaining walls.

I was then asked, which of the three choices would I choose? Simple! The third one...the most expensive one, but also the most stable and beautiful looking option. Again, Art in Architecture is creating function following form. In Landscape Architecture we sometimes use the materials of the home to pull into the landscape and make the house/structure talk to the land.

They agreed with my choice, but I told them the tree could not stay... I would have to design a wall around that tree and it would look very odd because of the distance between the driveway edge and the spread of it's roots. The end result was to remove the tree according to City of Toronto bylaw and design the walls!

In both the above photo and the one below, we see the wall materials matching to the existing home (click on photos for larger images). It is a seamless flow from house wall to landscape wall which ties the dwelling into the landscape. The end result (although not completed yet) is an eye pleasing display of art in the landscape.


My new plan does call for a tree to sit at the top of the wall area along with shrubs and perennials to soften the stonework... I'll update this post with more to come when the project is completed next year.

I do like it when a plan comes together!

Backyard Attraction

Simply put, most homes are designed as wide as possible and placed on the property in such a way that you end up with a long narrow pathway to the rear yard.


In the above photo we see an example of the side entry into a backyard. Before Lawrence Winterburn and I got our hands on it, it was a plain and uninviting pathway. Lawrence designed a great looking fence and gate detail to draw your interest as you approach the backyard access.


Stepping through the gate, a visitor is immediately greeted by planting that draws their eyes towards the back. The scene is completed by a water feature bubbling away to create visual and audio interest which invites you to walk down the pathway.


As you arrive into the rear portion of the home, the water feature welcomes you to create an inviting space to use at your disposal. What lies beyond there is slated for another article post.

The idea with pathways is to give them just enough appeal that a visitor feels invited to walk through the passage. There is a lot happening at the end of the path which immediately sparks curiosity and a desire to go find out what else there is back there. A path should have textures and lines created by plants or paving materials that frame and direct you along your walk.

Pergolas

The origin of the pergola structure can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. During the Italian Renaissance period, the use of the pergola was very popular in many of the gardens designed for the rich and the noble classes of Europe.

It's widespread use in today's landscape has not trailed too far off from what it was originally designed to do and that was a structure to grow grapevines from. The pergola structure is defined as a set of columns or posts that support a roof of open framed joists, beams or trelliswork. The modern function of the design is to create a shaded space below for either a walkway or a seating area.

Architecturally, what a structure like this adds to the landscape is a set of vertical and horizontal lines that leads the eyes around the garden. If placed near your home, it can draw your eyes from the built form of the house structure to the Pergola's shape as it draws the lines of the home out into the garden area. It can essentially create an outdoor garden room, which becomes another extension of your home.

The structure itself is full of these lines and as the sun angles change throughout the day, the shadows below the structure take on different shapes. The dark lines of shadows or sun lighting contrast within the structure to almost seemingly transform the look and feel of that pergola's space as the sun changes positions in the sky.

A pergola can stand alone or be accompanied by plant material in the form of climbing vines that may either produce fruits or just colourful flowers. The plant material serves as a way to soften the structure, to give it a sense of belonging to the garden by tying it into the landscape. The built form of structure becomes cladded with a loose flowing design of vine stems and leaves. Accented by brightly coloured flowers, it can really serve as a great focal point for any garden.

Add to that the intricate carpentry work built into the architecture of the overall design and you can create a truly elegant feature for your garden.

What else can a structure like this be used for? The Latin term 'Pergula' means extended eave, so taking this definition into consideration...

Lawrence Winterburn of GardenStructure.com decided to clad the wall with a pergola style eave that shades the windows and doors of this home. It allowed for the client to train Wisteria vines along the structure and create a dual functioning feature that adds to the beauty of the home. The above photograph was taken 10 years after the structure was added to the home. Garden Structure's quality of workmanship and education for the client on materials is what keeps it looking great.

(All photos in this article are courtesy of GardenStructure.com)