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This is one area where new technology has helped, as Garcia used to bring about 10 albums of images to client meetings to gauge reactions, he says. There are no shortcuts to getting at what the client is after. It takes time to work with a client to get the guidelines for the design and field experience to be able to explain what\u2019s involved in getting the project to that point.
\nThe clients were looking for an immersive experience, where a visitor could get the sense of walking over the water\u2019s surface. As they talked about the hardscape and pond design, the clients spent time looking through images and visited public spaces to get more ideas for what they wanted in their backyard. The house had more of a modern interior, so a full organic design would look out of place, Garcia says. \u201cThey were looking for a more modern, contemporary design.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the tallest obstacles for the overall design was just height itself. From the street, the client\u2019s house looks like a single-story design. But it actually extends down two more stories, with the backyard set on the lowest floor. The space had no outdoor or vehicle access from neighboring yards, blocked by concrete. The only point of access was through three stairwells leading back up to street level. That meant that all the materials had to be carried by hand down to the job site, and all the removed soil had to be carried up and out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s literally no way to get machinery or a Bobcat back there,\u201d Garcia says. \u201cYou have no idea how heavy soil is until you\u2019ve got to carry about 30 cubic yards of it up three flights of stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The team had to dig by hand, then carry the 5-gallon buckets across the yard, up three flights of stairs through the house, to the front yard and the bin in the street, he says.
\n\u201cIt would\u2019ve been nice to have a helicopter,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n
Taking on a project with these kinds of restrictions wasn\u2019t going to be an easy sell to his crew, but Garcia stayed in touch with his employees and made plans to make sure they would be up to the task. The work wasn\u2019t set to be done during the hottest part of the summer, and the cooler temperatures made the work a little bit more manageable. He also scheduled the project to have work done every few days rather than every single day to stagger the heavy work out and give the crew time to recover. The lunches provided on tough days didn\u2019t hurt, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just don\u2019t want to wear your guys out because they\u2019re human,\u201d he says. \u201cThey appreciate knowing that you have their back.\u201d<\/p>\n
An interactive design<\/h2>\n
The actual design of the koi pond and hardscaping was done by putting Garcia\u2019s past experience to work, using the sketched-out plans from the clients. \u201cThe customer had a lot of faith in what was going in,\u201d he says. They wanted a unique, interactive experience that brought a visitor up close to the water. That lined up with Garica\u2019s usual approach of incorporating water in his landscape and hardscaping spaces. \u201cAny time you do a water feature, you want it to be \u2018in your face.\u2019 You want it to be as interactive as possible and as close to the house as possible. You want your client to interact with it,\u201d he says. \u201cThis case is more art than just building a box, so it made it more challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Garcia used tile and stone to frame the pond, bringing the refined edges of a modern look to a natural view. But the design stayed connected to more organic roots, with uneven facing of the blocks making up the walls of the pond and waterfall. \u201cHaving it unfinished gave it an earthiness,\u201d he says. Another part of the pond\u2019s framework incorporates wood patio flooring to bring another texture in. The hardscaping became one of the most interactive elements with a series of square stepping stones almost at water height across the pond, bringing the visitor up close and personal with the resident koi and the series of waterfalls.<\/p>\n
The top pond and waterfall are completely ornamental as a backdrop, he says.<\/p>\n
The lower pond is four feet deep and has filtration to keep the water clear and the koi happy. Garcia chose tile and stonework that would react and emphasize their color when wet, given the close proximity to the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat gives it some wow factor. Anybody can dig a hole and throw in a liner and put some water down,\u201d he says. \u201cThey pay you to be an artist, so this is art.\u201d<\/p>\n The design incorporates landscaping through several ornamental plants and flowers brought to the water\u2019s edge with the stonework. It also meant being conscious of a neighbor\u2019s set of hedges nearby. The pond had to be placed far enough away so that when the hedge was trimmed, clippings wouldn\u2019t fill either pond and require cleaning. Garcia\u2019s design kept a small patch of grass nearby as well as a place for the client\u2019s small dog, but he wanted to approach it with a water-conscious focus, he says. The space is irrigated using dripline to keep water usage well within the region\u2019s restrictions and to make certain the water is applied precisely where he wanted it.<\/p>\n In the end, Garcia\u2019s team won an award from the California Landscape Contractors Association for the project.<\/p>\n Hardscaping work can be difficult because it\u2019s easy for contractors to shortchange themselves for the amount of work that\u2019s being done, Garcia says. For a project like a hardscaped pond and outdoor living space, a contractor needs to remember every step of the work that needs to be completed and think of the cost.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to understand, you need guys to dig that hole and move the soil,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n That means making sure early in the process that the client is aware of the potential cost of the project and is able to afford it, he says. That\u2019s part of making sure the client knows what comes with a hardscaped outdoor living space, especially with a water feature involved.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very important to educate your client on expectations,\u201d Garcia says. \u201cI always tell people that algae will happen, fish will die. But you have to tell them so they don\u2019t set up false expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n Making certain that clients know how to maintain the living space and features will help them enjoy the project for years to come and help you keep them as a longterm client as well.<\/p>\n Mike Garcia\u2019s crew took on heavy lifting to bring a hardscaped outdoor living space to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3723,"parent":0,"template":"","main-categories":[28],"class_list":["post-3517","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","main-categories-landscape"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/tall-order-5.jpg\")
\n\u201cI\u2019ve seen jobs where they put these right up next to hedges,\u201d Garcia says. \u201cYou have to think about things like future maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\nPlanning ahead<\/h2>\n
This article originally appeared in Irrigation & Green Industry magazine.<\/em><\/h6>\n
Kyle Brown<\/strong><\/a> is editor-in-chief of Irrigation & Green Industry magazine and can be reached at kylebrown@irrigation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"