EPISODE 2: Simple Elegance
Front Yard Landscape Makeover … it’s all about function & simple elegance.
As a busy, hard working, single mom, home owner Colleen desperately needed a front yard landscape makeover. Not only would it give her home the curb appeal she desired, but we wanted to add the elements of functionality, coupled with low maintenance…in other words….simple but elegant.
In all projects, there’s always a starting point. Her yard consisted of virtually no plant material to speak of, a color of granite that didn’t compliment the color of her home and a small courtyard that was falling apart. With nothing to save but a handful of plants, we first did a yard measurement so we could begin the design process. Remember…all landscape construction begins with a master plan. Now that we had exact measurements, we laid it out on an architectural vellum, designed with her wish list items and budget in mind, then presented it to her for review. Fortunately, we nailed the design down about 90 percent on the first pass, made a few changes, identified all colors and plant material, and were ready to build.
Bob Weiner from Soutwest Pavestone had all the right toys we needed for demo and haul away. In just a few hours, he did all the removal and general grade work to get back to the “blank canvas”, where all artists like to start. Hardscape is virtually always done before any landscape or “softscape”, so we first laid out the position and shape of the new courtyard wall and began to build. This was followed by adding new concrete in the courtyard, with an additional walkway to the street.
We needed to pour concrete as our sub base, since Colleen had chosen Canterra as the material for her deckwork. Once completed, our Fine Wine & Design partners from Artisano installed a beautiful 6’ x 6’ Canterra Tile over the newly poured concrete for an absolute classic look. The walkway had a contemporary feel using an offset pattern which tied into the driveway, up to the front door and inside the courtyard. The new courtyard wall built by Outside Living Concepts was stuccoed & painted to match the house and capped with a double bullnosed Canterra that matched the color of the walkway, but was a different size. Cap work always looks best on a decorative wall when it cantilevers over the wall approx. an inch on both sides creating great shadow lines.
After the hardscape was completed, Mike Alexander from Forever lawn AZ came in and provided about 500 SF of some of the best synthetic turf on the market. In many ways, so life like it is hard to tell the difference unless you examine it closely. This will give Colleen’s home a beautiful, 24/7 green element that will last for years and is maintenance free.
While Mike’s crew was busy installing the turf, Gary Kyle from Lighthouse Landscape lighting began mounting the lighting transformer and running his low voltage light wire throughout the yard. We had (13) total fixtures to install which included uplights for trees, path lights for general lighting and a few others inset in the courtyard wall. Lighting is everything in a great landscape plan. Not only will it give a single mom a good sense of security, but will add the wonderful element of curb appeal to the overall project. Nothing graces a quality landscape better than a top notch lighting package, and with the fixtures provided by Lighthouse Landscape, Colleen’s home is now the envy of the neighborhood.
The final touches of plants & palms, as well as all irrigation and granite, were installed by Outside Living Concepts in about a day. The clean up and wash down of the property was the last thing needed and with that complete, we turned over the keys to Colleen and she was ready to enjoy her new front yard from years to come. Simple, Elegant and very low maintenance made for the perfect front yard makeover.
Copyright 2009 Denise Teichert
A SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Lighthouse Landscape Lighting of Arizona
