RUBBLE PATIO, STEPS, AND RETAINING WALLS... (permeable paving and dry stacked walls) COOL GREEN FESCUE BERM I have no idea what species of grass this is, I assume fescue. But, I said I would share some pics of our yard and rubble work, so... this is the grass covered berm started from the two plugs we lifted from a gas station near LA in the 90’s. (we are happy gardeners willing to propagate your lovelies unbeknownst to you and bring them to a new home!) Below you’ll notice we keep a shaggy environment. For privacy and to counter heat gain. We prefer the chaos of nature and tend to allow borders to dissolve. Due to potential reflected heat gain we’ve trained Jasmine to entirely cover the brick ve- neer that faces the street. The green fescue berm is hidden below the mulberry tree and rosemary to the left of my truck.
Transcript
RUBBLE PATIO, STEPS, AND RETAINING WALLS...(permeable paving and dry stacked walls)
COOL GREEN FESCUE BERM I have no idea what species of grass this is, I assume fescue. But, I said I would share some pics of our yard and rubble
work, so... this is the grass covered berm started from the two plugs we lifted from a gas station near LA in the 90’s. (we are
happy gardeners willing to propagate your lovelies unbeknownst to you and bring them to a new home!)
Below you’ll notice we keep a shaggy environment. For privacy and to counter heat gain. We prefer the chaos of nature and
tend to allow borders to dissolve. Due to potential reflected heat gain we’ve trained Jasmine to entirely cover the brick ve-
neer that faces the street. The green fescue berm is hidden below the mulberry tree and rosemary to the left of my truck.
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ENTRY GATE AS IMPRESSION OF BEYOND...or, how portals are important in
design. It’s that personal contact
with elements such as hardware
that stimulates our sense of
touch. Or, aesthetics such as the
use of a reclaimed cast iron heat
grate that’s used for a peek-a-boo
opening in the gate, that make a
design stand out in our memory.
Crossing through the gate one is
immediately greeted with a cool
shady deck area just off our
kitchen. You’ll notice we’ve used
shade cloth surrounded by a tra-
ditional pergola style frame. Us-
ing 6x6 posts we create the im-
pression of a substantial struc-
ture.
The beauty of this shade cloth
option is that we can draw the
cloth back during the winter
months for solar heat/light gain.
This would not be possible with a
traditional pergola with a lattice
shade structure on top. There are
times when one may want that
sunshine!
Originally, when we bought the
house, there was a single deck
filling the entire area from the
kitchen to the master bedroom.
To create a sense of separation
and privacy, we provided an area
of contained Dolcis Bamboo.
This is the hot spot of the house.
Without these two tactics provid-
ing shade and privacy our back-
yard would be a solar oven!
LOOKING TO THE REAR
INVITING NODES OF
ACTIVITY... Exterior design is similar to interiors in
that one must create a logical path of
travel intersecting nodes of activity.
Shady spots, sunny spots, wet areas,
dry areas, steep terrain, level terrain,
they all have their unique functions and
solutions. It’s our goal to identify and
encourage the best from each.
Here we seem invited to sit in the sun or
shade. The really cool thing is that each
of these areas are subject to varying
climates at different times of the day/
season. The main design tool used here
is to allow the user to see the options in
order to be enticed to actually go and
use the space. Allure comes to mind.
Closer in, just beyond those pillows, is
our first water feature. It is made up of a
pot in a bowl. Within the pot is a sub-
mersible pump that draws water from
the bowl via a tube in the bottom and
then overflows into the bowl. It was in
this setup that we introduced ourselves
to our turtle and koi.
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WATER FEATURE Looking down at the feature we see duck weed in it’s seasonal show of force. Some don’t like the stuff, we do. We’ve seen birds frolicking in the pot and we have also seen some birds dipping in the bowl!
SHADY SPOT FOR MUGZ Yes, build it and they will come... the cats, too! This guy loves to eat grass. And, he loves shady spots. Just thought to intro-duce you to him.
MOSQUITO FISHA requirement for this style water feature. This shot is from another season. Notice the duck weed is gone and the water lily is coming up. Must be getting close to August.
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ALLURE...In this case, kinetic sculpture. This is a shot of John Tyler’s Thai Chi. This sculpture moves gracefully even during extreme
windstorms. It is quite amazing to observe. Beyond are our rubble walls and steps to the upper patio. Made of reclaimed
materials from a variety of jobs and places we include: urbanite (concrete waste), bricks, precast piers, bottles filled w/gravel
or sand, and purchased stones. The trick is to weave the materials together in a pleasing manner allowing plantings to play a
part, as well. Using earth as mortar, this is what allows plants to intermingle and ties it to the earth. Below is a detail shot of
a terra cotta saucer used for a bird bath. This style of water feature requires daily maintenance to assure there is fresh water
and no mosquitos. The birds use it year ‘round in our mild climate.
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ON THE OPPO-SITE SIDE... leading to the upper patio
we’ve created another set of
steps out of reclaimed mate-
rials and purchased stone. In
this case there was a minor
existing concrete rubble re-
taining wall at the lower patio
level. We broke out a section
to place recycled brick as the
first riser nosing. This is
lower than the retaining wall
and in sequence with the
average riser height. It’s con-
trasting color calls it out as
the first step appropriately.
Drought tolerant grasses,
creeping thyme, creeping
rosemary, mint, dierama and
agapanthus help to anchor
the scene.
In the lower photograph we
see a detail of the reclaimed
materials at the upper patio:
precast piers, bricks, bottles,
and urbanite are the main
building materials. This patio
area is built-up fill com-
pressed behind the rubble
wall. As we built the lower
course of rubble, we would
compress the backfilled earth
to an equal height using our
feet or hand powered tam-
pers to compress the earth.
Then, we add the next
course, more earth and
tamping, and so on. From
here we’ll begin work on the
mid-point access.
ONTO TREAD #2 MOCK UP after backfilling tread #1. Additionally, we weave in the retaining wall that will support the extension of the upper patio.
TREAD #3 AND RETAINING WALL mock up are complete. Eventually, in the cool of the fall, we will plant sun-loving, rock-hugging plants that will help to tie the system to the earth.
BACKFILL COMPLETE AT RETAININGand steps finished. We now focus our at-tention on the upper patio. The easy part!
MID-POINT ACCESS...
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BEFORE SHOT AT MID-POINT Now we focus on this terrain to discover the path of travel to the upper patio (still under design/construction). This view is from the butterfly chairs.
UPON CLOSER INSPECTION... we notice a native rush overpowering the pathway and a steep incline to the upper patio.
THE SOLUTION... arrived at $10 per cubic yard from MMRRC for Urbanite and $200 for approx 1/2 cu yard of selected Old Town stone pavers from American Soils.
WE BEGIN BY REMOVING THE RUSH and mocking up the layout via string lines and the riser heights via taped points on an adjacent stake.
A COMBINATION OF CUT AND FILL is used to achieve a planar surface for the treads. We’re careful not to disturb existing soil and we compress the fill using hand tamping.
MOCK UP OF FIRST AND LAST TREADas a means of verifying riser heights and alignments prior to backfilling tread #1 w/soil. Our soil is of a high clay content mak-ing it useful mortar.
THE UPPER PATIO...
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WE EXTEND THE UPPER PATIO TO MEET THE RETAINING WALLand create an impromptu dragon fly bench adjacent tread #1. We will delay installing our plantings until the cool of the fall. By doing so we avoid potential plant loss and water waste. We installed 1/4” inline drip tubing to feed our patio ground cover, Dymondia margaretae, during the dry months.
THE RESULTshows how we’ve tied the upper patio to both sides of the property using reclaimed materials. COMPASS ROSEA close friend shared long ago the value of adding a compass to a project design for orientation. It’s always nice to know where one stands on Planet Earth.
OUR IMAGINATIONS FLOWas we sort through materials and we lay a radiating heart right next to our magical dragonfly bench. Our neigh-bor brought over 8 bricks left over from their project. Another inspiration from the gifted materials is a compass rose. Everything seems to fall magi-cally into place!
FALL COLORS...call for shorter daylight hours, cooler days, and potential rains. Now is the time to select ground cover and other plantings.
WE’VE SELECTED...all drought tolerant species for our arid climate. Some are natives and some not. Drought tolerance will be the main criteria
in this area of our yard. Our long term goal is to bring in as many natives as possible attempting to create a zone of California
natives in the open space beyond our domestic garden.
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WE CAREFULLY TUCK THEM IN...for the fall/winter season. The drip irrigation is set to provide regular waterings to be turned off once the rains begin. The
cool of the fall allows for less watering than had we planted in the heat of the summer.
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EXPANDING FURTHERand using a similar technique, we decided to
create a deep shade patio under a stand of
liquid amber and oak. In this case the lower
light conditions and continuous leaf drop
from the trees would make using ground
cover difficult between the pavers. So, we
will use a mix of different sized gravel be-
tween the pavers to allow water to seep in to
feed the tree roots and aquifer.
While building the upper patio we realized
how cool this place was as we took breaks
from the summer sun in this shady spot.
Contrasts in design, such as cool and hot,
play important roles as lures. By recognizing
these factors the designer can then provide
appropriate means of enjoyment. Here,
while some may prefer the direct sunlight,
others may want to relax in the cool shade
of the trees. Providing just enough space for
these activities allows more room for plant-
ing in the landscape.
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PLACING THE PAVERS FIRST Using sharp sand and 1 1/2” - 3” gravel as base for leveling and setting the pavers first.
FILLING BETWEEN PAVERS Using 1/2” - 3/4” gravel next with pea gravel over to allow water seepage and as a debris filter.
FINISHED PERMEABLE PATIO SURFACEFalling leaves and debris will be kept from filling between the pavers by the pea gravel. An occasional sweeping should be all that’s needed to maintain the surface.
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SO, HERE IT IS... in all it’s winter splendor, our
