The Landscape Guy - Atlanta and North Georgia

Marietta Drainage and Retaining Wall

2011-12-06T02:03:00.000-08:00

Indian Hills Driveway Drain

2011-12-06T01:59:00.000-08:00

Candler Park-Front Renovation

2011-12-06T01:54:00.000-08:00

Uploading some of the work from this past summer/fall. This was a neat little project that got a major clean up and new Palisades Zoysia sod.

A lot of Updates today!

2011-07-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

I have been very good at keeping up with "The Landscape Guy" facebook page-not so efficient at updating the blog. Have added photos from the last month and a half or so-been pretty busy! I still have the rest of July booked up and have a good bit of work scheduled in Sept-Oct..but August looks a bit light right now if you have a project you are ready to move forward with.

Candler Park-Back Yard Sod, Tree Removal & Bed Prep

2011-07-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

This was a neat install-really nice, small back yard area in Candler Park. I removed a huge old Red Tip Photina (remember those?) to open up some light for the turf and planting areas, then installed Palisades Zoysia as the turf. Also added amended soil to some new bed areas and tilled it in with the native soil.

Chastain Park- Dry Creek Bed Extension & Footbridge

2011-07-17T07:20:00.001-07:00

I installed a dry creek bed at this house last summer to alleviate erosion from the back corner of the house to a "real" creek that flows thru the back yard. The homeowner liked the look and decided to extend the creek bed all the way to the driveway in front. They also wanted a way to easily cross the river stones as the walked around the house. This was accomplished with a 2' x 5' slab of Crab Orchard flagstone laid across as a footbridge. The final touch was the addition of pea gravel to improve the appearance of the section of dry creek that was visible from the front parking area.

Settles Point-Suwanee Back Yard Zoysia

2011-07-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

I almost left this job off the blog! Following construction of a under deck patio/walkway on this project we installed 4500 sf of Palisades Zoysia here-that is a lot to leave out!

Peachtree Corners/Dunwoody- Windsor Block Wall & Drainage

2011-07-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

This client was getting his back yard washed away by all the surface water that entered his lot from the neighbor's yards in back. I installed a drainage system with around 150' of 4" ADS and 3 12" catch basins, then constructed a 100' Windsor Block Wall to corral the water and direct it into the drainage system.

Grant Park Bermuda Sod Install

2011-07-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Some rare (for this summer) over cast and cool weather helped out with this installation in Grant Park. We installed approx 1500 s.f. of 419 Bermuda Sod here.

Suwanee-Settles Point..Windsor Block Wall and Additional Sod

2011-07-17T06:38:00.000-07:00

This was the final phase on this project for a while. I re-built and added on to a Windsor block wall installed by the homeowner last year..then filled in all remaining bare front areas with Palisades Zoysia sod.

Candler Park-Little 5 Points...Container Plantings

2011-06-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

These clients have a deck that isn't high enough to require a railing, but a walk over the edge might sting a bit. Their solution was to create a barrier with container plantings. They purchased the planters/pots-I went out to check those out then went shopping for a variety of plants to plant them with. The result is a practical and attractive solution that can be changed up with just a little re-arrangement as suited-and changed seasonally.

Suwanee-Settles Point..Under Deck Patio and Walkway Extension

2011-05-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

I've been working at this house for over a year now. Initially I did quite a bit of drainage work, then built some timber planters and steps. The clients are finishing up some construction with deck and hot tub additions and wanted a solution for the area under the deck. The finished basement has a door that leads out under the deck and prior to our getting started with this latest project they walked out to a fairly severe dropoff and muddy conditions. They wanted a usable space that would be connected to the previous timber work that ended at the gate leading to the back yard. We decided to enclose the area with a timber retaining wall, which was then backfilled with soil and surfaced with crushed shale. A walkway was built and steps added to tie everything to the steps along the side. You can now walk from the driveway in the front to the back door using the steps, walkway and patio area we constructed. Underneath the deck is now 800 square feet of usable, level space.

Ashford Park Renovation

2011-05-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

This recently completed project in the Ashford Park area of Brookhaven was done for Wisdom Properties. New front foundation and accent plants were installed along with the most shade tolerant Zoysia sod available-JaMur. The back yard was seeded with hybrid fescue.

Little 5 Points/Candler Park-Irrigation and Tree Install

2011-05-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

Irrigation was roughed in over the winer then completed in early May. After the irrigation was done it was time to plant some really nice trees. 2 30 gallon Shishigashira Japanese Maples were added in the front, one beautiful 50 gallon Seiyru Japanese Maple was planted in the back along with a Peve Minaret Bald Cypress (bottom photo).

Roswell Zoysia Install

2011-05-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

Another job where fescue just wasn't working out. Homeowner planted ryegrass last fall just to stabilize things as the former lawn area was pretty barren. I tilled the ryegrass under and added about 3 cu. yards of topsoil to prepare the small (600 s.f) back lawn area for new Palisades Zoysia sod.

Peachtree Corners- Fescue and Irrigation Install

2011-05-14T09:46:00.001-07:00

Dense shade and difficulty watering had made growing a back lawn difficult for these clients. We decided to thin out some of the shade trees and add irrigation before installing new Fescue sod.

Chamblee/Brookhaven Zoysia Install

2011-05-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

This client had tried fescue in her back yard and it just wouldn't make it through the summer. Upon meeting her and looking at the site, I determined there was plenty of light available for one of the more shade tolerant Zoysia strains-Palisades. Turned out great.

Chastain Park-Bryn Mawr Lane-Completed

2011-05-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Chastain Park-Bryn Mawr Lane

2011-05-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

This project was done over the course of a few months. Delays from winter weather, tree cutting permits from the city and some buried septic tank issues delayed us a few times but the job went smoothly and turned out nicely. The entire landscaped area of the property was irrigated, new front foundation and some new plantings in the back were added..a flagstone patio and stacked fieldstone wall with new masonry veneer on some existing steps were parts of a fairly extensive hardscape project. Fescue sod was installed in back and Palisades zoysia sod for the front lawn.

West End Renovation

2011-05-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

This client purchased a home in the historic West End area of Atlanta to renovate as a rental property. I had a pretty tight budget to work with-so we concentrated on the front foundation-curb appeal. I brought in topsoil to create some raised beds in from and implemented a planting design.

Duluth-Peachtree Bluff-Drainage Solution

2011-05-14T09:00:00.001-07:00

I did a lot of drainage work for these folks last summer, but one problem area remained. During heavy rain surface water from the street was jumping their driveway and rushing into a narrow space between the two houses. An existing 12" drain could handle a normal rainfall but would be overwhelmed by heavy rain. Our solution was to replace the 12" basin with a much larger 18" basin and ties in into a 6" line I installed in the back last year. A small wall was built to corral the water and creek flats were place around the basin to curtail erosion.

Hoschton- Drainage Work

2011-05-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

This client was having problems with saturated turf in his back yard and standing water in his side yard. I installed some underground turf drains with sock pipe and #89 gravel in the back and a 12" catch basin with a long run of drain line on the side.

Smyrna-Glen Pointe

2011-02-10T14:01:00.001-08:00

There were two concerns for these homeowners when they contacted me. The first was that the original plantings around their front porch had grown to the point that the porch seemed "walled in"..and they had become hard to maintain. The idea was to tear all of that out and replace with a design that would keep the porch open and airy. The second issue was a growing hardwood on the corner shading out the Bermuda turf-my solution for this was to extend the bed down towards the fire hydrant and creat a new bed line that would keep the healthy grass in place. I planted GG Gerbing Azaleas and Sarcococca in this shaded area.

Marietta-Twin Lakes

2011-02-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

These clients were getting water in their basement every time it rained. Water was flowing from the back and neighbor's yard and pooling up against the house. My solution was a retaining wall backfilled with fill dirt and graded to divert water away from the house and towards an existing catch basin. We have had a couple of heavy rains since the installation and the homeowner has reported that water in the area is no longer a problem.

Chastain Park-Bryn Mawr

2011-02-10T13:40:00.001-08:00

Got started on this project the week before Christmas-hasn't been the best weather for irrigation installation but I knocked it out fairly well on the days I could work. The irrigation system is roughed in and now awaiting an appeal to the city of Atlanta by the homeowner concerning tree removal before I resume later this month. Besides irrigation, this project will include all new plantings and Zoysia sod.

L5P Irrigation

2011-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Work Continues in L5P on irrigation. I'm about 90% complete and will wait till it warms up some for valve installation.

Upcoming Winter Projects-

2010-12-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Top photo is a pretty large job for me-in the Chastain Park area. It will involve tree removal, a 10 station irrigation system and new front landscaping (Plants & Sod). The back will get some sod, stepping stones and a nice cleanup. The bottom photo is a house in Smyrna-they have grown a bit tired of their original front landscaping and I will be ripping out all of the existing plants and installing all new plants -extending a bed-adding some stepping stones and a nice container for the front entrance.

Smyrna-Cooper Oaks

2010-12-14T17:48:00.001-08:00

This was a pretty cool job-I like working with stone. I did some edging of some back beds with Tennessee Ruble milled stone and some flagstone steps laid over jute mat in a problem area. Also addressed some drainage issues and did some irrigation realignment (moving heads-checking for coverage) while I was out.

Little 5 Points-Irrigation

2010-11-22T19:27:00.001-08:00

Just getting started on this irrigation install. If you have followed my blog, you have seen this house before. I have done a good bit of planting here over the last two years. This is an intensely planted yard and the homeowners both travel a good bit...the plants started to suffer this past summer and we decided that it was time for a irrigation system that could water consistently and protect their investment. Stay tuned...

Peachtree Corners-High Shoals

2010-11-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

Just completed this project yesterday. Homeowners wanted some beds to plant annuals/bulbs, a back lawn area, some stone edging and just a general cleanup of the area directly behind the house. I brought in 7 yards of native soil mixed 50%-50% with a manufactured planting mix to create the beds..used thin capstone to edge the beds around the sidewalk & deck and a collection of native stone (large pieces) to edge the newly created beds. For the new lawn area I planted "Palisades" Zoysia sod.

Briarlake-Planting

2010-11-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Time to catch up the old blog, I think. This is a recently completed project that started out with some hardscape work...a low stone wall and gravel "lawn". I included some before shots to show the vegetation that had to be eliminated, etc. I planted a really nice "Viridis" Japanese Maple, Clethra, Endless Summer Hydrangea and used Cephalotaxus "Creeping Plum Yew" as the plant to eventually cover the slope.

House Proud Project - West End

2010-11-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

I did this small but fairly complicated job for House Proud....a non - profit organization that uses grant money to do home repairs for low income families. The house was built in 1955, and according to the current homeowner the front of the house has "sunk" approx. 2' since they moved into the house in 1967. This created a major problem as surface water now collects against the front of the house and, during periods of heavy rain, floods the basement. There was no way to collect the water and disperse it elsewhere via gravity.... so I built a masonry catch basin in the lowest area of the front, installed a 3600 gph pump, and piped the outlet around (uphill) into the back yard. Tested it out today and it works great.

N. Druid Hills/Hillside (Completed)

2010-10-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

Worked on this job in between rain storms this week and completed it today. A rotten, crumbling Crosstie wall had to be demolished and replaced. Liriope was transplanted from the existing bed to create a new bed where Magnolia roots seem to hamper the growth of any grass. Finally, Pansies were installed in a bed created around the mailbox.

Briarlake-Backyard Hardscape

2010-10-20T05:23:00.000-07:00

A fun project here-I love working with stone. This is a 2 phase job that started with the construction of a dry stack capstone wall approx. 65' x 18". Only the cap run was mortared, as we wanted both the look of the dry stack and the permeability for drainage. A problem grass area was then converted to a river gravel "patio" that meets up with a dry creek bed I installed last year. Planting on the bank above the wall will take place in the next couple of weeks (you can see all the ivy/weeds have been sprayed and removed), along with some repair stone work to the old stone walkway and steps.

Brookhaven-North Druid Hills

2010-10-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

Got an early start on this job-Homeowner needs beds defined and pine straw put out in advance of some overseeding being done by their lawn care company. The remainder of the job, which includes cross tie replacement, transplanting some ground cover, and flower installation should take place next week.

Lawrenceville-Dunhill Completed

2010-10-20T05:05:00.001-07:00

This was a project to take all the surface water produced by (7) downspouts and pipe it all to empty onto the street. Concrete removal and re-pouring was necessary-and approx 300' of 4" drain line was installed.

Lawrenceville-Dunhill

2010-09-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is a drainage project started today. All the downspouts on the house will be piped into two separate systems that will ultimately empty onto the street through the curb. In order to do this I have to get pipe under the sidewalk and to the street. I hired A1 Concrete Cutting to come out today and cut two sections of sidewalk and a section of the patio so they can be removed. When all the pipe has been installed I will re-pour the sidewalk sections and repair the patio.

Suwanee-Richland

2010-09-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

This was a nice little project completed today out in the Collins Hill area of Gwinnett County. The homeowners had really enlarged their back yard by locating a new fence on the actual property lines-which left them with a good bit of space to fill. They also have had trouble growing Fescue in some areas of their back. I went in and relocated some nice Azalea and Hydrangea..along with a few other plants.. to some created beds along the fence line-then created a new turf area and installed "Palisades" Zoysia. This involved bringing in a fill/topsoil mix to correct the grade and provide a better growing medium for the new turf and some irrigation additions-adjustment. I also had to remove a lot of unwanted plant growth that was formerly outside the fence line. The homeowners will finish up by applying new mulch to the new planting areas.

Collier Rd.-Atlanta Completed

2010-09-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I spent almost exactly a month out on this project-like any large project there were changes & revisions along the way, but I am pretty happy with the final product. This property was totally changed-50 years worth of "old growth" was almost totally removed, new drainage and irrigation systems installed, a Windsor block wall was added and installed to level the back yard and facilitate drainage, new plantings and 16 cubic yards of hardwood mulch were added along with 4200 s.f. of "Palisades" Zoysia sod. I would have liked to have used bigger and more plant material, but the focus of the homeowner was on turf and a generally clean appearance/open spaces. A good bit of the plant material included in my original landscape plan was omitted or moved as the process played out, but I think I made it work and the customer is pleased...which is the #1 goal...always. The final touch will be a new asphalt drive and parking area-which will go in after some interior renovations to the house are completed.

Collier Rd./Atlanta-Irrigation Completed, Planting Begins

2010-09-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Glad to have the irrigation installed and preparing for the landscape installation. Started getting the plants in today. Sod and some more hardscape-drainage yet to complete.

Collier Rd./Atlanta-Irrigation

2010-08-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Got 3 (of 7) zones worth of pipe and heads installed today..ok, but I could have gotten a good bit more done if it didn't take me 3 hours to get a pipe underneath the front sidewalk. That is always a pain-and it was very painful today;-) Roots, rocks and a 12" thick sidewalk had something to do with that. Good to get that out of the way, though..and it should be pretty cut and dried tomorrow.

Collier Rd./Atlanta-More Prep and Starting Irrigation

2010-08-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Never know what you will find at these older homes. On this one it seems to be rock..many different varieties and shapes added over the years. I am trying to think of someway to work them into the project. Finished with the Bobcat work before the weekend rains-did some materials pickup yesterday and started trenching for the irrigation system today. Good progress-rain actually helped soften things up a bit.

Upcoming Late Summer/Fall Projects

2010-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not completely booked up by any means, but have been doing some scheduling this evening and it does look to be a busy Sept-Nov starting to shape up.

Some of the upcoming projects-

Completion of the current Collier Rd./Atlanta Re-Landscape & Irrigation

Lawrenceville- Complete Drainage System & Sod

Suwanee/Richland- Back Yard Plant Relocation & Sod

Briarlake- 64' Stacked Capstone Wall, Landscape & Hardscape Improvements

Chastain Park- Garden Pathway Installation and Irrigation Re-design

I am also in the process of bidding jobs in Dahlonega, Ormewood Park-Atlanta, Decatur and Athens.

I appreciate the business and the great customers I have been lucky to work with.

Collier Rd.-Continuing Prep Work

2010-08-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

Quite a few changes in the way this job has progressed. Asphalt contractor hired by the homeowner came out to prep for installing a new driveway over the top of the old one--got delayed twice-and now the driveway has been put off until I complete the landscaping. Should be interesting to see how that turns out. Meanwhile-I have been busy removing and chipping up a lot of old plant material and today I got started on the rough grading -the plan is to be completed with my portion by Sept. 3.

Collier Rd.-Atlanta-Plant Removal/Spray

2010-08-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

Started out today with a heavy duty bladed weedeater destroying all the ivy on site-I then sprayed all the mowed ivy areas with Triclopyr herbicide, which should really take it out nicely in this hot weather. Dug up the majority of the front foundation plants then went around back to tackle the big stuff. Took down a couple of large (20') hollies against the back fence that were leaning towards the neighbors' yard so I tied them to the van, cut them 80% thru, then pulled them over in the right direction. I have quite a pile of cut down holly, camellia and azalea wood/limbs for the chipper.

Collier Rd.-Atlanta...Getting Started-

2010-08-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to this project for a long time! Plan was drawn and estimate was presented last year-the entire job hinged on getting approval to remove some large pine trees from the city of Atlanta. Months later that has been accomplished and we are getting started. The first phase is generally getting prepared for a new asphalt driveway and parking areas. I've been out to spray sod, remove or cut down plants and install a drain that will be integrated into the asphalt parking area. The top photo is how the house looked last summer..we went out a few weeks ago to remove shrubbery away from the house so that it could be painted (second photo). Driveway was scheduled to go in today but that has been moved back to Friday...which gives me some more time for plant and ivy removal tomorrow. I will then move on to drainage work and irrigation installation followed by new plantings, sod and mulch. Owner wants the job completed by the beginning of college football season;-) I'm going to give it my best shot.

Suwanee-Richland (In Progress)

2010-08-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is another project that is based around drainage issues. Water coming from a neighbors' yard is again responsible for a lot of the water. We decided to build a little uncapped windsor stone wall to divert the bulk of the water, then add some drains along the side pathway (that had become a major surface water route) and build the path up with egg gravel. Downspouts and drains are being piped to the rear of the property which drains directly into a detention pond for a lake.

Catching up, again... Oakhurst and Hamilton Mill..

2010-08-06T18:05:00.000-07:00

Been busy and haven't updated the blog in a while--the Lawrenceville job was completed successfully then I moved on to Oakurst for some sod replacement and additions (bottom 3 photos). This was actually a job we sodded with Centipede sod last summer. Within 3 weeks the grass was attacked by a still unidentified fungus and really took a hit. Efforts to nurse it back to health were not successful so I agreed to replace the sod and add some where a new porch addition had gone in.

From Oakhurst it was up to the mountains for a long weekend then I started out at Hamilton Mill in Dacula the day I returned. This job involved taking care of water coming from a neighbor's yard and causing erosion damage. I piped off the nieghbor's downspouts, built a wall to protect the driveway and installed a couple of catch basins. Areas affected by erosion were then repaired and re-sodded. (Top 5 photos)

Gwinnett/Lawrenceville..Erosion-Drainage Project

2010-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Started out here on Wednesday by placing granite surge stone in eroding areas between some large junipers on a bank. Installation of a downspout drainage system and a very long French drain now underway. We have about 95% of the trenching done at this point. Tomorrow will be a materials gathering day and hopefully some time to work on the gravel and concrete cutting.

Chastain Park-Raised Planter Completed

2010-07-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Got this project completed over the last couple of days. I think it turned out well-see previous post for specifications.

Chastain Park-Raised Planter

2010-06-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Started today on a planter for a vegetable garden at this home. The planter will measure 16' x 10' when completed and is built with 6" x 6" pressure treated timbers. I will attempt to walk you thru the photos from top to bottom-

The first step with any hardscape structure is to mark out the area to properly place it and mark it before starting any excavation or construction. Here I used some of the nails and mason's twine.

A string level is a must when doing a "box" type structure..you need to make sure all 4 walls are at the same level starting with the first course. A string level is also helpful in determining excavation depths as you run the bottom course.

Always begin the structure at the lowest point and work your way uphill, keeping everything level as you go.

The last photo is how it looked when I left today..I wanted to finish be bottom course and have it ready for #89 gravel (for drainage) being delivered tomorrow...easier to get the gravel inside the timbers when you only have the first course down than waiting until you have 22" high walls all the way around. Gravel will be added to the bottom approx. 5"-6" deep, then the planter will be filled with a mixture of 66% screened topsoil and 33% mushroom compost. The gap I left on the lower end will become steps to access the garden.

Little 5 Points-"Waterfall" Japanese Maple

2010-06-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

We may have filled the last vacant spot in this back yard today. Homeowner did his research, visited some nurseries, and decided on the variety of tree he wanted there. His choice was a good one..Acer Palmatum "Waterfall". I found a very nice 10 gallon tree at Greg's Wholesale Nursery in Tucker and went out to install it this morning.

Big Canoe-Quarterly Maintenance

2010-06-29T16:06:00.002-07:00

Went up to Big Canoe in Pickens Co. on Saturday. I have a quarterly maintenance account there and this was a bit of an extra visit..I didn't quite get finished with some pine strawing last visit, and they are hosting a 4th of July party next weekend..and wanted everything pruned, sprayed, etc. I had company for about and hour and finally got the camera and took a photo (bottom) - one of a group of browsing deer. They didn't seem to care I was around, but they weren't coming very close either;-)

Chastain Park-Phase 1 Completed

2010-06-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

Got this completed last Friday. 1st phase included a dry creek bed from the side to the creek area in back..and new plantings for both outside entrances on the circular drive. The top photo shows a dense shade planting of Sarcococca and Heuchera. I like the way the "Key Lime Pie" and "Black Currant" Heucheras play off each other..should look nice as they fill in. Both beds also have plantings of Autumn Fern, Itea "Henry's Garnet", "Patriot" Hosta, and annual Begonias.

The dry creek bed used 5 tons of medium and large creek flat stone to complete and is approz 90' x 5'.

Chastain Park-Front Entrance Plantings

2010-06-24T17:36:00.001-07:00

This property has a circular drive-on the outside of each entrance the only landscaping they had were two lonely Crape Myrtles. They wanted to spruce up these areas which are both in pretty dense shade most of the day. The Crape Myrtles remain..they have gotten so tall in the shade that they do get enough sunlight to survive. Added were Sarcacocca, Itea, "Key Lime Pie" Heuchera and "Black Currant" Heuchera, Autumn Ferns, "Patriot" Hosta and Green leaf Begonias in annual beds. The dimensions of each area are not at all similar, but I did try to have them somewhat mirror each other in the design with plant placement and repetition.

Chastain Park- Dry Creek Install

2010-06-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

Got started here yesterday afternoon excavating for a dry creek. Water coming down from the side yard had created it's own eroded path-rather than fight it, we decided to enhance it by widening the drainage swale and installing medium and large creek flats on top of some jute mat that should keep everything intact. About 1/2-2/3 of the way done after today. Will finish the creek bed then move on to some plantings at the driveway entrances.

Tucker- Windfield Circle

2010-06-22T20:06:00.001-07:00

This was a drainage project dealing with surface water coming off the neighboring lot. Permission was given by the neighbor to pipe her downspouts into the system as they were causing much of the problem. Those downspouts and one on the property were all piped across the front of the house to empty onto the driveway and eventually into a county storm drain. A timber wall was built to protect the A/C unit, then fill dirt was added along the side of the house and graded to divert a large volume of water coming from the back yard of the neighboring lot. Finished this project today and moved on to Chastain Park to start a dry creek bed and entrance planting.

Catching up the Blog-

2010-06-22T14:44:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in the previous post-I haven't updated the blog since my vacation (got back to work on the 14th)..here are some "catch up" photos of what has been going on..the bottom 4 photos are the finishing days at Peachtree Bluffs in Duluth where I was working on two houses next door to each other-finished these the day before I left. Since I've gotten back I've been working on some drainage projects in Lilburn (to 2 photos) and Tucker-Northlake area which had a pretty elaborate french drain/downspout piping system installed @ the front foundation.

Vacation in Charleston

2010-06-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated the blog in a while-one reason is that I took a 5 day vacation to the Charleston area...then I have been having to really bust it since returning to stay caught up.

Had a great time, ate some good food and actually got a little rest. I couldn't resist peeking down a few hidden alleys while walking around downtown Charleston- I love the plant palate and landscaping and how well they mesh old & new. I also discovered my all time favorite downspout;-)

Peachtree Bluff in Duluth-

2010-05-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

This project includes quite a bit of 6" drain pipe, some 4" pipe, catch basins, extension of a dry creek bed, stone work and new sod. I started last Friday (rain shortened)..resumed on Monday and should finish over the weekend. It's a bit crowded-the basement is being remodeled at the same time I do my work-but it's been a good group to work around. This is a nicely landscaped yard, so I am making extra efforts to disturb as little as possible as I install the drainage system.

Appalachian Home Furnishings in Jasper...Maintenance & Pine Straw

2010-05-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Shot up to Jasper last Sunday to do their quarterly maintenance and re-mulch all the beds. I pruned all the Crape Myrtles during my last visit a few weeks ago..and I'm pleased with how they are filling out.

Mableton-Inverness Ridge

2010-05-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

This was a two day drainage project completed yesterday. First step was to build a timber wall surround for the patio in back which was backfilled to divert water away from the patio and back of the house. An addition to the existing drainage system-consisting of a new drop inlet and about 60' of sock pipe surrounded by #57 gravel-was added to alleviate standing water in the back turf area.

New Steps in Drew Valley

2010-05-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

I've done a good bit of work at this house and we had talked for a year about ways to replace the deteriorating stairs alongside the driveway. We settled on the simple solution of quarried Crab Orchard step tread stones (18" x 18" x 2-3" thick). The first step was to demolish the concrete and wood from the old steps, once that was completed the new stone steps were set in so they would conform to the grade and provide a comfortable walk up and down.

Little 5 Points Spring Project-Complete

2010-05-12T15:36:00.001-07:00

Good day today. Installed all the flowers, 2 Blue Point Juniper that replaced some ailing Hinoki Cypress in the front yard. Moved an Edgeworthia from the back to the front and planted a Yellow Knockout Rose in it's former home. Renewed the patio stone with 2 yards of the red Bama Path gravel and spread new hardwood mulch in all the beds.

Little 5 Points Spring Project-

2010-05-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Doing annual flower changeover, new patio stone and mulch... and some new plants at one of my regular clients down in the Little 5 Points, Candler Park area. The pansies were just about to give up the ghost on their season..most of the beds get mixed Impatiens, but I am doing something a little different with some Begonias, Gomphrena and Purslane in the one bed that gets a lot of sun. More pics tomorrow-

Redding Rd.-Phase 2 Completed

2010-05-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Thought I would add a few "before" photos of this project for reference to begin:

Installed the cypress mulch play area adjacent to the old patio today (bottom photo). Also finished the pine straw and final touch up/clean up. The close up photo is Creeping Jenny planted to fill in around the base of the big oak tree. This was a fun job-and the sod really brings the whole back yard together nicely.

Redding Rd.-Phase 2

2010-05-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Zoysia sod installed yesterday along with some Creeping Jenny underneath the big oak. Play area will be completed on Monday.

Jett Rd. - Chastain Park

2010-04-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

Started work on this property on Wednesday with a clean up of the front yard berm/island. A lot of ivy removal from trees, removal of weeds and saplings...removed a fairly large dead Dogwood tree. I am starting on a landscape plan for the back yard, and will be back out later this month to create a dry creek bed to handle surface water rushing from the front yard to the creek at the rear of the back yard (bottom photo),

Peachtree Corners- Jones Bridge/Williamsport-Completed

2010-04-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

Top 2 photos are before and after followed by a few photos taken the last couple of days. Quite a transformation.

On the Drawing Board- Jett Rd., Chastain Park

2010-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to start a design for this back yard in the Chastain Park area. We envision a lot of native plants, gravel paths, sitting areas, a bridge....should be a lot of fun.

Peachtree Corners- Jones Bridge/Williamsport

2010-04-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Started on this job today, lot of materials handling..not a lot of work. Delivered Delaware Valley White and Hershey Red Azaleas 1st thing today..then pinestraw...then met the truck from Atlanta Landscape Materials. They dropped 7 yards of 50% fill/50% topsoil that will be used to help grade the beds and prepare the new lawn area. Fescue sod being delivered tomorrow afternoon. Azaleas will fill out the bed underneath the big Maple on the right side.

Low Timber Planter in Suwanee

2010-04-17T19:22:00.001-07:00

This was the last bit of what has been a fairly large project in Suwanee-Settles Point. Son and I built this low planter with pressure treated 6" x 6" timbers around 2 existing Crape Myrtles. It should serve to divert some of the water coming from the neighbor's yard towards a catch basin that was also installed today.

Duluth-Peachtree Bluff..Phase 1 Completed

2010-04-15T16:14:00.001-07:00

Lots of photos-lot of things going on at this job. 3 tons of medium river slicks (stones) were used to create a dry creek bed that begins in the neighbor's yard..goes under a fence..crosses the back corner of the property then underneath another fence until it reaches the drainage area beyond. 2 catch basins were installed at the back corners of the house to catch water coming from the front yard & drive..6' corrugated drain lines were then run from the catch basins (140' total) underneath the fence to the drainage area. Finally-soil was added underneath the deck and along the back of the house which involved taking up the existing plants then replanting..and some little stone wells were built to keep the soil off the deck supports.

Duluth-Peachtree Bluff

2010-04-12T17:51:00.001-07:00

Started this job last Friday with Chris helping me dig the trenches for the 6" drain lines I am installing. The guys from Atlanta Landscape Materials showed up bright and early this morning with the 6" pipe, soil mix that will be used for correcting some grade issues in some beds, and 3 tons of river slick stones for use in some drainage areas and a dry creek bed. Had a pretty good day..got catch basins and a lot of the pipe in..created a nice well around one catch basin and covered it with jute mat, then stone.

Brookhaven-Redding Rd. Completed

2010-04-10T04:37:00.001-07:00

Phase 1 (a second phase including sod will complete the back yard in May) is done..a lot of planting, some stepping stones, the clean up and some repair of a neat old patio and fireplace were all included.

Redding Rd.-Planting

2010-04-06T19:28:00.001-07:00

Using the soil delivered yesterday to grade and sculpt beds in the back. Planted "Soft Touch" Japanese Holly, Dwarf Burgundy Lorapetalum, Revurve Ligustrum and "Hopi" Crape Myrtle.

Brookhaven-Redding Rd. Progress

2010-04-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day-productive too. Got the George Tabor Azaleas and Variegated Pittisporum planted in front, the back fence planting started (Recurve Ligustrum, False Hinoki Cypress, "Knockout" Roses), and the patio restoration is close to completion.

Easter Pruning in Jasper, GA

2010-04-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Had to work this one into my schedule-to prune Crape Myrtles (for the second year) and initiate quarterly maintenance. Had it all to myself on Easter Sunday-but was done in time to get home and cook steaks for the family.

John's Creek Tree/Plant Install-

2010-04-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

Spent the first half of today doing this plant installation in John's Creek. I had been waiting on this very nice 4" caliper October Glory Maple for a couple of weeks-the nursery delivered it to the site this morning and we immediately got it planted. Also installed 2 beautiful 7 gal. Blue Point Juniper to frame the front door and some 5 gal. Leyland Cypress to join with some existing at the end of the drive.

Brookhaven-Redding Rd.

2010-04-02T14:22:00.001-07:00

This new job has some interesting elements, and finally some plants! I worked the last two days on the rehab of a 1940s era patio and fireplace/bbq pit. Using some of the cleaned brick to create edging-uncovering undiscovered stonework-and stabilizing the bbq pit with a lot of cement patching, caulking etc. Today Chris and I delivered the majority of the plants for the project and got them watered well. Will hit this job full speed on Monday.

Settles Point-Steps Completed

2010-03-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

The steps turned out well. Actually more of a series of landings that conform to the grade-and curved due to the gate placement. New driveway/parking pad will be poured right up to the top timber.

Settles Point-Drain Pits & Steps

2010-03-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my son helped me dig some pits in the back yard which were then lined with jute erosion fabric and surge stone-then we dug trenches from the pits to the creek and filled them with surge stone as well. The reason we were doing all of this is that one corner of the back yard filled with water every time it rained-the privacy fence would get silt built up around it's base and act as a dam. The pits are designed to collect the excess water and give it a place to drain under the fence then into the creek. We had heavy rain on Sunday and it seems to have worked like a charm. Yesterday and this morning were very wet from that Sunday rain, so I didn't get back out until this afternoon-and I started the structure for the steps that will provide easier access to the back yard. The treads will be filled with pea gravel.

Week 1 Progress-Settles Point..

2010-03-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Almost 600' of 4" ADS drain line laid from Tues-Fri this week. Luckily it is very wide open in places and I was able to do about 70% of the trenching with a machine-the other 30% either too tight, too muddy (got the trencher stuck 3 times on Tues) or too many big roots. I'm pleased with the progress up to this point. Tomorrow I start work on a surge stone project to help drain the rear of the property-next week will be doing timber steps.

Suwanee-Settles Point

2010-03-16T15:23:00.001-07:00

This is a pretty large job that I started over the weekend with the timber planter installation and continued today with trenching and installing drain lines. This job will end up with around 500' of 4" drain line. Still to come: Catch basins, surge stone drainage pits, and more timber work-steps filled with gravel adjacent to the planter.

Marietta Drainage/Erosion Control/Grassing

2010-03-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Was able to finish this a few days ago. Brought in soil and regraded the side/front to redirect water away from the house-used jute erosion control fabric in areas that have been subject to erosion and seeded with a fescue/bluegrass mix.

Marietta Drainage/Erosion Control/Grassing

2010-03-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

This site has a heavy volume of water crossing their property-most coming from adjacent yards. The combination of that and the water from their downspouts is causing problems on the side of their house with erosion and some flooding inside the structure. Today I took care of the downspouts, next on tap is a load of fill dirt that will be used to re-sculpt the side yard, fill in a large depression, and repair the erosion issues. I will then be laying down some jute erosion control fabric and planting fescue seed.

Tree Pruning in Dunwoody-

2010-03-08T14:34:00.000-08:00

Very manic Monday..a lot of running around getting materials for the week, meeting a delivery, etc. I did work in a pruning job this afternoon though. Red Tip Photinias were a very popular landscape plant back when I started doing this in the 70's. They were overplanted, almost all developed a fungal leaf disease, and most of them are gone. There are a few remaining-and the ones you do see here and there are now huge. This client in Dunwoody has a survivor and didn't really know what to do with it. The plant was taking up too much space and blocking the view of their house. I suggested we limb it up or "treeform" it to expose the inner branch structure and take all that bulk out of it that was just using up space.

Saturday Drainage Project-Marietta

2010-03-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

I love one day jobs like this. Nice to start and finish on the same day. This little project involved redirecting the water that was flowing directly into the front foundation and causing some issues. I installed a catch basin and formed a collection area around it, built the soil level up around the foundation, piped a downspout into the catch basin, then ran a 6" ADS corrugated line from the catch basin around to a rip rap drainage swale between the houses. All went well and it was really nice working in a t-shirt for a change!

Briarlake-Planting and Stepping Stone Installation Complete

2010-03-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

Finished up the planting and stepping stones here today. Turned out nicely. Used Cherokee flagstone from Atlanta Landscape Materials to match some existing older stones on the property. The Mondo Grass was removed back in January and stockpiled for later use..I divided into 4-5" clumps, trimmed off the old leaves, and planted the clumps about 12-16" on center.

Briarlake...Plants!

2010-03-03T14:54:00.001-08:00

I've been holding off on a good bit of planting, trying to get past this perpetual winter we have been having. Now that March is here, I'm ready to install some plants. The Briarlake job has been going on in phases throughout the winter. I've done a good bit of drainage work here and had to disrupt and repair in the process.... now I'm doing the planting phase and adding some stepping stones. The design behind the screened in porch is anchored by a nice Monrovia grown Mountain Laurel in the corner and a informal Sarcococca (Sweetbox) hedge. Autumn Ferns and some Hosta add interest and color. The other back area has a nice grouping of Variegated Pittisporum with a repeat of the ferns and hostas adjacent to the dry creek bed that was part of the initial drainage project.

Quarterly Maintenance

2010-02-26T04:45:00.001-08:00

Starting to service some om my quarterly maintenance accounts. This is a service I offer for clients who do their own lawn maintenance but like for someone to come in and do seasonal pruning (like the Crape Myrtle and Camellia Sasanqua pictured below), fertilization and other tasks warranted depending on the time of year. Each program is tailored for the specific landscape needs of the client. And..although I seem to get a lot of calls for it..I do not mow grass or do regular lawn maintenance..ever. No slight intended for those who do-just not my thing..don't have the time and there is no shortage of folks out there who do nothing but.

Dunwoody Station-Making Progress

2010-02-18T15:38:00.001-08:00

A lot of work done in the last two days..I'm tired! Should finish with this job tommorow. Have dug trenches for and laid 200' of pipe, removed about 100' of old pipe , moved 3 yards of gravel via wheelbarrow and...have everything covered up and ready for final grade and clean up. The hardest part today was getting the older AC units raised and leveled without harming all the pipe/connections attached to them. This was necessary in order to raise the grade a bit along that side of the house. The river rock path was installed over the part of the French Drain that leads to the back gate.

Dunwoody Station

2010-02-16T12:05:00.001-08:00

This project is another drainage solution job. Client is getting water in the basement and the first course of action is to get as much of the water away from the foundation as possible. I will be raising the grade and a couple of AC units along the side of the house-and running two drain lines from the front corner to the back of the back yard. One is all solid and will drain the two downspouts on that side-the other is a perforated line for 50' encased in gravel as a French Drain then carried the final 50' as a solid line. I am running the two 4" lines in the same trench-that's is why it is 18-20" wide. As you can see from that back of the van-I have a lot of pipe to install!

Highland Pointe-Marietta-Crape Myrtle Pruning

2010-02-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Trimmed and thinned some very mature Crape Myrtles for some nice folks out in Marietta today. As I mentioned in an earlier post about Crape Myrtles, when they get over about 12' or so you can pretty much quit topping them (they will get very top heavy and "moppy" looking) and just keep them shaped up and thinned for good air circulation. These were almost touching the house and starting to shade out the Bermuda lawn-so I took care of those two issues as well.

Brookdale Park-

2010-02-04T17:37:00.001-08:00

Finished this job yesterday and this morning before the rains came. Had to replant some Daffodils and Apidistra that were moved before installing the French Drain and I extended the drain line to empty out alongside the driveway in a swale the was then filled with egg gravel. The gravel serves two purposes-it is a natural drainage area that was starting to erode, and the erosion was worsened by folks getting a tire off the driveway when backing down-the gravel there should eliminate both problems. The final project was the installation of a rain barrel at one of the front downspouts.

French Drain and Rain Barrels...

2010-02-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm installing a French Drain at this house as more of a preventative measure. There are no problems with water getting into the house, but the grade along the side doesn't really allow for water to drain away from the structure. There is no basement along this side, the house is built on a slab-the concern is that saturated ground under and next to the slab could cause problems down the road. This client uses rain barrels to collect water for a very nicely landscaped back yard-and up till now she really didn't have a way to deal with the overflow from the barrels. Part of this project is to go ahead and route the overflow from the rain barrels into the drain line I am installing-and move a rain barrel to the front of the house where it can also overflow into the same line.

Briarlake Drainage Phase 3-New Discovery

2010-01-29T03:47:00.000-08:00

This project became a bit more interesting with the discovery of a "cavern" underneath the porch. As seen in the top two photos, water had obviously been doing it's work in this spot-and the location corresponds well with the area of the basement where water has been entering. Fill dirt has now been added and compacted all along the foundation, including almost a 1/2 cu. yard of soil to fill in the 'cavern". Today I will be doing some minor grading and pine straw which will complete this phase of the drainage project here.

Briarlake Soil Replacement

2010-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

This should be the final chapter of drainage solutions for this job. Soil Engineers came out and did some core samples and an inspection for the homeowner before I started on any work here. The homeowner presented my plan for dealing with the surface water which they approved and has been completed-and suggested this final step in addition. The soil surrounding the house outside of where the water was entering the basement is very high in organic matter content and sand. The engineers felt like this was allowing water to pool below ground and up against the foundation. The recommendation was to remove the existing soil 18" deep and 2' back from the structure, then replace that with native clay fill which will be compacted as it is added. I had planned to start this job next week but I shuffled some things around so that I could take advantage of 3 days with no rain chance. I started the excavation today and the clay fill will be delivered tomorrow.

More Drainage Work Coming Up-

2010-01-25T03:25:00.001-08:00

February looks to be busy with more drainage/water related projects. I will be doing the final phase of the Briarlake job-soil replacement around the foundation per the recommendation of the client's engineering firm. Just down the street in the same area, I will be installing a French Drain and installing a rain barrel with some creek stone. In Dunwoody I will be installing a fairly elaborate French Drain and pathway for a new client that will involve about 200' of piping. We had some more flooding rain in the area just last night- a local independent remote weather station was reporting a rain rate of almost 6" per hour at around 4:30 yesterday..that is heavy rain. I hope it didn't cause anyone problems...I'm thankful for the work the rains have brought, but as a landscape designer/contractor I would much rather be creating things than repairing things!

Aeration of Warm Season Turf-

2010-01-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

Bermuda, Zoysia and Centipede turf, especially turf with a lot of traffic or planted in heavy clay soil, can benefit from core aeration. The best time of year for that to occur is in February before the application of pre-emergent herbicide for weed control. I will be doing some aeration for some of my quarterly maintenance clients in February and have room to schedule a few more. If this is something you may be interested in, just give me a call or email me-

thelandscapeguy@gmail.com