Outdoor Living Area Includes a Water Feature for the Family Turtles
Text and photos by The Garden Artist
 When the Meyers approached us to build an entertaining area with an adjoining water feature for the family turtles, we were delighted to turn an unused space into an outdoor living environment.
The backyard is on a creek with woods behind. The rectangular pool and massive brick deck was incongruous to the surrounding environment. Our challenge was to blend the existing improvements, the native environment and the proposed improvements to create a flowing, harmonious outdoor living space.
We bordered the brick deck, landing and fire ring with sandstone to match the sandstone cap and the color of the gazebo’s vertical walls. We extended sandstone squares between boulders around the pond to transition the straight lines of the pool and deck into the naturalized pond area.
The gazebo’s vertical walls were faced with cultured stone. The floor was brick paver for visual transition from the pool deck into the gazebo. The pergola was constructed to provide the illusion of shelter overhead, and plantings provided the shade.
The view corridor, and the homeowners’ need to care for their two turtles, dictated that the pond border the pool. We sought to create a naturalized pond with waterfalls for aeration, visual and audio aesthetics and ledges for safety from prey and confinement. We created a platform at the top of the gazebo sitting wall so the homeowners could interact with the turtles and as the source for the stair-step waterfalls.
Plants were chosen for four-season interest with diversity of color, texture, balance and varied bloom periods. For example, we selected witch-hazel for its winter blooms and evergreen trees for vertical interest. The fall purple blooms of Black Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Moudry’) gives the landscape late-season color and transitions the landscape into the adjacent natural environment. We placed bee balm (Monarda) at the perimeter to discourage deer and rodents. Early blooming shade plants such as azaleas and rhododendrons flank the shade areas and provide spring color. Multi-colored perennials and shrubs diversify the color and texture throughout the summer season.
“Terry Sims, The Garden Artist, did an outstanding job in transforming our rarely used outdoor space into a backyard oasis,” the Meyers said. Their backyard will be showcased by the Idaho Botanical Gardens on the 2012 Boise Garden Tour.
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Specifications
Designer/general contractor: Terry Sims, The Garden Artist LLC
Contact information: Boise, Idaho, 208-353-7833, www.thegardenartistidaho.com
Installer: Patrick McIntire, Patrick McIntire Construction in Boise, Idaho
Project location: Woodduck Subdivision in Boise, Idaho
Gazebo: 13 feet in diameter
Pond: 15 feet long, 7 feet at the widest point, 4 feet deep
General Equipment: Skid steer, mini-excavator, compactor
Pond Equipment: Vault containing an ECCO pump and filtration system and Firestone 65-mm liner over underlayment. The pond was constructed for future improvements of another filtration/skimmer system, side aeration outlets and lighting. The turtles and an organic preventive currently mitigate algae and the homeowners screen off top leaves when necessary.
Timeline: Two months for the design and final plans, three months for construction
Crew: 5, including subcontractors and the general contractor
Materials and labor bid: $39,650
Buyer’s cost: $58,300 |
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Outdoor Living Area Includes a Water Feature for the Family Turtles
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