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Show #51/5812. A Beautiful Location, An Impressive Landscape Makeover - Part 2

Summary of Show

Summary of Work Done to Date
JOE SUMMARIZES THE WORK DONE TO DATE. On Sunday we arrived and met Carol. Carol was excited to be part of the Landscape Makeover project and shared with us the many challenges presented by her property. We then met with the designer of the project, Korina Qu Petrozzi, owner of her own design company, The Plant Nerd. Korina created a landscape plan that laid out the extensive hardscape design and yet another plan for the softscaping. The demolition crew arrived on Monday and wasted no time pulling everything out that had accumulated over decades on the property. By day 3 the demolition crew was digging the trenches for the retaining wall, then grading and cleaning up. No sooner were they gone than Manny's crew of skilled masons showed up to set the required gravel in place for a sound foundation for the retaining wall. The large interlocking stones were positioned without mortar and the finished result created several landscape layers that were not only functional but added drama to the landscape. On day 4 the M&M mason crew began placing the very large paving stones throughout the backyard to create pathways and patios. Some of the patios were set with joints close together and filled with decomposed granite.

Click here for more info

Irrigation System
BOB FEELS AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT IN TODAYS WORLD, especially in the southern California environment where they're impacted by water issues and water runoff concerns. A lot of systems operating today were installed a long time ago. Thus they're watering the streets, curbs, sidewalks and driveways. That doesn't make sense, we need to be more prudent and careful about wasting water. Today's systems are designed so that whether in the front-yard or back-yard they are designed to apply water where it is needed. To accomplish this it may require a drip system or a spray system or something in between but it is important to get the water where it's needed. This ensures that the grass will grow, that trees and shrubs grow yet not water the curbs and driveways.

Click here for more info

Installing an Irrigation System
TODAY THEY'RE INSTALLING THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM. Jeff walks us through the things he thinks about when installing an irrigation system. First he must establish a point of connection. Normally they tap off the main line coming from the meter to the house. They run that line to a set manifold, which distributes the water through the different zones. The different zones are important because the lawn gets watered more than shrubs and sunny areas get watered more than shady areas. So, it's important to divide the yard into zones. Jeff also establishes a central control system with a Hunter timer, which makes everything completely automated. The guys are hard at work placing the lateral lines, then will set the sprinkler heads. Every head has a nozzle which distributes water differently and there are different sprinkler heads that deliver water at different application rates. Those are fine tuned at the end.

Click here for more info

Plants
KORINA AND JOE NEXT TALK ABOUT THE PLANTS. Joe is jealous, he wants these for his house. Korina is equally impressed with the quality of the plants and is amazed to see the unreal sizes and beautiful, well-established, full bloomed plants. She feels very lucky to work with these plants, they are as top quality as one can get. Typically a 5 gallon Hydrangea is about 1/3 the size of these plants, plus they're not typically full of blooms and buds. Joe notices the difference when picking up the plants. Even the 1 gallons feel weighty, that means they have a substantial root ball which means they will hit the ground running when planted. They'll take off and establish quickly.

Click here for more info

Spotting the Plants
KORINA'S NEXT JOB IS SPOTTING THE PLANTS, which is the final stage before the plant material goes in. Once everything is spotted, where it's supposed to go, she does some tweaking and makes changes to accommodate for proper spacing. She then steps back to make sure everything looks good, then gives the thumbs up and the guys start planting. Even though Korina had something in her plan that doesn't necessarily mean that's where it will go. It's rare that everything goes exactly to plan. For example, borrowed scenery may have an impact. Today she made a decision to make a change. She had a shade tree specified for one spot but found that there is a neighbors tree in the same vicinity and it was providing perfect shade, thus felt it would be a conflict of space so she shifted the tree to another area.

Click here for more info

Sod
JIM SHAW IS OUR SOD EXPERT. Jim is with Superior Sod and is responsible for getting this sod to the job in a timely fashion. This is Turf Type Tall Fescue and is the most popular variety in southern California. Most people like fescue because it stays green year round. Homeowners don't want their sod going dormant in the wintertime. This stays green year round, is a nice lush grass, is great for kids and pets and is easy to maintain. Fescue is one of the more shade tolerant varieties when compared to other species like blue grasses and rye grasses. But it still requires about 6 hours of sunlight a day to do its best. Particularly compared to a warm season grass like bermuda, fescue does a lot better in the shade. Bermudas are more of a full sun, summer type grass and don't do as well in the shade as fescues.

Click here for more info

Sod Installation
JOE TALKS WITH JEFF TOLLY ABOUT SOD INSTALLATION. Once laid Jeff thinks it important that the homeowner stay off the new sod for awhile. It will be watered 2 or 3 times a day at first and it's very soft. Keep traffic off until the 1st mowing which will occur during the 1st or 2nd week. But monitor the growth. Just before mowing back off the watering so the lawnmower doesn't sink in. Jeff treats it like wet concrete. Stay off it until the 1st mowing, then keep heavy traffic off for the next 3 or 4 weeks. Jeff likes tall fescue in this application. It absorbs filtered sun light and full sun. It's a great seed blend and a great application for this project.

Click here for more info

Sustainable Landscape
"WHAT'S THE PROCESS AND WHAT'S THE SECRET TO A LANDSCAPE THAT'S SUSTAINABLE, one that's going to endure for a period of time?" Jeff feels it all starts with good bed preparation, using proper soil amendments and fertilizers to give the plants a healthy start. He thinks that soil amendments are the meat and potatoes of garden bed prep. The plants need them thus one needs to pay attention to them. The guys started the day prepping the beds, clearing them out, getting them nice and composted, then placing the plants. Although they worked very fast it's a careful process. There is a right way and wrong way to plant plants. They always over-dig the hole, making it approximately 2 times the size of the root ball. This gives the plant plenty of aeration and good water infiltration which allows the plant a good chance to grow. Don't plant the plant too deeply. If that is done it could actually rot out the cambium and that's not good. It's important to get the plant at the soil level it was growing in the container or a little higher. You want positive runoff from the plants. Then give it proper water and fertilization and it should be just fine. After watering the plant in they come back with a beautiful layer of mulch.

Click here for more info

Korina's Thoughts on the Finished Project
JOE NEXT TALKS WITH KORINA ABOUT THE FINISHED PROJECT. It's 5 days after we first met and at that time the yard was a mess, it was neglected. Korina is very, very happy with how it turned out. She's incredibly impressed that it did happen, particularly in such a short period of time for such a large project. This involved a lot of construction, hardscape, irrigation, new lawn, new planting lines. In short, it's impressive.

Click here for more info

Homeowner Reaction
JOE NEXT SHOWS CAROL THE BACKYARD FINISHED PROJECT. Carol can't believe what's happened. It's a dream come true, it is what they asked for and more. They wanted plantings that were in keeping with the design and time of the cottage. She thinks it has a country feel, a beach feel, it has everything. It has an area for entertaining, a place for the kids to play in the grass, a place to sunbathe. It has trees, flowers and color. It's got everything, all the goals that Korina and Carol discussed. Korina made it all happen.

Click here for more info

 


LINKS:

The Plant Nerd

Visit Laguna Beach | Official Tourism Site For Laguna Beach, CA



Show #51/5812. A Beautiful Location, An Impressive Landscape Makeover - Part 2

Complete transcript of the show.


In this show we complete the Landscape Makeover. Armies of workers have been busy working for 5 days, doing a lot of work. To this point it hasn't all been pretty because there has been a lot of tearing up and ripping out. All of that work has been necessary before the stunning and beautiful unveiling.
JOE SUMMARIZES THE WORK DONE TO DATE. On Sunday we arrived and met Carol. Carol was excited to be part of the Landscape Makeover project and shared with us the many challenges presented by her property. We then met with the designer of the project, Korina Qu Petrozzi, owner of her own design company, The Plant Nerd. Korina created a landscape plan that laid out the extensive hardscape design and yet another plan for the softscaping. The demolition crew arrived on Monday and wasted no time pulling everything out that had accumulated over decades on the property. By day 3 the demolition crew was digging the trenches for the retaining wall, then grading and cleaning up. No sooner were they gone than Manny's crew of skilled masons showed up to set the required gravel in place for a sound foundation for the retaining wall. The large interlocking stones were positioned without mortar and the finished result created several landscape layers that were not only functional but added drama to the landscape. On day 4 the M&M mason crew began placing the very large paving stones throughout the backyard to create pathways and patios. Some of the patios were set with joints close together and filled with decomposed granite. The lower patio area had joints that were spaced further apart to accommodate green grout, or a place to tuck in living ground cover. Finally Jeff Tolly discussed the concept and implementation of the softscaping. That brings us up to speed from where we left off. Today's show will take us through completion.
Top


Bob Barrett is with John Deere Landscapes in southern California. BOB FEELS AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM IS IMPORTANT IN TODAYS WORLD, especially in the southern California environment where they're impacted by water issues and water runoff concerns. A lot of systems operating today were installed a long time ago. Thus they're watering the streets, curbs, sidewalks and driveways. That doesn't make sense, we need to be more prudent and careful about wasting water. Today's systems are designed so that whether in the front-yard or back-yard they are designed to apply water where it is needed. To accomplish this it may require a drip system or a spray system or something in between but it is important to get the water where it's needed. This ensures that the grass will grow, that trees and shrubs grow yet not water the curbs and driveways. With watering restrictions all across the country and with water conservation concerns, in addition to our busy lifestyles, it makes sense to have an irrigation system.
Top


Jeff Tolly and his crew are once again hard at work. Right now it's a dangerous area with open trenches but they soon will be filled in. TODAY THEY'RE INSTALLING THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM. Jeff walks us through the things he thinks about when installing an irrigation system. First he must establish a point of connection. Normally they tap off the main line coming from the meter to the house. They run that line to a set manifold, which distributes the water through the different zones. The different zones are important because the lawn gets watered more than shrubs and sunny areas get watered more than shady areas. So, it's important to divide the yard into zones. Jeff also establishes a central control system with a Hunter timer, which makes everything completely automated. The guys are hard at work placing the lateral lines, then will set the sprinkler heads. Every head has a nozzle which distributes water differently and there are different sprinkler heads that deliver water at different application rates. Those are fine tuned at the end.
The plants are being delivered on a semi truck. Carol thinks it's phenomenal, the colors are beautiful. Carol and Joe look at some of the plants. One is a Salvia. It will get taller and will be a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds. Carol knows her granddaughter will like this bush because she loves butterflies. Carol has always wanted plants that attract butterflies but never knew which ones to select. They continue unloading the plants from the truck. Carol is overwhelmed.
Top


KORINA AND JOE NEXT TALK ABOUT THE PLANTS. Joe is jealous, he wants these for his house. Korina is equally impressed with the quality of the plants and is amazed to see the unreal sizes and beautiful, well-established, full bloomed plants. She feels very lucky to work with these plants, they are as top quality as one can get. Typically a 5 gallon Hydrangea is about 1/3 the size of these plants, plus they're not typically full of blooms and buds. Joe notices the difference when picking up the plants. Even the 1 gallons feel weighty, that means they have a substantial root ball which means they will hit the ground running when planted. They'll take off and establish quickly. They look at some of Korina's favorite plants.
She selected the Endless Summer Hydrangea because she wanted some hydrangeas in the front yard. There are several large trees there, it's a little shadier and around the coast hydrangeas do well in sun and shade. The Endless Summer variety bloom is beautiful but importantly it blooms on both old wood and new wood. With older style hydrangeas if they were pruned on new wood they wouldn't get a flower bloom in the spring or summer. For a homeowner that doesn't do a lot of gardening this is a great choice because they don't need to know how to prune it properly.
Korina also likes the Regal Mist Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris, Regal Mist) also known as muhly grass. She loves using grasses. This one is sparkly and has a nice light feel. It is great when the sun hits it. Thus, it's a great selection for the sun. Carol nearly cried when this plant came off the truck.
Korina also likes ground cover roses like the Flower Carpet series. They're prolific and because they have a long season here they almost never stop blooming. For people that want a lot of color but don't want a lot of maintenance this is a great choice. They're a fairly disease resistant rose and that too is a huge plus.
Lorope talum is another great plant. Korina says people are always impressed with them, they have fantastic foliage color. This variety, 'Sizzling Pink' is unreal. When in bloom it's loaded with color but even when the weather changes and cooler temperatures occur it retains its bronze foliage throughout the rest of the seasons.
Top


KORINA'S NEXT JOB IS SPOTTING THE PLANTS, which is the final stage before the plant material goes in. Once everything is spotted, where it's supposed to go, she does some tweaking and makes changes to accommodate for proper spacing. She then steps back to make sure everything looks good, then gives the thumbs up and the guys start planting. Even though Korina had something in her plan that doesn't necessarily mean that's where it will go. It's rare that everything goes exactly to plan. For example, borrowed scenery may have an impact. Today she made a decision to make a change. She had a shade tree specified for one spot but found that there is a neighbors tree in the same vicinity and it was providing perfect shade, thus felt it would be a conflict of space so she shifted the tree to another area.
Top


More and more of the pieces of the puzzle are arriving. When the sod gets here you know you're close to the end. JIM SHAW IS OUR SOD EXPERT. Jim is with Superior Sod and is responsible for getting this sod to the job in a timely fashion. This is Turf Type Tall Fescue and is the most popular variety in southern California. Most people like fescue because it stays green year round. Homeowners don't want their sod going dormant in the wintertime. This stays green year round, is a nice lush grass, is great for kids and pets and is easy to maintain. Fescue is one of the more shade tolerant varieties when compared to other species like blue grasses and rye grasses. But it still requires about 6 hours of sunlight a day to do its best. Particularly compared to a warm season grass like bermuda, fescue does a lot better in the shade. Bermudas are more of a full sun, summer type grass and don't do as well in the shade as fescues.
Top


It's amazing the difference the sod makes once in. It's like the difference between night and day. JOE TALKS WITH JEFF TOLLY ABOUT SOD INSTALLATION. Once laid Jeff thinks it important that the homeowner stay off the new sod for awhile. It will be watered 2 or 3 times a day at first and it's very soft. Keep traffic off until the 1st mowing which will occur during the 1st or 2nd week. But monitor the growth. Just before mowing back off the watering so the lawnmower doesn't sink in. Jeff treats it like wet concrete. Stay off it until the 1st mowing, then keep heavy traffic off for the next 3 or 4 weeks. Jeff likes tall fescue in this application. It absorbs filtered sun light and full sun. It's a great seed blend and a great application for this project.
Jeff and his crew are almost finished with the sod. They've used a bender board and are tucking the sod into the edge, which creates a nice, sharp, clean edge. This is a bunch grass, thus doesn't infiltrate into the planted beds. The bender board is just utilized for the nice, clean edge.
Top


Joe is impressed. Just a few hours ago there was a huge collection of unplanted plants in the front yard, and now almost everything is in place. Joe wants to know "WHAT'S THE PROCESS AND WHAT'S THE SECRET TO A LANDSCAPE THAT'S SUSTAINABLE, one that's going to endure for a period of time?" Jeff feels it all starts with good bed preparation, using proper soil amendments and fertilizers to give the plants a healthy start. He thinks that soil amendments are the meat and potatoes of garden bed prep. The plants need them thus one needs to pay attention to them. The guys started the day prepping the beds, clearing them out, getting them nice and composted, then placing the plants. Although they worked very fast it's a careful process. There is a right way and wrong way to plant plants. They always over-dig the hole, making it approximately 2 times the size of the root ball. This gives the plant plenty of aeration and good water infiltration which allows the plant a good chance to grow. Don't plant the plant too deeply. If that is done it could actually rot out the cambium and that's not good. It's important to get the plant at the soil level it was growing in the container or a little higher. You want positive runoff from the plants. Then give it proper water and fertilization and it should be just fine. After watering the plant in they come back with a beautiful layer of mulch. That's important in several ways. One, aesthetically this topical application makes it look far cleaner and is more beautiful than plain soil. Mulch also breaks down, gives back to the soil and adds nutrients. Thirdly, it provides good weed control by shading out weed seeds that might come up through the soil. Thus, mulch provides many good benefits and it looks good. It does look good. Jeff and his crew have done an amazing job. Thanks Jeff.
Top


JOE NEXT TALKS WITH KORINA ABOUT THE FINISHED PROJECT. It's 5 days after we first met and at that time the yard was a mess, it was neglected. Korina is very, very happy with how it turned out. She's incredibly impressed that it did happen, particularly in such a short period of time for such a large project. This involved a lot of construction, hardscape, irrigation, new lawn, new planting lines. In short, it's impressive.
They look at the front yard. It's peaceful and there are several reasons for that. It's shady but as well the undulations and curves created with the bender board have a big impact. This was a very square yard and closed off from the street. In order to give it a more peaceful look she utilized the bender board to curve the lawn area. The curves not only give it a peaceful look but as well provide the opportunity to have different depths of planting around it. So, instead of just 1 linear line with 1 sort of plant there can be a variety of plant material. There are grandchildren that visit and this shady area will be much sought after in the summertime. The lawn here will consequently most likely be used more than the backyard.
Joe thinks the front is great but the back is where the big changes took place. It's now hard to recall but before there were old dying trees, multi-levels and crumbling concrete. In the beginning Joe couldn't fully envision the change but it has been transformed and is beautiful. Previously the trees were poorly managed and there wasn't any real hardscape. It was just old stuff that had been thrown together over time and was makeshift. Because nothing could be salvaged the backyard was gutted, everything was torn out. Korina kept the different levels. There wasn't really an option, which was fine, because the landscape turned out more interesting because of the levels. Most of the properties in this area are not on hills, this one is on a hill. There's a slope from 1 end of the property to the other and it's probably a 2 to 2 and 1/2 foot difference. Maintaining the different levels was essential in order to make those spaces as functional as possible. Importantly the different levels enabled Korina to utilize the patios for tables and chairs. The same is true for the grass area, you don't want it to be on a slope. Thus building the retaining walls and holding in the soil is important. The retaining walls also serve as additional seating which is important. The 2nd tier down is the grass tier. Here she's added plantings on both sides which softens the area and makes it more visually interesting. The 3rd tier or mid tier is probably the most important tier because that is where the house and alley (where most people park) connect as well as the pathway to the living spaces. The lower tier instead of using the decomposed granite grouting technique between stones, uses green grout or plant material. Here the living plant material provides a more lively, inviting look and is quite a bit different from the upper areas. Importantly, it has a cooling effect to it. It just feels cooler in this area. And it softens the hardscape. Korina has taken a relatively small space, with 4 different levels, that are all different but work well together, and miraculously over the past 5 days remade this landscape. Joe tells Korina that she has done a great job. Everyone has enjoyed working with her.
Top


JOE NEXT SHOWS CAROL THE BACKYARD FINISHED PROJECT. Carol can't believe what's happened. It's a dream come true, it is what they asked for and more. They wanted plantings that were in keeping with the design and time of the cottage. She thinks it has a country feel, a beach feel, it has everything. It has an area for entertaining, a place for the kids to play in the grass, a place to sunbathe. It has trees, flowers and color. It's got everything, all the goals that Korina and Carol discussed. Korina made it all happen.
They walk around, look at and talk about some of the added features. There are some beautiful containers. They add impact at the corners where placed. They provide dimension and color. Carol feels she would never know how to do that herself. She notices the window boxes on the garage. Before that area looked plain, dirty, now it's green. The planters add dimension and dress up the area with a simple application. There are trellises. One is against a wall and adds interest. Another 2 trellises block an area that had a lot of service items, things like pipes. This being a 1923 house, the pipes were on the outside at that time. The trellises are covered with vines which will fill in and really cover the area. Carol never knew what to do in this area, how to conceal the pipes. These work beautifully. And they're natural and green. Carol just can't believe the transformation, it's just unreal.
They next look at the front yard. Carol thinks it too is fabulous and in keeping with the cottage look. But it's updated, it's soft and mellow, looks inviting and it's beautiful. Korina originally told Carol to choose a color palate, Carol liked lavenders and pinks. These colors are evident in the new plantings. It now has an irrigation system which should ensure the plants stay green and growing. There are all different varieties of plants here and all are beautiful. It has a look that says - this is a cottage - plus it's inviting and pretty.
Carol likes everything, even the little touches. She notices the rocks Korina has placed within the garden. It all goes well together. The pots framing the window in the front add a nice touch, they provide interest and character. Carol even likes the mulch. She likes the shape of the grass, it's not just a straight line, it provides a flow. Carol says it's beautiful and thanks Joe. It's beautiful and exciting.
Carol next meets with Jeff Tolly, Manny Cruz, Korina Petrozzi and Joe. She thanks everyone for doing a great job. Carol didn't dream this could be done, particularly in such a short period of time. She promises to continue to watch the show so she can continue to grow and learn and understand how to care for all of this. Carol from the bottom of her heart and from her whole family thanks everyone in the group. She couldn't be more pleased.
It truly has been an impressive experience. A lot of work in a short period of time but the end result makes it all worthwhile.
Top



LINKS:

The Plant Nerd

Visit Laguna Beach | Official Tourism Site For Laguna Beach, CA


   
 
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