Projects
NativeScapes Past Projects
Project 1
- Location: River Chase Subdivision
- After the pool was the installed these client’s wanted a creative way to tie in the existing wooden deck off the house into the flagstone area around the pool . The challenges here were all the elevation changes. We built some small retaining walls, added steps and then created a patio with a seating wall to finish off the whole space.
Project 2
- Location: Downtown New Braunfels
- What was once an asphalt parking lot became a park for the occupants of the apartments housed in a renovated early 20th century downtown building. Once the asphalt was removed, existing trees saved, topsoil installed and graded for positive drainage we then added many old fashioned varieties of the evergreen shrubs to hide the wall and add texture and color. Antique roses and old garden perennials like Spider Lily and Plumbago were used to provide color and stay in keeping with the old style of the building. A seating area and flagstone patio on one end became a focal point.
Project 3
- Location: South Bank
- This client wanted her backyard to feel like a park but not only were there no trees but there was a drainage problem. We corrected the drainage with a dry creek bed that carried water from one end of the property to the other and became a great focal point for the landscape. We added several large live and red oak trees as well as many ornamental trees that framed the whole space. A stone bridge and stepping stone path leading to a private seating area gives the look and feel of having another room in the same yard.
Project 4
- Location: Moonglow
- These clients wanted all the St. Augustine turf removed to conserve water as well as create a handicapped-accessible walking garden complete with raised beds for veggies and a cutting garden. Once all the turf was removed we had to make sure the grade was correct on this fairly level space in order to avoid a standing water issue. We created rough cedar and mortared chopped stone raised garden beds that are the perfect height to be worked by some sitting on a walker or wheelchair. The small plot of lawn that was included is drought-tolerant Zoysia Palisades and creates a quiet green space in the midst of the hardscaping. We used boulders on top of berms of topsoil to add a hidden decomposed granite walking path and the pond was given a dry creek bed behind it to complete the look.
Project 5
- Location: Purgatory Road
- The owners of this large hill country property wanted a large outdoor living space with easy access to other parts of the yard. The area off the small back porch was poorly drained and had become a mess that was virtually unusable. We created retaining walls in order to keep the patio at the same level as the house. We added steps and walls up to the detached garage and made sure drainage was positive and away from the house. The walls by the garage created raised beds and the turf added needed play space to complete this outdoor living space.
Project 6
- Location: Oak Run
- These conservation-minded clients were unhappy with all the St. Augustine turf on their large pie-shaped property in Oak Run. We removed all the turf and gave them a spacious outdoor living space and walking gardens in the back along with a delightful xeriscape in the front. The back of the house also has a large drainage easement running the length of the property. We built a retaining wall to extend the space off of the existing corner patio, added a water feature, mortared flagstone patio as well as a decomposed granite seating area and path. The front yard had a small slope that we eliminated with a small retaining wall. We added large limestone boulders, river rock, and colorful native and xeric plants to provide an interesting and drought-tolerant landscape.
Project 7
- Location: Newks Village
- The challenge with this location was to create as much private outdoor living space as possible in a very narrow backyard and small front courtyard. In the back, we first built an earthen berm and planted large evergreen shrubs along the fence for privacy. We then created steps and planters to keep the patio as low as possible again for privacy. We added a seating bench around it as well as columns, all to match the rockwork on the house. We used large rectangular pieces of sawn limestone to create the patios in both the front and back with exposed aggregate mortar in the joints. The overall concept was to have the patios mirror each other since they both would be viewable at the same time from floor-to-ceiling windows inside. We installed a small outdoor kitchen in the back and a large gas fire pit in front. Since the front area was small we installed artificial turf to surround the patio to soften the extensive rock work.
Project 8
- Location: Rockwall Ranch
- This project entailed creating a retaining wall to preserve the existing turf area after these clients built a detached shop/studio at the back of their house that was at a different elevation. We used the same type of mortared chopped limestone block on the wall to match the studio and also made sure to facilitate positive drainage around the entire structure. Large flagstone slabs set in either decomposed granite or river rock create a walkway around the whole structure. We added lighted steps in the corner to attach to a mortared flagstone walkway to the main house. The entire landscape was created using drought-tolerant, deer-resistant plants. We built a cattle panel and rough cedar trellis’ for vines to soften the long exposed wall of the studio that faces the house.