What do you get when you combine a retired physicist’s dream with terrible access a very steep slope? A heck of a challenge!  When the homeowners concluded that we were the right team for the job we began a design process that involved computer graphic collages, CAD drawings, and clay modeling. A couple months later, with careful planning, a few men, shovels, and pick axes, the project began.

A series of waterfalls would be built, with the top fall beginning about 15’ above. Before excavating the falls however, a series of large terraces was sculpted so that working conditions would be relatively safe, and so that perimeter boulders could be set by a crane from below, that in the end would protect the water feature form the looming hillside. Approximately 30 cubic yards of hand excavated material was tossed to lowest terrace, where a craned in Dingo tractor bucketed the material over the driveway wall to a truck bed sitting below.

Once key points were established with the first boulder setting, more detailed excavation began and preparations for the second and third rounds of boulder setting began. With boulder selection and setting, we attempted to create as many planting beds and pockets as possible, but with the verticality we were working with it was a difficult task to accomplish. Boulders immediately around the falls were installed from the bottom up, along with a grey strip-stone serpentine retaining wall at the bottom that would add a contemporary flavor to the living space at the bottom of the falls.  When the sidewalls were finally stabilized, our attention turned to crafting the actual waterfalls. After sculpting and compacting sub-grades, the liner was installed and custom cut and chiseled granite slab spillway stones were craned in and installed to act as reinforcing supports between the two newly constructed canyon walls. With spillways complete, a tank, pump, and filter system were installed so that with a flick of a switch, the falls could be stopped and started without water loss allowing the owner to easily turn the system off at night or when not at home. A new composite deck with a mechanical access hatch was built above the tank and pump. The new deck was an expansion of the existing deck that extended the living space to the base of the falls.

Using native and xeric plant varieties, we planted as fully and effectively as we could, but were limited to smaller containers in most of the areas due to the steepness of the slope and required retaining. Drip irrigation runs throughout the planting pockets to ensure that the plant material will have the best possible chance to make a significant visual impact over time. This was undoubtedly a challenging project, successfully completed.