Southern Coast Home Design - Index

Southern Coast Home Design - southerncoasthomedesign.com - Index

Made Easy
BY MATT B. MARKHAM AND TARIS SAVELL
Last month’s article in SCHD on hiring a landscape
designer showed how to get the perfect plan.
This month’s article explains how to implement
this perfect plan.
Matt B. Markham and Erin C. Prentice of
Wallace Custom Landscapes explain exactly how
this “so called” perfect plan came to fruition.
Recently, Anne and John Baehr, contracted
Wallace Custom Landscapes to design a low maintenance
landscape with an array of color, durability,
strength and a special request, a croquet lawn for family fun.
Low maintenance was a primary concern. A request Markham often
hears from customers.“Low maintenance is achieved through good
preparation, grading, drainage, a custom designed irrigation system,
native indigenous plant selection, and commercial grade low voltage
lighting.”
“Second consideration is an array of color,” said Markham.
“Erin Prentice, certified landscape designer for Wallace Custom
Landscapes, is always thinking color, every month of the year.
Crape myrtles, camellias, gardenias, plumbago and even several
knockout Rose trees were used to achieve this absolutely beautiful
array of color. When landscaping waterfront homes, like the
Baehr’s, durability and salt and wind tolerance must also be considered.”
Durability and strength are definitely shown throughout this
hardscaping masterpiece. The original driveway was old, cracked
and discolored. The new driveway is the epitome of strength, durability
and beauty. After removing the existing driveway, Wallace
Custom Hardscapes installed Belgard’s Dublin Fossil Beige concrete
pavers. Geo-textile cloth was applied and then 4-6” of crushed
aggregate base was added. After hours of compaction, an ICPI
Photography courtesy of Wallace Custom Landscaping
Before
Landscaping, raised
planters, retaining walls,
and pavers transform this
yard into a beautiful and
functional environment
ready for entertaining
and family fun, even
croquet!
certified team was
ready for installation.
After the pavers were
laid Belgard polymeric
sand was swept into all
the joints and a snap
edge restraint was
applied around the
entire drive for added
strength.
“With a badly sloping backyard, croquet seemed a little questionable.
How could we give the Beahr’s the croquet lawn that they
wanted? said Markham. “Belgard Celtic blocks were the answer.”
Wallace Custom Hardscapes, spearheaded by Victor Wallace, combined
strength, durability and old school charm in designing the
retaining walls that would be used to level part of the backyard.
Raised planter beds and a sitting area around the patio added to the
functionality that the perfect plan had in mind.
Croquet? Yes, croquet. With the shade in the front yard and the
Florida waterfront theme throughout, St. Augustine Bitterblue was
the primary choice for turf selection. The croquet area, however,
would require some extra thought. After several options Matt
Markham of Wallace Custom Landscape knew what to use. Craft
Turf Farms introduced Zoysia BK-7, a hybrid zoysia that can handle
traffic, shade, salt and can be cut from 1-4”.
To put the finishing touched on the entire project, the team at
Wallace designed a custom Vista low voltage lighting system. The
system is low maintenance, durable and, with custom fixtures and
powder coated colors, provides a lifetime of strength and durability.
The Wallace Company has been beatifying the coast for over 35
years. They can be reached at (850) 434-1199.
SOUTHERN COAST HOME DESIGN www.SouthernCoastHomeDesign.com 13