Tag Archives | sod

Lake Oswego – Fall 2015

This was a large residential project that we finished in Lake Oswego on a new construction home last fall.

Elements of this project included:

  • An expansive Tall Fescue lawn:  This tough yet beautiful turfgrass will require less water and maintenance once established, and will stand up to regular use with ease.
  • Stone walkways:  We used a lot of stone walkways in this project to access various parts of the landscape.
  • A drainage system:  The back yard had some leveling issues and a major drainage problem when we arrived.  We leveled the rear lawn and installed a generous amount of drainage to create the level, rolling expanse of grass that you see in the images.
  • A rain garden:  We constructed a rain garden that is not only gorgeous, but also allows the landscape to manage some of its runoff onsite.  Water that would normally end up in a storm drain is instead kept on the property and allowed to soak back into the soil.
  • Numerous grasses and perennials:  We really enjoyed the colors and textures of this project.  The fall colors were beautiful, and the selection was designed to provide interest in all seasons.
  • Boulders:  A well placed boulder makes a strong statement.  We strategically placed a number of large boulders throughout the project to provide structure and contrast.
  • An extensive Rain Bird irrigation system:  We love our Rain Bird irrigation products, and really put them to good use here.  This landscape incorporated a number of irrigation zones, most of them with high-efficiency drip irrigation.  Our drip systems will keep the water low to the ground and near to the plants that need them, only using the water that is necessary and keeping it in the landscape instead of running into a drain.
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North Portland – June 2014

We’ve been working on a number of projects this spring, but this is one of our more recent endeavors.  An aging lawn in North Portland was in desperate need of rehabilitation, and the homeowner wanted a water feature for their backyard.  John Darby Landscape, Inc. sprung into action, and despite the exceptionally hot weather, transformed the old weed-ridden turf into a beautiful green lawn, and created a charming water feature that will continue to delight for many years to come.

For this project, we had to install a new irrigation system from scratch, as the older house has never been irrigated.  We installed two zones of lawn irrigation, using high efficiency Rain Bird VAN nozzles.  We also added a highly efficient drip irrigation zone for the existing flower beds, and installed a Rain Bird ESP-RZX controller that is extremely reliable but also simple to use.  We had to install a new double-check backflow device as well for the irrigation system.  After this, we installed hardy RTF Tall Fescue sod, which will require less water and fertilizer as it ages and will provide a very tough and durable lawn surface.

For the water feature, we constructed a double cascading waterfall with an upper and lower pool.  Pictures are more effective than words, so please take a look at the picture in the gallery below!  The water feature has the added bonus of plenty of room for planting, including a planting space for a small tree between the two water cascades.

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