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Turning a large steep incline into usable area can be a major un- dertaking as Todd Rooker Landscape Design and Task Masters Land - scaping discovered when they signed on to do just that at a residence in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove. At the bottom of the incline is Edward Lake. Forty feet up is the home's backyard. In between, the two companies installed numerous retaining walls on different levels intersected with stairs and sepa- rated by entertainment areas and planters. Todd Rooker supervised the project and a crew from Task Masters performed the work. "What we tried to do was create more usable space than what the topography would typically allow," explained Rooker. "It was a very steep hill about 40 feet in elevation from the backyard to the water." Starting at the waterline, they built an initial retaining wall, then dug into the hill with a backhoe to create a flat area that became a 30-foot-deep yard. From there the team built two retaining walls, one topped with a patio that is 20 feet in circumference. Opposite that patio are steps that lead from the water and the yard to a landing. From there, Task Masters installed steps up to the back- yard, and steps to the right and down to the circular patio, and fur- ther to the right to a pergola, which was pre-built, shipped in pieces and installed by the manufacturer on a pad built by the landscape team. The patio and the pergola both take advantage of the heights. "It's a pretty breathtaking view," Rooker says of the patio 15 to 17 feet above the water. And of where the pergola is situated, which is Rising to the Occasion By Mike Dahl, LC/DBM Above: Over the course of four summers, a 40-foot slope from the backyard of a residence to the shoreline of Edward Lake in Maple Grove, Minn., was given more purpose by Todd Rooker Landscape Design and Task Masters Landscaping who constructed numerous retaining walls, patios, planters, stairs and a pad for a pre-built pergola. Allan Block products were used for all the walls and the risers and treads in these stairs. The wall on the top level had to be engineered. Left: To create this circular patio 15 feet above the water, the slope below had to be retained and the hill had to excavated back with a small backhoe. For the base, the landscape team installed three 8" courses of compacted class five limestone, topped with 1" of sand. The pavers are Britton from Anchor Block in their mahogany blend. 14 LC DBM Hardscapes (Continued on page 16)