Landscape Contractor / Design Build Maintain

NOV 2013

LC/DBM provides landscape contractors with Educational, Imaginative and Practical information about their business, their employees, their machines and their projects.

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A Natural Fit Mike Dahl, Editor LC/DBM Above: Sustainable landscaping and hardscaping at this residence in rural Wyoming outside of Cody compliments the surrounding vistas. Included in the upgrade was an all-composite deck (except for the custom-cut stone cap on the propane fire pit) and plantings that are tolerant of alkaline soils and can withstand high winds. or the former owners of this house near Cody, Wyo., surrounded by the grandness of nature including the East Gate to Yellowstone Park, sustainable landscaping meant sparse and native; in other words, "dirt and weeds." But when George and Claudine Dillman moved from Texas and bought the house, they brought a little higher expectations for sustainable surroundings, and hired Leslie Nistico, the owner of Green Concepts, to help make their ideas a reality. The home is located on a rural road surrounded by farmland near the south fork of the Shoshone River. The area receives only six to seven inches of rain per year, has highly alkaline soils, desiccating winter winds, and, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, an intense summer sun. Landscape contractors have their work cut out for them here, where a common attitude is that "nothing will grow." A Balanced Approach Approximately two acres were designated for the upgrade, while the remaining property was kept in hay production. Nistico designed the hardscapes first to provide the framework for planted areas. She 24 LC DBM started in back with a composite deck with an outdoor cooking area, built-in table (so the table wouldn't blow away), propane fire pit, dog gate, benches and planter boxes. Her carpenter with one other crewmember spent five weeks, less several snow and high wind days, constructing the deck. Green Concepts subcontracted with a plumber to run the propane to the fire pit and grill, an electrician to install the outdoor deck lighting, and a mason to create the octagonal stone top for the fire pit. Tiger's Bobcat Service was brought in to re-grade and install driveway turn-arounds and accesses, which defined landscape buffers and planting areas. It then took Nistico and a three-man crew with a Dingo one week to install and complete an automatic irrigation system. (Soon after, Nistico began the process with the state of Wyoming to bury and relocate the high-maintenance wastewater ditch, and the following year, a large cistern was installed and stone was placed in 100 feet of the drainage ditch to provide a clean, maintenance-free water source. Drainage from surrounding irrigation fields, and natural runoff, provide more than ample water for the irrigation system.) The plants for the front and back yards, the island and the perimeters were chosen for their tolerance to alkaline soils, their ability to withstand winter desiccation, and their seasonal impact. Nistico credits soil preparation as one key to the sustainability of her plantings. Areas are rototilled to break-up the heavily compacted, nutrient-poor, clay (bentonite) soil. Glacier Gold Compost from Mountain West Products is rototilled into the existing soil to allow plant roots to establish beyond planting holes.

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