St. Paul area backyard disappearing waterfall before & after!
I just love seeing before and after photos of other peoples’ projects! It doesn’t matter if they are home remodeling photos or gardens or backyard ponds or landscaping; I get ideas from all of them! I think many people get design ideas this way! (think: Pinterest!) So, here is a backyard waterfall project that Jeff built several years ago for some wonderful people!
Laying out the disappearing waterfall design with a hose before construction begins.
The first shot shows a side view of their backyard. It was a nice, suburban back yard in the Minneapolis, St. Paul area with a very thick lawn! (Part of our work can disrupt the grass but Jeff can easily fix that.) The slope created the perfect canvas for a disappearing waterfall. Jeff always begins his waterfall design with a hose and can of spray paint!
Here the disappearing stream has begun, with the patio laid out!
After the basic waterfall design was laid out, heavy machinery was brought in! Disappearing waterfalls have unique, underground parts that have to be dug in for the waterfall to work properly and remain clean.
Large rocks help set the overall “design” for the waterfall edges. You can see the electrical and rubber sticking out- both things that will be hidden on the finished product.
If it rains during construction, you can imagine the mess! The soil here was clay which turned to slick muck pretty quickly.
A PAVER PATIO & THE BEGINNINGS OF A LANDSCAPE DESIGN
You can see the small patio being constructed next to the stream in this photo. A solid base was placed first so the patio pavers will stay nice and level even with winter freeze/thaw patterns. What looks like a hose is actually the black plastic edging installed around the future garden area near the stream.
BEAUTIFUL STREAM BED AND LANDSCAPE LIGHTING
Ahh! Some finished pictures showing the beautiful rock and stream bed! (This stone is called tiger stripe or blue weathered edge.)
Jeff put landscape lighting around the stream in the gardens. He also installed LED underwater lights in the waterfall itself!
And here is the waterfall running! You can see several different areas that it drops and the large stone used as a bridge connecting one garden side to the other near the patio. An assortment of perennials and shrubs were installed too and will eventually fill in nicely around all the rocks. (See the naughty dog enjoying the stream?!?)
COMPLETED WATERFALL STREAM LANDSCAPED WITH HARDY SHRUBS AND PERENNIALS