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About Our Maintenance Available |
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF MANIPULATING WATER Now that I am all grown up,
and I have all of the responsibilities that come with maturity; a family, a
home, bills, aging parents, etc., I find myself reminiscing about my childhood
years and my propitious I remember the sparkling clear water shimmering in the spots of sunlight that beamed through the boughs of the trees like a spotlight cutting through the night sky. The minnows were abundant, and darted through the waters as we approached. The frogs would “kerplop” into the water as we walked along the shore. The lush green foliage of the healthy trees dipped into the water, as if they were drinking from a fountain. We spent hours and hours throwing rocks into the water, skimming stones and trying to build little dams. Fortunately, I have been able to incorporate my passion for water, streams and cascading waterfalls into my adult life. Although, the responsibilities of maturity take up much of my time, I am still building little dams. As a landscape designer, I have been involved with designing and building water features into landscapes for almost twenty years. In the early years, we used plastic garbage cans with holes cut into the sides, with chicken wire screens to keep the leaves and debris from jamming up our re-circulating pumps. At that time, we struggled to find continuous duty pumps that were capable of moving water up a makeshift hillside, in an attempt to re-create the waterfalls from my childhood memories. We took ideas from swimming pool filtration systems such as, backflow prevention valves and ball valves to control the volume and flow of the water. Wow, how the times have changed! The garbage cans gave way to the present day skimmer boxes specifically manufactured for water gardening. Companies have grown into multi-million dollar businesses that focus on nothing but, water features and their accessories. Water gardening has turned into a national pastime. Like everything else technology has touched, these water systems have become quite sophisticated, involving mathematical equations to figure volume, capacity, distance and velocity.
We are currently involved in the construction of what we think is the largest private water feature in the southeast. Over 500 feet in length, the water courses through a series of streams and cascades. One of the cascades is over twelve feet high. This system will have over 35,000 gallons of water re-circulating throughout the maze of meandering streams and cascading waterfalls. It will rival some of the most high profile water features in the southeast, such as the water feature in the lobby of the Grand Ole Opry hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout my years of practicing the art of landscape design and creation, I have not only, become obsessed with flowers, shrubs and trees, but also the art and science of manipulating water. I have been practicing placing and arranging rocks and boulders in such a fashion to look natural and to re-create the sounds of a natural mountain stream. Using the science behind
water’s surface tension and the specific placement of rocks, we
manipulate the different acoustical sound ranges of the splashing water. From
the low “wooshes” of water hitting deep water, to the splashy high
tinny sounds of Our water features look, sound and feel so natural, many people, upon their first viewing of one of our water garden creations, struggle to accept that it is “manmade”. The president of the North Carolina Landscape Architects Association, upon viewing and experiencing his 3rd Four Seasons Landscape said, “You have raised the bar for landscape design and construction in North Carolina”. All of the knowledge I have acquired over the years, in the study of water, ornamental horticulture, and landscaping, has been extremely useful. But, I have discovered something I feel is even more important. It is so much more than rocks, water, skimmer boxes, and sophisticated pumps. It is about creating a personal experience. My journey has brought me to a point of re-creating the memorable experience of my skateboarding trips to the waters edge, basking in the freedom of childhood. One very special treat for me is that many of my clients share this desire to play in the water like a child. Frequently, when I arrive at a home where we have built one of our radical water gardens, I find a multi-millionaire business guru, in his shorts and bare feet, knee deep in the stream, with a huge ear-to-ear grin on his face, playing with the rocks. Upon seeing this, I get that wonderful feeling of success. It’s about four seasons of living. It’s about experiencing life at it’s fullest. It’s about outdoor luxury, with no boundaries. Four Seasons Landscaping, inc. of Highlands, N.C. invites you to view some of the photographs of these extreme water features. Just click on PORTFOLIO. Please, remember, these water gardens are so extensive, that it is impossible to “fit” them into a photograph. We only hope that we can partially convey the beauty and majesty of these incredible landscapes through these photos. Thank you, very much for visiting our website. We hope your experience here has been an enjoyable journey. We welcome and need your comments and feedback on your visit here. Please, click on, CONTACT US to share your ideas and your evaluation of our website. You can also, e-mail me directly at rhaight@fourseasonslandscape-highlands.com
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fphilbeck@excite.com
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pastimes. One of my favorite childhood memories is about
the times when my best friend and I would hop on our
skateboards and ease on down to the nearest stream. Fortunately, it was downhill
all the way to the waters edge. We certainly did not worry about the long walk
home.
In the mid-nineties, we
began building “extreme” water features. Streams and ponds that stretch hundreds
of feet, from the front yard, wrapping around the house like a snake to the back
yard. The water travels into a “grand finale” of elaborate cascades into a pond
caressed with water plants and flowers, and huge healthy trees dipping into the
water.
water rolling over water, we are creating the
sounds of natural stream as if, we are composing music.