What They Wanted
The Beckers, who are both engineers, say they are not gardeners but appreciate coming home to an appealing space and spending time outdoors. “Our main goals were to limit water consumption, create green spaces between the houses, have a comfortable patio in the back to relax, and an attractive green space from the street view,” says Robert. The couple also wanted to get rid of the existing planting beds because they did not fit the small yard and lacked any sort of plan or design. Another goal was to minimize the old hardscape and soften the front and back yards, since the homes on the street are so close together. Their landscaping and plants focused on a variety that would create interest throughout the four seasons. “We wanted to minimize water use and found that Rick had expertise and experience with water wise yards,” says Robert. “Rich was very open and solicited our main priorities. He asked lots of indirect questions about what we liked and didn’t beyond just plants. He got a clear direction of the main concepts of how we would use the space.” Both the Beckers feel the landscape designer was easy to work with from the initial concept to the final design. “With the small space we worked back and forth on many details. Rick provided a great perspective of space and helped us be comfortable with final decisions as we worked through the details,” says Robert. After the garage was razed and a new one constructed behind the house, it cleared away more space for the actual yard. One of the first things to do was use jackhammers to bust up old concrete, then till the soil to get ready for planning and designing spaces within the yard. Drip irrigation was installed before amending the soil. Richard has been using drip lines for nearly 30 years in his practice, with good results. “It targets and waters the root zone of a plant,” he explains. Systems he recommends include Rainbird, Hunter, and Dripline. Not surprisingly, he and Annette are both outdoor lovers, and enjoy skiing at many of the local mountains in Utah.
