After two years living on their wooded parcel in the Winchester neighborhood of Meadow Vista, the Carlson family knew just what they wanted as a backyard landscape: a natural-looking manmade waterway ending in a fish pond, with a little dock where the kids could dangle their feet in the water.
Today, with the help of Mountain View Landscape, they have cascading waterfalls, a creek, and a fishing hole that form a beautiful focal point for social gatherings and family time.
"Originally, we were going to leave the back yard natural," homeowner Cathy Carlson explained. "But it was so full of brush, pine needles and pine cones that nobody wanted to come out here."
Now, the rear of the property is the family's favorite spot to hang out at all times of the day and evening. The walkways, patio, dock and pond are illuminated to maximize their hours of use, with spotlights trained on the waterfalls for dramatic effect.
While considering their options, the Carlsons ruled out a vinyl-lined pool, instead choosing a concrete model that drains easily for cleaning and maintenance.
After consulting with the Mountain View experts, they also decided to forget about decomposed granite walkways that could wash out during heavy storms and chose flagstone paths instead. They also decided to have additional hose bibs put in throughout the gardens for extra convenience.
"They thought of things that we would not have thought of," Carlson said. "They really had 'the big picture,' right from the start."
Using the natural slope of the hillside parcel, the Mountain View Landscape crew constructed a rock-lined channel about 30 feet long, with a gushing waterfall at the top, and two cataracts at the bottom that spill into a 25-by-40-foot concrete fish pond. A compact wood deck juts out slightly over the edge of the reservoir, providing just enough space for dropping a fishing line or dipping a limb.
"We had a swimming pool when we lived in Sacramento and nobody ever used it; ever," Carlson recalled. "So it made more sense to us to put in a fish pond here. We never used our back yard before, but we come out here quite frequently, now."
The mini pier is the perfect vantage point to savor views of the pond and waterfalls, set against the skyline of the Sierra Nevada in the distance.
For another perspective of the stream and reservoir - and to expand the outdoor living space - the Carlsons also had a flagstone patio carved out of the upper yard, just off the home's rounded deck. The new terrace helps smooth the transition from the formality of the handsome loggia to the more rustic pond environment while creating an ample sitting area.
"We tried to create continuity and make the hardscape an extension of the house, pulling the colors of the rockwork on the home's exterior into the flagstones and pathways, so it all comes together as one," said Dan Davis owner and president of Mountain View Landscape, a foothills-based company that specializes in custom waterfalls and gardens.
For the Carlsons' project, the landscaping team had to build up dirt at the apex of the waterfall and excavate earth from the creek bed and the basin where the pond sits.
"There was a lot of grading and drainage work done that you can't see," Davis said.
What is apparent are the more than 100 tons of boulders harvested from the Sutter Buttes that were added to the native outcrops. The majority of the boulders flank the stream and edge the pond; others are scattered through the garden landscape.
"We were kind of surprised at the amount of rock used; it was more than we had envisioned," Carlson admitted. "I told them I wanted color all year 'round," Carlson said, "and, between the trees and plants, I'll have something showing color the whole year through."
Shredded bark is used as dressing in the informal planting beds, keeping weeds out and moisture in, while reinforcing the natural look.
Taller trees, shrubs and willowy grasses are used on the back side of the ridge to screen out street views, with lower multihued clumps of perennials - such as penstemon, lavender, rock rose, buddleia and day lily - filling in the hillside and attracting hummingbirds and butterflies to the garden.
Adding nature to the yard is a big bonus for 12-year-old Bonnie Carlson, who loves catching snakes, frogs and lizards as much as she relishes dipping her toes in the new creek and pond.
"I love the water because I can get in it but don't have to get all wet. And it's awesome because you can have your very own adventures every day," she said. "You see all the butterflies and hear the birds chirping in the day, and you can hear the frogs at night. It's lots of fun."
When the landscaping project was completed, the Carlsons added a freestanding gas-log firepit unit to the patio, making it a three-season venue. Bonnie already has broken it in, roasting marshmallows for a snack.
Now that this portion of the landscape is finished, the Carlsons can begin planning the transformation of the last overgrown patch of their property.
"What's nice is, you can do it all in phases," Cathy Carlson suggested. "This is what we can afford to do right now and, hopefully, that last spot will be done next year."
Davis said undertakings of this scope - which include major boulder placements, numerous grade changes and extensive excavation and plumbing work - can run up to $80,000 or more, with as much as one-third of the cost in the rocks alone.
For the Carlson family, the price tag for their backyard fishing hole is worth every cent spent.
"Being out here is like going to the ocean," Carlson said, listening to the relaxing babble of the creek, the splashing waterfalls and hypnotizing buzz of bumblebees rambling among the flowers. "You just can't go to the beach and not relax."
And you can't have a backyard fish pond without a dock where you can sit, daydream and dangle your feet.
