Past Projects
Palm Springs Backyard Waterwall
Waterwalls, both exterior as shown here and interior, are one of our most popular specialty environments. This waterwall was designed to fit a difficult corner space in a Palm Springs back yard. The owner wanted something that would be compatible with the Palm Springs modernism theme of the property as well as echoing the rugged beauty of the surrounding desert mountains.
This waterwall is made of a flat, medium-light multicolored sandstone. It is a compromise between formal and naturalistic, with ambiguous edges and multiple water outlets throughout the face simulating a cliff seepage area.
The waterwall is now the focal point of this part of the back yard, where the homeowner and visitors can relax in the nearby seating areas. During the day, it creates a cool, calming atmosphere. At night (see accompanying video) it presents an almost mesmerizing effect as the light dances over the stone. The water flow is designed to produce just the right amount of sound, so as to be relaxing, but not overpowering.
The basin of this waterwall is approximately 30″ in depth and features a raised, tile-capped wall where visitors can sit or rest their feet. It was designed so that it can be used either as a “sterile” water feature (like a swimming pool) or as a “living” water feature, containing plants and animals.
The top of the waterwall incorporates several flat stones, which can serve as surfaces on which to place potted plants or other decorative items if so wished.
All our water features can be made of almost any type of stone desired and can be as simple or automated as desired. This waterwall includes an automatic refill feature. The pump can be operated either manually or by timer.
Our waterwalls, waterfalls, streams, ponds and other water features all add a dramatic, lovely element to any living space, exterior or interior, especially in the desert.
Palm Springs Backyard Waterwall at Night
See all our wonderful specialty environments at www.secretenvironments.com.
This is the Palm Springs backyard waterfall 1 at night. (See Palm Springs Backyard Waterwall 1 for daytime view.) As you can see, the lighting creates a dramatic, mesmerizing effect. The lights are mounted beneath the surface of the water in the basin in order to create the dancing effect on the stone of the waterwall above.
The lights are on a day/night sensor, so they only operate when the ambient light is low enough, and they come on whenever the pump is on at night.
As stated in the daytime video of this waterwall, this is operating in “sterile” mode, which means it is clear, clean water like that of a swimming pool. However, a water feature with a basin the size of this one can also be operated as a “living” feature, containing plants and animals. In this case, one of the kinds of plants that can be included would be night-blooming tropical water lilies. These have magnificent, colorful flowers that can be huge, sometimes almost a foot in diameter, and fragrant enough to perfume the entire back yard.
As you can see, a feature such as this can provide a wonderful atmosphere in which to sit outside on a warm Palm Springs evening and have drinks and conversation, before or after an exciting night on the town.
Palm Springs Backyard Waterwall 2
This waterwall is made of the same type of stone as Waterwall 1 (See Palm Springs Backyard Waterwall 1 video) and is included to demonstrate the differences in style that are possible. This waterwall is taller and narrower to fit into the space available. There will be a garden installed around it, with the seating and viewing area being on a raised deck some 15 feet from the waterwall. So in this case, the owner preferred a ground-level basin, without seating.
The viewing deck is just off the master bedroom, so the owner can enjoy the sight and sound of this waterwall, both night and day, whether entertaining on the deck or drifting peacefully off to sleep in bed.
Backyard Mountain Stream
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This water feature was designed for a homeowner who has a home with a montane (mountain) themed back landscape. The homeowner wanted a high-volume, rushing stream that looked like a natural mountain stream.
This stream simulates the kind of rocky, rushing stream one might see in any number or canyons in the Southern California mountain ranges. We used the lovely native granite rock common throughout this part of Southern California.
The feature begins with a simulated artesian spring of the sort that was common here when the first settlers arrived. It erupts into an upper waterfall in a raised planter area between the patio/outdoor kitchen off of the dining room and the patio off of the master bedroom. This waterfall empties into the stream, which runs around the entire perimeter of the master bedroom patio, disappearing into the ground, as many streams eventually do, at the end of the yard. About halfway along the stream’s course, there is a second, or lower, artesian spring and waterfall.
Great care was taken to create a stream that is indistinguishable from a natural one, right down to the smalles granite rubble and sand in the stream bed. The owner wanted the stream “to look like it was here and the house was built next to it.” We have developed our abilities to create such naturalistic environments through years of studying the looks and dynamics of these environments. We are unmatched in this area.
We do not use plastic or rubberized liners or cheap, easy materials and methods in our water features. Ours are monolithic hardscapes that allow the water feature to blend into the surrounding landscape the way natural bodies of water do, looking completly real and lasting virtually forever.
The plants used in the surrounding landscape were carefully chosen and placed to complete the natural montane look. All the plants we use are personally selected and acquired by us from specialty nurseries, growers, collections and institutions all over the state and, in many cases, the country, in order to ensure we get exactly what we want to create the best environment possible. Plants used in this environment included a small cultivar of Japanese black pine, Japanese maple, white birch, western redbud, mugo pine, dwarf spruce, dwarf fir, dwarf atlas cedar, Japanese garden juniper, small manzanita cultivar, ceanothus, native sages, native wild rose, small clumping grasses, dwarf mondo grass, Irish moss, violas, armeria and other small annual and perennial flowers.
The result was a breathtaking naturalistic environment that perfectly finished off the overall look of the back yard, creating a beautiful, relaxing, inspiring mountain retreat where the homeowners can relax in private or entertain in style. The stream can be enjoyed from many viewpoints — the dining room patio, master bedroom patio, grassy yard or the hot tub on the raised area behind the stream.
Backyard Chicken Environments
See all our wonderful specialty environments at www.secretenvironments.com.
Backyard chicken environments are becoming increasingly popular for many reasons. Eggs from healthy, happy backyard chickens are much more delicious, nutritious and lower in cholesterol than commercial eggs. The difference in taste can be compared to the difference between a store-bought tomato and a tomato vine-ripened on your own plant. The right collection of chickens can produce a beautiful basket of eggs in all shades of brown, from terracotta to light cocoa, cream, white, pink, blue and green.
Chickens make great pets. Just as with dogs and cats, different chicken breeds have different characteristics that appeal to almost anyone. They come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors and patterns. Individual chickens have very different personalities and can develop close relationships with their owners. Their desirability as great pets for children has been especially underrated.
Chickens are relatively easy and inexpensive to care for (there is a reason the term “chicken feed” has come to mean cheap). Once an appropriate environment has been created, they have minimal requirements as far as equipment and materials.They will subsist very happily and healthily on a basic feed and your kitchen scraps, along with miscellaneous grass, weeds and bugs from the environment.
We can create any type of chicken environment you desire, from small to large, simple to elaborate, formal to match your other structures or naturalistic to blend into your landscape. It can simulate your grandmother’s farmyard chicken coop or a Martha Stewart-style chicken palace.
We will help you select and acquire, from scores of readily available breeds, the ones that best suit your individual needs and desires.
Chickens are very compatible with urban surroundings. Most cities now have regulations that allow homeowners to keep small flocks of pet chickens . We can help you address any issues to make sure you, your neighbors and your municipal officials are all happy.
Palm Springs Vivarium
The large, tropical rainforest vivarium in the accompanying video was designed to occupy the central alcove in the entryway of the home of two doctors in Palm Springs, California. Dramatically vertical, the overall installation is 8 feet tall and slightly less than 3 feet wide and deep. The acrylic tank itself is 4 ½ feet tall, with a volume of about 31 cubic feet or over 231 gallons. It is fully automated, controlled by a state-of-the-art EcoZone controller. Natural tropical sunlight and photoperiods are simulated by a lighting system including full-spectrum, high-intensity, 5,000 K metal halide lights, an LED dawn-dusk system and nocturnal moonlights. Watering and humidity are maintained with a MistKing misting system. Vents and fans maintain fresh air circulation. An exterior canister filter powers the waterfall and maintains good water quality in the pool. A drainage system allows excess moisture in the planting mix to escape.
The entire volume of the vivarium is utilized, with terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic components. A large, bonsai-styled jaboticaba tree fills most of the upper space, supporting a rich canopy community of epiphytic plants, including bromeliads, tillandsias, orchids, ferns and mosses, and arboreal animals, including dart frogs, tree frogs, geckos, dwarf chameleons, tree lizards and other lizards. The terrestrial landscape is multi-level and features rugged volcanic rock hills, outcrops and caves. A wide array of tropical plants creates a lush environment, including mosses, ferns, orchids, bromeliads, African violets and other gesneriads, aroids, begonias, acorus, and others. Terrestrial residents include primarily dart frogs, other frogs and toads, and lizards. A naturalistic artesian spring erupts from the upper left summit, spilling down a multi-tiered waterfall to a stream that empties into a jungle pool, which spans the entire lower front of the vivarium for complete viewing. It is lushly planted with many varieties of aquatic plants and is home to various species of tropical fish and invertebrates.
Vivaria are living ecosystems, constantly growing, evolving and maturing, becoming more beautiful and complex over time, taking many years to reach a climax state before requiring re-establishment. While they are beautiful from the moment of installation, they become more so over the first year. During that time, Bonsai-trained trees retain their shape and have their training wire removed, healthy microbial biomasses in the planting mix and water fully develop, the plants become well established in the landscape or, in the case of epiphytic types, well attached to their host tree, an appropriate community of animals is established and the overall environment achieves a healthy, functional balance.
As of November 2014, this vivarium has been established for approximately six months and is still in its first-year developmental stage. The training wire has been removed from the bonsai-styled jaboticaba tree and currently only a few restraining lines for some of the smaller outer branches are still in place. Most of the plants have become established and have grown and spread, with bloom rates increasing. Most of the animals that will constitute the final population of the vivarium have now been added. Moss is spreading, as are other creeping/vining plants. A healthy, balanced ecosystem has been established. Most of the frogs were juveniles or sub-adults when added to the vivarium, and these have now reached maturity, coming into their full magnificence. The lovely singing of several frogs now welcomes visitors most of the time, along with the trickling of the waterfall.