Outdoor Living
Home remodeling: Reclaiming the backyard
After re-landscaping, homeowners gain a new perspective on relaxation
The Sacramento Bee, California Life, Aug. 4, 2007
Article by Kathy Maynard quoting Susan Silva New Paragraph
CLICK to download the article
Q: One reason we bought our house in the 1980s was because it had a large yard with lots of grass for the kids to play on. Now that we no longer use the lawn for swing sets or playing catch, it seems like the only time we are out there is to mow the grass, weed the beds and prune the shrubs. We'd like to update our yard so we could enjoy it more. Where do we begin? -- Andrea Simmons, Carmichael

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    BEFORE: Once the children were grown, the backyard was neglected and seldom used.

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    Clearing out overgrown shrubs opened up the sitting area.

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    Landscape designer Susan Silva used container plantings to add spots of color.

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    Basalite stacked walls were installed by the contractor.

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    The new backyard is expansive, terraced and panoramic. An artificial lawn means there's no mowing required.

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A: "Nothing feels better than at the end of a stressful workday to come home, kick off your shoes, grab your favorite cold beverage and retreat to your backyard," says Susan Silva, owner of Susan Silva Landscape Design in Orangevale. "Most of us can't pack up every weekend for Lake Tahoe, so why not create an outdoor retreat in your very own yard?"

These days, we are so inundated with TV programs, home and garden shows, and magazine articles about yard makeovers that it's easy for homeowners to feel overwhelmed. But an attractive, manageable landscape does not have to be out of your price range or too much to take care of, she says.

"A landscape designer can help you renovate your existing yard by saving your favorite parts and introducing new, contemporary ideas and solutions," Silva says.

"Why not keep those beautiful trees you have nurtured for years to maturity and incorporate them into a new design? A large redwood tree can canopy over a flagstone patio. A full-grown Japanese maple can be a focal point next to a fountain with a stone bench. The large lawn can be reduced or eliminated," she says.

It is best to start with a landscape plan designed by a professional who listens carefully to what you are trying to achieve and who also offers lots of fresh and exciting ideas, Silva says. A design can be installed in stages as your budget allows or you can choose to hire a professional to install it all at once.

Bruce and Susan Barstis of Fair Oaks had decided that it made more sense to remodel their 30-year-old home than to move long before they hired Silva to help them update the landscaping last spring.

"We love the area. We're in a court on a quarter-acre with lots of beautiful full-grown trees," says Susan Barstis. "It's a one-story and we can retire here without taking on a huge new mortgage, so we decided to make it really comfortable."

The couple already had worked on their home, remodeling the kitchen, changing the rock facade and mantle of the fireplace, upgrading windows, and replacing the vertical wood siding with stucco and rock fascia on the house exterior.

But their large yard had gotten out of hand; the overgrown shrubs were starting to die, the wood retaining wall needed replacement, and the lawn was in need of an overhaul after years of owning dogs. 

One day Susan Barstis happened to meet Silva at a local dog park and after striking up a conversation, it didn't take long for Barstis to believe she may have found the ideal designer to renovate their landscape. 

Silva met with Barstis and her husband, walked the yard, learned what they liked and disliked about the landscaping, and discussed how they might enjoy it more.

"We have an active dog who is an important member of the family, and we couldn't have anything that she could wreck. We also wanted it relatively low maintenance," Barstis says.

"What we appreciated most about (Silva) was how she really listened to what we wanted and didn't try to add a bunch of fancy things that she thought should be there. She came up with a design, we tweaked it a little, and after a few little changes had exactly what we were looking for."

The couple chose to keep the original concrete patios and walkways because they were in good shape, and it would have been cost prohibitive to tear out everything and start over. 

Although the composite deck was nice, it felt small and secluded behind all of the overgrown shrubs. The shrubs were removed and replaced with colorful plants in containers.

Terracing the backyard by replacing the old hedge row that divided the lower and upper levels with a rose garden revealed a panoramic view of the entire yard from the deck. Low-voltage lighting was installed by the contractor, added a new dimension at night.

Silva also suggested minimizing the size of the lawn to reduce maintenance, but after much research, Bruce and Susan decided to eliminate all lawn maintenance by installing an artificial product called Tuff Grass.

"It's more decorative than anything else, but the dog runs around and lies on it and chews her bone. We recently told some friends it was artificial, and they couldn't believe it. We're really glad we did it," Barstis says.

The entrance of the home became more attractive by replacing several large bushes in the front yard with a courtyard and flagstone patio by the contractor. A Meyer lemon tree was kept for its wonderful fruit and provided some privacy for the new sitting area.

"It's just beautiful," says Barstis. "People who come over say it looks like a park. We don't use the front yard a lot, but we are out back all the time, every chance we get. We had dinner out there with company last night, and we sat there drinking coffee and reading the paper this morning. 

"My husband used to come home from work and play card games on the computer to relax, but now he goes out in the yard," she says. "We often just sit and talk, which we haven't done in a long time."

Susan's Published Garden Articles

Please, Please Water the Trees

By Susan Silva • May 2, 2015
To conform with drought restrictions, we're seriously regulating the water to our lawns or eliminating watering them entirely. Unfortunately, the water most trees desperately need is often missed or forgotten.  
 
It will take thirty years to replace a thirty year old tree. A lawn can be restored in just a couple of months.
 
Kyle Floyd, with Green Acres Nursery reminds customers that it's the lawn that is the larger culprit for consuming water and not the trees. Unlike lawn, a majority of trees can withstand drought, but still need to be properly watered based on the tree's species and size.
 
Studies show, a gallon of water per square foot per hour is used with most lawn-watering sprinkler systems. That's 1,000 (one thousand) gallons of water for a 1,000 (one thousand) square foot lawn after being watered a total of just 1 (one) hour. Trees require far less water.
 
Kyle also reminds customers that a tree's canopy provides moisture, shade, and the need for much less water to the plants that benefit nearby and below it. Trees also cool the house and the need for air conditioning is significantly reduced.
 
It can be 20 (twenty) degrees cooler under the shade of a mature leafy tree, also providing a very comfortable place out of the sun for relaxing and entertainment.
 
There are warning signs that trees are stressed and needing water. A healthy tree's vibrancy is replaced with lifeless, under-sized leaves appearing pale and limp. Premature dropping of leaves along with yellowing and browning are other warning signs the tree needs water. The tree's canopy is often sparse instead of full. Prolonged neglect can lead to tree diseases and eventually death to the tree.
 
It's essential to understand trees and their water needs. Most tree roots are in the top eighteen inches of soil, but studies show the greatest number of tree roots consuming water, oxygen and nutrients are in the top six to eight inches.
 
The amount of water needed for a tree depends on its size and species. According to the article, "Caring For the Trees in a Dry Climate" from Colorado State University, trees must be given top watering priority during the drought over the lawn and includes these general tree watering guidelines:
  • A general rule is to use approximately ten gallons of water per inch of the trunk's diameter (width of trunk measured at knee level) for each watering. General formula: Tree diameter times five minutes equals total watering time.
  • Example: When hand watering using a garden hose at medium pressure, it will take about five minutes to produce ten gallons of water. For a four inch diameter tree, it should receive forty gallons of water. Multiply by five minutes for a total watering time of twenty minutes.  
  • Distribute water evenly under the tree's dripline.
 Change your outdoor irrigation systems to drip, micro-spray or low-flow systems based on the needs of your trees and landscape with timers for efficient and not over watering. Seek the help from professional landscapers and nurseries for low water irrigation systems and drought tolerant landscapes for your property.
 
Water early in the morning or after the sun has gone down. These are the times when trees restore the water lost during the day. Also, be sure to add mulch around the trees to reduce soil temperature and decrease water evaporation.  
 
Soaker hoses and drip systems keep the trees healthy while using less water. They soak into the ground where the water is needed, and not run into the street and drains. Long, slow watering to a depth of twelve inches with soaker hoses or in-line emitter drip systems buried below three to four inches of wood mulch is often recommended. Generally in warmer months, younger trees need to be watered twice a week, and most mature trees every two weeks.
 
Landscape contractor, Steve Irwin of Alpine Terrace Landscaping often advises using soaker hoses placed around the drip zone (area shaded) of the tree with timers. For extra large established trees like Sequoia sempervirens (Redwoods), Steve advises watering these giant trees with soaker hoses for a twenty-four hour period every two weeks in the warmer months.  
 
An easy and inexpensive option for deep & slow watering for very small trees is to water them using a five gallon bucket. Steve Irwin recommends puncturing a very tiny hole at the the base of the five gallon bucket (thirty-second of an inch), place the bucket under the tree's drip-line, and fill to the brim with water. This method should be done twice weekly per small tree, moving the bucket (s) when empty to other spots within the dripline.
 
Trees provide shade and shelter to our homes and wildlife, and most importantly trees provide the healthy air all of us need to breathe. It's critically important for our health and environment to keep our trees watered, healthy, and producing oxygen.
 
According to chemistry expert, Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D in her article, "How Much Oxygen Does One Tree Produce?", are the following quotes from studies made of different trees regarding the overwhelming importance about the oxygen our trees produce.  
 
"One acre of trees annually consumes the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by driving an average car for twenty-six thousand miles. The same acre of trees also produces enough oxygen for eighteen people to breathe for a year."  - NY Times
 
"A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as ten people inhale in a year."  - Arbor Day Foundation
 
"On average, one tree produces nearly two hundred sixty pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four."  - Environment Canada
 
"A one hundred foot tree, eighteen inches in diameter at its base, produces six thousand pounds of oxygen."  - Northwest Territories Forest Management
 
"A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of forty eight pounds a year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings."  - Mike McAliney, Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, Ca. December 1993
 
Susan Silva Landscape Design of Orangevale, has been designing conceptual residential landscape plans for more than thirty years.  
 
Susan recommends Steve Irwin and his crew with Alpine Terrace Landscaping for professionally engineering and installing her landscape designs.
 
Susan refers to Kyle Floyd and other team members at Green Acres Nursery, recommending them to her clients for quality service, plants & supplies.

A greenhouse in your garden

By Susan Silva • September 30, 2014
Whether you want to garden all year long or just prolong the spring and summer seasons, there’s a greenhouse just right for you and the space that you have. Regardless of the size of your backyard, a greenhouse comes in many sizes and designs imaginable, from something simple to something elaborate.

Small backyard becomes Asian garden

By Susan Silva • September 9, 2014
Going into the job, I knew this small backyard was in need of a complete makeover. The deck was old, worn and rotting. The brick patio and planters were falling apart. The spa always needed maintenance and wasn't being used. The backyard also needed screening from fences, high rise wires and the westerly sun.
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