Growing up we bounced around a lot,” recalls Greg Meyer of Defiance, noting that his family’s moves often involved an apartment complex or a duplex.
Two of the upsides of that time in his life, Greg continues, were the apartment complex swimming pools and playing in a creek near one of the places he called home.
It is no wonder that three years ago, when Greg and his wife Lisa decided to build their “forever” home on three acres, the finished project included both a swimming pool and a creek.
Having raised their three children in St. Charles, they moved to Defiance following Greg’s retirement after 30 years at Boeing. They designed this once-in-a-lifetime property to work for them on a day-to-day basis but offer plenty of room for friends and family to stop by and enjoy the pool, creek and large outdoor entertainment space.
Working with Mark Trudo, owner of Blue Haven Pools, and pool designer Don Kuhn and Chris Rhodes of TRC Outdoor, the couple provided overall guidance as to what they were looking for in their outdoor project. “We wanted to use the natural shape of the land without moving around too much dirt,” says Greg.
Both in the house they designed and the outdoor space, Lisa, who continues to work as a mechanical engineer, noted the importance of, as much as possible, keeping everything on one level. “I was looking for a nice view from the kitchen window and the family room. And by keeping the pool area on one level, it makes it convenient for entertaining and moving food and coolers around,” she explains.
The geometric design of the pool was the key piece of the landscaping puzzle and Don Kuhn was delighted to “get a green light” on some special features to incorporate into the pool and surround. Those include a 360-degree, vanishing edge spa, a swim-up bar area and a shallow tanning ledge. All are faced with multi-colored, jewel-toned mosaic tiles. The 1,500 square-foot pool’s white marble edging and Black Eclipse PebbleSheen finish dramatically set off the sparkling, gem-like tiles.
For maximum impact, the one-of-a-kind pool design took into account the path of the sun as it shines on the back of Lisa and Greg's outdoor space. “When the sun hits the tile, it is so iridescent it’s like someone turned on a light,” Lisa says.
Once the pool design was set, it needed to be incorporated into the overall landscape “There was lots of space to work with, which sometimes can be more challenging than working with a smaller space,” explains Chris of TRC Outdoor. “We always work hand-in-hand with the client to understand their vision and then provide our expertise. The water feature (Greg’s creek) was added halfway through when Greg mentioned that something needed to be in that space. We built the pond and water feature on the spot.”
The stone-lined creek cascades from the top of the patio just off the house and runs slightly downhill past the pool and culminates in a small pond accented with a stacked-stone, 360-degree pedestal waterfall. A wooden foot bridge spans the stream and connects the upper patio with the yard beyond.
“Greg was really into it,” Chris continues. “It adds a nice element and with the water running it makes the large space a bit more intimate. With the large pool, the elements around it have to match so they look like they fit in the space. We always start with an overview of the property. We try to fit the landscape to the home. We went back to the plant selection from there.”
The strong architectural elements of the pool demanded that many of the 500 plants incorporated around it have their own architectural signatures. ‘Green Mountain’ boxwoods stand as pyramids. Native ‘Canaerti’ junipers, commonly called Eastern Red Cedars, have an open, wind-swept appearance, while ‘Skyrocket’ junipers take on the shape of giant, fluffy arrows. Tall, upright ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass forms a constantly swaying, pillared wall separating the pool from the yard beyond. ‘Hummelo’ betony sends spikes of violet flowers above a base of lance-shaped green leaves. The sculptured lavender globes of allium ‘Millenium’ dot walkways.
The plans also called for popular landscaping plants such as hydrangeas, magnolias and fruit trees. Easy-to-grow natives such as purple coneflowers, golden black-eyed Susans and lavender Stokes’ asters provide long seasons of color.
“I always like to bring the customer to the nursery so they can see what the plants actually look like,” says Chris. “They can see the sizes and be involved in the process.”
“I love gardening and I love being outside,” explains Lisa. “I wanted the feel of the garden to look much more natural rather than strictly manicured. And, honestly, we wanted to focus on easy maintenance.”
Even though much of the garden area around the pool is fenced, landscaping selections also took into consideration plants that were deer and rabbit resistant, something that is always of concern in Defiance with many multi-acre properties where deer can roam.
“We wanted to move out here and have some fun,” Greg says with a laugh. He has high praise for everyone who worked on their dream project including Lauren and Jon Clement of JS Clement Construction, designers and builders of their custom home.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better crew,” he says, noting that as a kid, he never would have imagined the beautiful surroundings that he lives with everyday. “I am humbled by what has happened,” he says. “It is a true blessing.”
