This garden gate, arbor, fence structure was built to enclose a newly reconstructed backyard. The vitex and camellia were left in place and pruned to look natural. 2 days, June 2009.

This dry stack Stone wall was built with Oneonta stack-able moss rock face, 57 stone gravel back-fill, fabric, mesh and perforated pipe. Mortar was used only at the cap layer. The entire wall is a drainage structure. The water is pulled through the gravel back-fill into pipes sized to catch it and lead it out to the driveway and street. The stamp concrete patio was poured to direct water through the drainage system and finished with a color to complement the house trim and stone wall. 4 weeks, June 2010.

This sidewalk was designed to attach all the entries and exists and create a utility area with a sink. The finish was planned so that this brand new walk looked aged 15 years. 2 days, June 2010.

This head wall was built of found sandstone, found brick and type s Buff mortar. It carries the water from one half the back yard. 1/2 day, June 2010.

To prospective clients of John Russell,

When we purchased our home, our backyard area was a big concern. It was an oddly shaped space with a terrible drainage problem. We were unsure of what to do to correct the drainage issue and to create an outdoor space that our family could enjoy. We did lots of homework before deciding on John Russell.

John spent several hours at our home with us during our consultation and really made sure that he had captured exactly what we wanted in his plan for our backyard. We were absolutely thrilled with his design! It is so unique and unlike anything we had ever seen before.

The very next week, John’s crew began construction on our project. The quality that stood out with John and his crew was their professionalism. We always felt confident that John would get the job done right and that is exactly what he did. His crew was on time each and every day and worked diligently all day long. At the end of each day, all of the equipment was put away and they always made sure to pick up anything out of place. They were truly a joy to work with.

It has now been five months since John completed our project. We have thoroughly enjoyed our space and we will for many years to come. We knew that we would be pleased with the outcome, but John and his crew exceeded all expectations. We have a beautiful area for our family and our drainage problem is completely corrected. John still stops by every now and then to check on the plantings and to make sure we are still happy with everything.

We couldn’t be happier!

We will most definitely work with John again in the future and highly recommend him for any job, large or small.

-Abby and Matt Valas

This project was very ecological. We busted up the front driveway into 2’x 2’ chunks and used it build walls and terraces in the back yard. We cut up the sidewalk in front to create serpentine stairs. All rock used was from stone found on site. The entire landscape functions as a drainage structure. Buff concrete was used to create the new front driveway and parking areas. We also designed and built a covered porch and fireplace on site. Plantings were used to enframe the space and hold the slopes.

Customer comments:
For years our family had always hated summer for two reasons, one Alabama weeds love the humid weather and rain always caused drainage problems. John Russell not only addressed both issues, but made the yard our sanctuary. He even recycled our old cracked driveway as retaining walls in the uphill back. He softened the look with the addition of stones his crew retrieved from our creek. I am happy to say our yard, both front and back are now not only functional, but beautiful. With John’s direction we added a screened in porch complete with a fireplace. A great place for entertaining when our grown children return for a meal. I must also add that his crew are all pleasant and kind people.
-Patty Wilson