Darsan

April 2011 - Pool & Spa Marketing

European INFUSION

Transforming the backyard with a sophisticated design

Working with the backyard's limited dimensions and various garde changes, along with the client's multiple wish list, Darsan Contracting in Concord, Ont., used several design elements and landscape techniques to give this property in Kleinburg the ambience of the grounds at a European hotel.

The design not only complements the classic and modern mix of the home, it also provides a tranquil outdoor space for entertaining family and friends. Included was a 8.5- x 4.3-m (28- x 14-ft), 1.5-m (f-ft) deep vinyl-lined pool surrounded by a random, square-cut Owen Sound flagstone deck with Indiana stone inlays. A garden path, designed to resemble a courtyard walkway, continues this theme and features a circular, stone-pattern design that is outlined by low-cut shrubs and flowering plants.

Tops on the homeowner's wish list was to include a sophisticated waterfall feature, a large sheltered area for lounging and dinning, and most of all, creating privacy in the backyard. To integrate these requests into the design, Darsan installed a half-wall along the pool's edge at the farthest end, which includes a 1.2-m (4ft) "Sheer Descent" waterfall capable of producing a wide range of water effects to suit any mood or environment. A spill-over spa, located at the centre of the pool, also features a cascading waterfall that gently pours into the pool.

Mere steps away from the pool's entrance is a large dinning and seating area, complete with a large, fully-quipped cabana that houses all the electrical and pool equipment and includes a two-piece bathroom and changeroom. Attached to the cabana is an overhead arbour that provides shade for the outdoor kitchen area, which is equipped with hot/cold running water, fridge and gas barbecue with rotating rotisserie.

Landscaping around the yard's perimeter, comprising tall trees and hedges, disguises the fact the location is a residential neighborhood with houses on either side of the property. Privacy screens made a tongue-and-groove cedar, flowering plants, shrubs and ornamental grasses were also cleverly used to create visual interests in other areas of the yard.

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April 2010 Vol 34 - Pool & Spa Marketing

"Creativity, imagination and hard work are the staples of a successful landscaping firm. Darryl Shaver and Sandro Aiello, owners of Darsan Contracting in Concord, Ont., put these three tenets into practice as they built their company, which offers high-end residential and commercial landscape work, from flagstone, decks and paving to pools, water features and fencing.

Forging A Partnership

A stonemason by trade, Shaver got his start in the business in 1987, after completing a three year landscaping program at Toronto's Humber College. Employed by others for the first several years of his career, Shaver gained valuable lessons and experiences.

"I was exposed to a lot of custom work, which is now what we concentrate on," Shaver Explains. After getting his bearings in the industry, Shaver broke out on his own, working alongside a variety of different landscape architects. It was on one of those jobs where Shaver wold meet his future business partner.

"We met through a friend of Sandro's," Shaver says of the first time he was introduced to Aiello. "He had purchaed a home in North York, Ont., and needed the landscaping done."

Aiello, a business graduate of Toronto's Seneca College, was employed in the construction industry at the time.

"I was involved in earth works - excavation and relocation of earth - and then got into a lot of structural work, such as walls and concrete forming," he explains. "That's when I got involved in landscaping, which happened to be around the...."

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March/April 2010 - West Of The City

Correction to the article recently written in West of the city about Darsan Design Build Landscapes.
Owners Darryl Shaver and Sandro Aiello not only designed how the pool, patios, planting and rockeries would go together but are solely responsible for the installation of all hardscapes and softscapes including all stone walkways, patios and walls.

"GARDEN TOUR BUILDING A GARDEN FROM SCRATCH

Usually homebuyers inherit a garden when they purchase a house, either one that the developer put in place, or one that the former owners created. That is both good and bad. A mature garden is lovely, but sometimes the bushes and trees are overgrown. And sometimes the garden style just isn’t what you want.

Occasionally owners start with a blank slate, as is the case with this imposing stone home in Oakville. There was only empty land, and so there was nothing to remove, or to limit the garden plan. This is also not without its downside. While everything is possible, that vast possibility makes it difficult to choose the garden that will work best for the house.

Luckily, the owners had Darryl Shaver and Sandro Aiello of Darsan Landscape Architects, and Doug Todd of Todd Pools, to guide them through the process. The result is a garden that matches the grandeur of the house and will be a source of pleasure for many years to come.

“With any property we undertake to design,” explains Shaver, “we like to spend time with the owners, discovering what kind of garden they want, and then we look carefully at the property. We consider the light conditions, the grade, soil conditions, drainage – in short anything that would impact growing conditions, plant selections and design elements.”

Landscape, or “softscape” design must be tied intimately to the hardscape design that is usually determined first. Hardscape is any part of the design that is not plants and includes any stone, brick, concrete or wood work such as pathways, driveways, stone walls, pools, decks and fencing. Once those hard features are planned, the landscape is created to complement and mesh with the permanent emplacements to create a harmonious whole.

Darryl felt it was important to match the imposing grandeur of the home with a garden that would not be dwarfed its surroundings. Yet it has always been his company’s practice to plant responsibly – massive plantings may produce an instant garden, but it is a far more costly method, and often leads quickly to overgrowth that must then be corrected."

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