Backyard Pool, Grill, Firepit Make for Parties and Memories for Appleton Couple

Melissa and Doug of Appleton have young children and love to entertain their family and friends. Those are both good enough reasons to create a backyard oasis, and that’s what they have done, utilizing every crew at Lowney’s Landscaping, and building a space for both quiet family time, and joyous entertaining.

“We bought our house three years ago and there was a man-made pond,” Melissa said. “We bought in the winter and then when everything thawed, the water dropped, there was a hole somewhere in the pond, which used to function like a pool for the original owners.”

So they thought through their options and decided on creating a pool and surrounding entertainment space. “The pool seemed like the ideal situation, the beautiful background, the backdrop of our backyard,” Melissa said.

Most of the couple’s neighborhood uses Lowney’s Landscaping for landscaping maintenance, including them, so Lowney’s was the first company she called. She never got another quote. 

“I liked what they had in mind and I liked the plan, and everything just kind of seemed to fall in place,” Melissa said, saying for instance that Lowney’s had connections with the other contractors including the pool installer. 

“And I’m very happy with Lowney’s,” she added. “I was very happy with the 3D renderings. I think it looks almost identical to how it was planned.”

Planning Your Backyard Landscaping

What would Melissa tell herself two years ago if she could? “I think I would say I would maybe have asked a few more questions and been more involved,” she said. 

She admits she didn’t know how significant this project was going to be. “There was excavation, there was moving rocks,” he said. “There were lots of different people and teams involved. There’s a pool installer. And there was also the landscaping company. From starting our planning and to completion, it was over a year and a half.”

Weather slowed down progress at different points, too. “There were moments when we said, ‘Oh my gosh. Are we ever going to be able to enjoy it? And I think this summer we’ve had that moment where we said this was worth it and all of the headaches and all of the stress and the planning and the muddy backyard were worth it.”

Just a sampling of the plants – switchgrass, allium, weigela, coneflower, dogwood, and a lot of hydrangeas.

Adding Backyard Lighting & More

The project has been ongoing in little ways through the months. There has been outdoor lighting added, which the couple loves. “It’s absolutely beautiful and peaceful in the evenings,” Melissa said. 

The plants throughout the property are diverse and planned by the Lowney’s landscaping designers, who always seek to create beds that will be beautiful year-round with plants, shrubs and perennials that are in blooming rotation. There are beds full of mulch of course, and having a landscaping maintenance and mowing plan with the same company that does your install is nice because the crews know how to make it look beautiful or fix areas that need help because they installed the plants and trees in the first place.

Loving to Cook on a Blaze Grill

Besides the stone pathways, which are largely Unilock pavers, and the landscaping all around, the couple is “big on entertaining, and there was no built-in grill or any bar space in the back, so we really wanted that.” 

Lowney’s installs top-of-the-line Blaze Grills so that is what is used for cooking out now, for both the family, or when the kids have pool parties, and Melissa said Doug loves to cook.

What should a family do if they’re considering making this move themselves? Melissa said ask yourself how often you would use the perfect backyard space. 

“We’re out there almost nightly,” Melissa said. “The kids are enjoying it, we are having parties, and we are extremely happy with where we are now. And it looks amazing. It’s perfect. We’re very happy and there’s nothing I think we would have changed.”