The backyard sits on a slope, so Matt Boring had to create a flat area for the pond and build a concrete retaining wall. A 12-foot-long stream meanders down to the 10-by-15-foot pond, with plants such as water lilies, taro, lizard’s tail and iris.
The rock whisperer
The backyard sits on a slope, so Matt Boring had to create a flat area for the pond and build a concrete retaining wall. A 12-foot-long stream meanders down to the 10-by-15-foot pond, with plants such as water lilies, taro, lizard’s tail and iris. Land plants include Persian shield, plumbago and sago palm.
Boring ordered Texas moss rock and peachtree cobble for this project — about six tons of rock, plus two yards of local river gravel. “I look for stones with character and interest,” he says. “I tell people if you stare at the rocks long enough and listen real hard, they will tell you where they need to go. Because of that, some of my friends call me the ‘rock whisperer.’”
It’s only natural
Seeking inspiration in nature, Boring often heads out to the many waterfalls and streams around Austin. “I’d hike in the hot part of the summer to observe what a waterfall looks likes when it’s dry,” he says. “Then I’d go back when the water was flowing, noticing how the shape of the rocks actually contoured the surface of the water as it flowed over them.”
His firm specializes in designing low-maintenance, sustainable environments that utilize water-wise plants.
