Larry Bender's Landscaping

photo below: "living wall" --left back; pavers as a patio -- foreground and around pond; sod, sprinklers, misting/foggers, weed block, etc.

We also do the following:

Pond and waterfall cleaning

Sprinkling systems

Misting systems for vertical watering

Sod preparation and installation

Garden design and planting

Terraced garden areas

Stone pavers as patio floors or walkways

Each Spring brings us a schedule of pond cleanings.  Many of our existing customers routinely call when they are ready for the big day!  We refresh the look of the pond as well as improve the eco-system's filtration. 

We first set-up the holding tank for the fish.  We have a 150 & a 300 gallon tub.  In it we use a box filter and a second pump to clean and aerate the water while the fish are in waiting.  We then drain the pond while trimming plant-life and adjusting any gravel depths and such.  We power-wash from the top down, clean the filter mats and net bags of lava rock (filter medium) and run clean water in until it is sparkling once again.

The following photos show a few before and after photos to show

the changes we can make each Spring...

The Chinook

The Chinook pond before '09 Spring cleaning... You could actuall cross the pond by walking on the tops of the lilies!  The water stayed running clean and clear but the swimming room was being over-taken by plant-life.

This pond is 12'x18' with two bio-falls and two skimmers. We designed and built it in 2004.

 Pam's PrideBelow is Pam's Pride as we are finishing up the cleaning.  We drain the pond, go fishing, power-wash, trim plants and refill.This is after we completed the cleaning. All inhabitants are doing well.We have large holding tanks with filters and aeration for the fish while we are doing the cleaning.  Curtis' Caves Curtis' Caves below before the cleaning in June '09. This large round pond had no planting shelves to complete the biological filtration. So instead of pulling the liner back to add soil for the shelves we used ADS pipe to create a tunnel around the edges of the entire pond. We created seven cave openings and included a hose down into the tunnel to keep a current going. The 16 fish were well hidden when it came time for their house cleaning!After two days of power washing we won the battle against a String Algae bloom!  We usually keep draining and filling until the water is sparkling, but Elk Grove has water meters and this is a 1200 gallon pond, so we kept his costs down!After one day of running the water did indeed sparkle once again. His 16 fish were much happier!

We repair, replace or install sprinkler systems that will minimize your water usage and maximize the coverage.

Sprinkler systems are similar to Tinker Toys--be sure your measurements and water pressure are up to "head-to-head" coverage.

Do you have an area that needs a small sprinkling system independent of your existing system?  We install sprinkler systems with 9-volt battery operated timers.

How about installing a misting system in areas difficult to water? Especially effective for deep watering on terraced gardens.

Tired of un-sightly and troublesome drip lines? Ask us about using Tech-Line.

Want to change your existing sprinkling system to lower water usage?  Use pressure regulated sprinklers and MP Rotor nozzles.

Do you have problems with your sprinklers or timer?  We can troubleshoot for you and eliminate problems.

We can help with these things and more for you and your home.

The yard below was empty when we started.  The soil was 45% gravel and tough to dig! We installed the sprinklers, the sod, the pond & waterfalls, the "living wall" and the misting system around the pond and along the top of the living wall.  The foggers or misting nozzles are on a battery operated timer that allows them to come on up to 9 times a night for as little as a minute.  This provides optimum water use for the crevice plants and the plant-life on the Moss Rocks is watered lightly during evening or early morning hours to prevent it from being sunburned during the heat of the day.

Yes, we do this too!  Remove old sod; rototill soil; add amendments if needed; grade for proper water drainage; and install new sod.  The photos that follow show a few jobs we've done, from a small garden to over 5000 sq. ft. of sprinklers and sod!

Below: We saved this small area of lawn because Annie's daughter said, "Mom, you must have a lawn!"   Otherwise, her front yard is very low-water usage and very low-maintenance.

See the Photo Gallery of Ponds for more pictures of Annie's front yard make-over.

Below is a huge job we did after installing Katie's pond.  She was so happy with our work that they hired us to install sod and sprinklers in a 5000 sq. ft. area of their 1 acre plus yard. (For those that are curious... those are bird cages from years gone by.)