Landscape Fusion’s “Behind the Landscape” project in the Tampa Bay area follows a yard transformation built around real, everyday use. The homeowners started with what was essentially a blank slate of dirt, made harder by the reality of “three dogs” and the mess that comes with a bare yard. The goal was simple and practical, but design-driven: create a clean, soft play surface for pets and kids, while also building a comfortable outdoor room for gathering. As the team notes, the change is immediate, because “before this was just dirt… and now the dogs are gonna be able to come out here and run around the backyard and play.”
As a design build company, Landscape Fusion frames their work as custom fabrication rather than assembly. “Everything that we use is raw material and we bring the raw material in and make something of it,” which shows up in how the project is organized and executed. On this major installation day, the scope is clear: roughly “2,500 square feet of sod,” a pergola of about “400 square foot,” plus planting, mulch, edging, stepping stones, irrigation, and finishing details. The process matters here because the project is a coordination puzzle, with “about five teams out there today,” including carpenters, landscapers, irrigation, sod crew, and in-house design and project management.
One of the biggest moves was replacing an older, shallow lanai with a larger shade structure that actually functions like a room. “We removed the old lanai… it only came off the house about ten feet,” so the redesign pushes the structure outward to create “a much larger room and a much greater feel.” The pergola construction is treated like real architecture, not a kit, with careful framing and water management. The team explains how they keep the fascia and members reading straight while still creating pitch: “we’re doing is we’re keeping everything straight and then we angled the boards,” cutting down a two by six so “everything still looks straight but the pitch is now in the upper portion.”
The landscape and irrigation choices support the same performance-first approach. For the lawn, they selected “St. Augustine Seville,” described as a hybrid with a “less coarse… softer feel,” specifically “great for animals and kids to play on.” In the beds, micro-drip irrigation is installed for both code compliance and efficiency: “most jurisdictions nowadays require micro drip… we’re using a lot less water. It’s water conservation at its finest.” These decisions are not decorative. They are the infrastructure that makes the outdoor space easier to keep clean, easier to maintain, and more comfortable to live in.
By the end of the day, the project reads as a complete outdoor living environment, with the hardscape, planting, pergola, and irrigation landing together as one integrated design. The pergola is finished with a polycarbonate roof that “will help keep the sun out and keep the rain out,” while still allowing brightness so “it’s not dark shaded area, it’s a light area.” The homeowner’s feedback hits the point the design was aiming for: “I love it… it’s perfect for the dogs,” and “I’m really glad that I picked Landscape Fusion.” Even the team’s closing joke, “thumbs up to paws up,” fits the project’s real success metric, a backyard that works for both people and pets.
