Southern Trillium, LLC

Ready to enjoy the International Society of Arboriculture’s Annual Conference. 3 days of learning with speakers and fellow attendees from around the world - all focus on trees.

Another custom detail wrapped up in this large project. We designed and built this enclosure to hide the equipment for the large water feature, yet still allow easy access for maintenance. The wood exterior is brown balau hardwood decking. Complete with full access front doors and a hinged top with gas struts. We began with an underground vault for the equipment but some site changes switched to moving the equipment above ground but it all still needed to be hidden from view.

We recently completed 6 of these custom raised planters to be used in the horticultural therapy program at A.G. Rhodes. We designed the beds for 6 balconies on the new building. The beds are constructed to be enjoyed for many years, utilizing Brazilian Ipe, Brown Balau, marine grade plywood and an EPDM interior liner with integrated drainage and irrigation. These will allow the joy of gardening to be available to people with different levels of mobility.

One of the water features we recently completed for AG Rhodes Health and Rehab’s new Memory Care Garden in Marietta. Overall garden design by David Sacks Landscape Architecture. We had the pleasure of constructing the simple fountain.

We are excited to celebrate our 20th anniversary today. Founded by Lyle Collins, Charlie Jackson, and Scott Uthlaut as 3 individuals passionate about gardens and landscapes, Southern Trillium continues to this day designing and creating custom and unique spaces. Even though the projects have grown in size and complexity over the years, it is always good to look at where we began.

Owner Lyle Collins was a young 23 year old recent college graduate when the 3 began the company, and Lyle is honored today to continue providing exceptional service to his clients as well as helping lead the industry serving on the state task force for the Georgia Certified Landscape Professional program. Here’s to 20 more amazing years!

Southern Trillium finds northern trilliums in Vancouver, Canada.

Yesterday was final cleaning day and start-up for normal operation of the large water feature we built last fall. We had to wait until all the site work was completed on the project to turn it on. A few more remaining details but it is ready to be enjoyed by all.

Recertified for another 2 years as a NDS Professional Drainage Contractor.

Next stage of work on this commercial site is installation of the raised planters for the residents to utilize as part of the horticultural therapy program. We designed the bed design in collaboration with the hort therapist, occupational therapists, and physical therapists. The pans allow patients to stand or sit at them and stay clean and dry. Many using them will be in wheelchairs. Drainage and irrigation is concealed inside the masonry support legs seen going in here.

Almost finished with the second water feature. Stonework is complete. All remaining is the water proof cementitious membrane on the inside and setting up the fountain in the center.

Part way through construction on the second water feature on this commercial site. When complete, it will have a 3 tier fountain in the center of this basin. Natural stone veneer and stone cap are next and then the cementitious membrane on the inside.

Today was equipment vault installation day. All the pumps and filtration for the feature will be out of sight in this underground vault. The custom fiberglass vault was made per our design, for this equipment setup. We pre-plumbed the vault to make on-site installation quicker.

We have been working hard on this large water feature installation. On week 3 right now. It was also a beautiful morning as the sun came up on the site.

Making progress on this large water feature installation. Next week will be the remaining boulders and installation of the below ground vault that houses the pumps and filtration.

Work continues on the water feature installation. Finished digging and shaping the upper pools, pulled liners, and began setting rock.

A fun first few days laying out the water feature and moving soil to create the footprint and the large hill for the streams and falls. Technology makes site layout much easier for us.

Day 1 on this commercial project that we have been getting ready for since late 2022.

We are getting ready for a large commercial water feature project soon to begin. Here is the custom fiberglass vault that will house the pumps and filter systems underground and out of sight. Thanks to InTown Wholesale for helping take delivery of this very large unit and reloading it for us.

We recently wrapped up this major drainage repair project. The original 48” steel pipe rusted out and collapsed and all soil under the driveway had washed away. With the old pipes removed and a gravel bed installed, the new 48” hdpe pipe was installed. 160 tons of crushed stone filled back in the trench. We repurposed the estimated 60 tons of granite from the old support walls to build a new headwall on the upstream side. And the remaining granite was used to stabilize the slope on the downstream end. With the concrete repoured in this section, the homeowner is able to safely come and go from her home again.

Another recently finished design. This one is primarily plantings with a redesigned walkway to the front door to begin behind a parked vehicle.

Concrete day. As we wrap up the replacement 48” drain pipe project, repouring the section of driveway is now finished. A-1 Driveway helped get this small pour finished this afternoon.

Owner Lyle Collins enjoyed speaking to several classes at his daughters’ school for career day. Although hard to put everything together into a one single category, his presentation showed the combination of skills used for our projects. Art, science, math, and even social studies are used to design and build custom gardens and landscapes that sometimes fall into historically significant areas and styles.

Water is powerful. Today was demo day to open up this driveway. We could see the void underneath which resulted from the collapsed metal storm drain pipe. From above, everything looked fine. But as the pics show once we removed the driveway slabs, it is a 10’ deep void that was under the driveway.

Sometimes a project requires very large materials, such as these giant drain pipes. For this emergency project, the 50+ year old metal stormwater drain pipe rusted out under a driveway and collapsed. The 10’ tall wall holding up the driveway hid the pipe failure while all the dirt supporting the driveway slowly washed down the ravine. The erosion resulted in the driveway to the house left suspended 10 feet in the air. With quick visits by city inspectors and private engineers, a plan was formed by all and approved for us to begin the work. The sections of 48” pipe were delivered today. Demolition of the driveway and walls begins tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes smoothly so the homeowner can once again safely get in and out of her home.

The stamped concrete patio is in. Tomorrow the crew will return to clean up lines from the stamping and saw cut control joints. A sealer will be applied after temps warm some more in a couple days. Stay tuned for more on this project as we are just getting started on all the new installations here.

Oh the time change. It makes for a sudden dark start to the morning when getting ready for an 8am concrete pour.

Owner Lyle Collins recently completed the OSHA 30 safety training. The 30 hours of training cover an overview of the hazards a worker may encounter on a job site and emphasizes hazard identification, avoidance, control and prevention.

This is what we like to see, a signed off building permit that all work is completed to code and passed by the building inspector. As we like to say, the inspector is a neutral set of eyes verifying our work so our clients have an additional layer of security that we all did our jobs correctly. Now to wrap up the remaining details and this porch and deck project will be ready for years of enjoyment.

The porch project is looking more complete with the windows trimmed out. 64 individual pieces ripped and cut and installed on all the windows and doors. Biscuits used in some joints to keep them flush and tight. Once the floor is in, the baseboard section will be installed and this porch will be ready for final inspection and years of enjoyment.