A Dallasnews.com feature.

Sam Artz works in all the mediums you’d expect of a landscaper – trees, plants, gravels, mulches, furnishings and more. But there’s one design element he particularly loves for creating an urban oasis. “To not feel like you’re in Dallas is difficult,” says Artz, owner and principal designer of Artz Landscape Designs. “To drown out the city … I don’t think anything competes with water.”

This is one of several water features Artz added to the property. He also selected the gates, chosen for their contemporary Asian feel.

Water features play a key role in creating a peaceful mood for a Preston Hollow project he designed. The home on the property features modern Japanese architecture, and the owner wanted her outdoor space to echo and enhance that style. Some work had been done already, but large sections were left untouched. The front of the property was “trees, dead grass and a driveway,” Artz recalls. The backyard had a pool, a cabana and some paths, all of which needed work, plus a significant section that was a blank slate.

Artz overhauled the existing features and filled out the rest of the space. “It was basically like a giant facelift,” he says. His approach focused on carving out intimate spaces in the larger setting. The yard covers roughly half an acre, and “it feels bigger because we did things everywhere.