Working with a professional design, Al Schwarz of Garland turned about 2,800 square feet of backyard apace into three small outdoor living rooms that are all connected with a deck

A watery retreat can make even the hottest Texas summer seem less harsh. Just ask Al Schwarz. The Garland resident has created a lush, shaded glen in his own back yard. But the project was started for other reasons. "I didn't like the fact that I could look out my sliding glass door into (the neighbors) sliding glass door," Mr. Schwarz says. Garland building codes allow a fence only 6 feet high, he says. "But there's nothing that says I can't have a 4-foot hill with a 4-foot bush on top.' Knowing there was landscaping in his future, the computer consultant asked Bill Nicholson, a friend who is a golf-course architect, to develop a plan that included the hill and - a must - running water. 'I'm going to air-condition my house with this," Mr. Schwarz says. Drawing on his college engineering classes, Mr. Schwarz designed a water system that would easily adapt to act as a heat-exchange facility. Mr. Schwarz says the pond, two waterfalls and fountain cool the back yard air during the summer, add a restful noise to screen urban sounds and help create "rooms" for entertaining. At the lowest level is the sunsoaked pond, where water spills in from two points. "I've actually put a beach float in there," Mr. Schwarz says. Seating has been created by artful placement of the rocks; a broad stone deck allows a spot for chairs. Walking up a few steps takes you by a fountain and to a deck, which is shaded by a mature pin oak square in the middle of the back yard. The deck overlooks a waterfall coming down a berm and gives a view of bushes and annuals along the back fence. Mr. Schwarz created the berm from the soil he dug to form the pond. Up a few more steps is a waterfall cascading over a glass block wall. From there, water runs down a canal past a stucco wall with stone ledges for potted plants, giving this urban oasis a Southwestern twist. Supplies cost about $7,000, but the year of digging, hauling, building and planting probably saved Mr. Schwarz double that, Mr. Nicholson says. 'That's the biggest savings," he s. 'If you do it yourself, you save 66 percent of the cost." And amazingly, Mr. Schwarz spent than $200 on permanent plantings. 'The majority of plants were existing. I just moved them around,' he says. Mr. Nicholson recommended, for instance, splitting up the neatly clipped boxwood that lined the back fence. We pruned them out to give them a bonsai effect. They've been planted in large garbage bins, which are hidden inside combination planters/bench seating. Mr. Schwarz focused his planting on iris because blue and peach varieties were on the property already, and he could add yellow on from his sister's Louisiana garden. I addition, their foliage complements the water theme. He also transplants Asian jasmine and monkey grass fro his parents yard. Right now, Mr. Schwarz spends three or four hours each weekend adding even more plants and putting finishing touches on the pond. But h does have one last goal. When it's done," he says, 'the back yard will be maintenance-free."