How Alpine Gardens incorporated this homeowner’s hobby into his home

November 17, 2022 - By Rob DiFranco

Many of the plantings installed by Alpine Gardens supplement the already existing landscape, which featured many trees and bushes. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

Location: Longmont, Colo.

Company: Alpine Gardens

Details: Jack Fetig, president of Alpine Gardens in Fort Collins, Colo., says this project brought together the two visions from the husband-and-wife team who own the property.

The wife, an avid gardener, sought new vibrant plant life and a greenhouse. The husband, a miniature railroad aficionado, requested that a railroad circle the property.

Alpine Gardens installed a base for a miniature railroad that travels throughout the property. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

“We learned a lot about model trains because it wasn’t our forte,” he says. “We created the bed for the track, which had to be relatively level. It couldn’t have a lot of elevation changes. But you wanted to create some interest, so it wasn’t like something on a board in a house.”

Alpine Gardens used compacted rock to create the level track for the rail. The client was on hand for the installation, offering guidance; he also installed the track after Alpine Gardens finished the base.

Fetig says his team worked around the already existing landscape, which featured a variety of trees and shrubs. Alpine Gardens installed shade-loving plants like Rocky Mountain columbine.

New walkways were a request of the clients, who wanted flagstone to match the environment. Alpine Gardens utilized some of the previous stone in the walkway. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

Alpine Gardens installed locally-sourced flagstone to meet the client’s request for a new pathway that reflected the high prairie environment.

The project earned Alpine Gardens a Silver Award from the 2021 National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program.

Alpine Gardens created a round entryway using locally-sourced flagstone in addition to reused stone from the property’s previous walkways. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

More from the project:

A before shot shows the preexisting trees on the property, which laid bare before new plantings. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

Jack Fetig, president of Alpine Landscapes, says his team installed plenty of shade-loving plants, sprucing up several areas on the property. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

A before shot of the property’s backyard shows the preexisting hardscapes and plantings. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

Fetig says ensuring the train bed had no major or sudden elevation changes was a key to the installation process. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

A view of the completed flagstone pathway features both new and old stone. The walkways encircle the home. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)

One of the more challenging aspects of the railroad installation was a waterfall designed by Alpine Gardens, according to Fetig. (Photo: Alpine Gardens)