ROCK
REVIVAL
Creative Waters’ James McPhail
rescues a back yard from a subpar
water feature and turns it once
again into a thing of beauty.
BEFORE
BY SOL LIEBERMAN
So early last summer, Hanks called James “Jimmy Mac”
McPhail, owner and operator of Creative Waters of Draper,
UT, for a water feature redo at his 1.3-acre property in Little
Cottonwood Creek Valley, a picturesque Salt Lake City
community nestled among the Wasatch Mountains. McPhail,
who was cruising through his 20th season of installing features
ranging from $5,000 for a simple waterfall to $300,000 for
a grand commercial feature, was glad to take the Hanks job.
After an assessment of the 85-by-65-ft. area, Hanks and
McPhail came to terms on the project. And after $112,000,
six weeks and 1,000 hours of labor, Hanks had a new feature
that more than met with his approval.
PHOTOS COURTESY: CREATIVE WATERS
GORDON HANKS BACKYARD water feature was like a stubborn
’
black fly on a birthday cake. The mess of cracked concrete and
outdated stones on the hillside didn’t fit with Hanks’ masterful
garden (right), which included a Japanese maple, a memorial
rose garden and meticulous formal planting that left not a
pruning or placement to whimsy. Hanks — a self-proclaimed
perfectionist — retired in May, which gave him more time to
edge and deadhead while sneering at the stone albatross.
And it wasn’t just aesthetics that sowed discontent. The
water feature leaked, too. The pond wouldn’t stay full, and
Hanks’ groomed French drains weren’t doing enough to
prevent parts of his lawn, which were attracting mosquitoes,
from drowning.
“Ecologically, it wasn’t very sound,” said Hanks of the 15-
year-old feature — which cost $10,000, not including money
spent in upkeep. It had to go.
A job well done
Other than a few days battling the elements, the project went
off without a hitch for McPhail’s 4-person crew.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” says Hanks. “It looks like it has
been here forever.”
McPhail installed two Tuscan waterfalls on the hillside,
cascading a casual 55 ft. until coming together for the final 30
