Photo by Werner Segarra

GETTING THE LOOK:
1. The fountain works in conjunction with pool equipment. 2. Landscaping softens the giant rock. 3. About a third of the boulder is underground. 4. A Mexican cedar chair is set for viewing. 5. Water spray creates pool surface texture.

It looks as though it careened down a mountain eons ago. But this huge boulder got a lot of help from man. The 40-ton chunk of ancient geology was hauled by truck from a Congress, Ariz., mountain to its residential poolside setting in the early 1990s. Held in place by the strong cables of a crane, it was set vertically into copious amounts of concrete, then drilled into and fitted with copper piping. The result: one spectacular water feature—a joint project of Landscaping by André and home builder Dave Hansen. The pipe does not go completely through the center of the boulder, but rather angles off, comes out the side, and is hidden by vegetation.