A Small Sample of Recent Projects

Chicken Coup Garden.

These beautiful ladies wanted a garden that would attract pollinators and provide four seasons of interest from their view from the coup. 

First we cleared the new bed of all debris and plant material except a large natural outcropping of beautiful goldenrod and a small redbud tree. We trimmed up the redbud as well. 

Next, we installed black aluminum edging and created a pebble walkway from the lawn through the bed and to the coup.

We planted a variety of 95% native plants that will be a magnet for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. In fact, one of the milkweed already have a monarch caterpillar munching away!

In the end, the ladies were thrilled with their new garden!

This was a fun and diverse project, consisting of removing a couple of small trees (the big pine near front door that was WAY overgrown) and shrubs, pruning back others, transplanting a beautiful small pine "bush", removing a lot of lawn, weeding/removal of some vines and bramble, creating island beds, adding a couple of trees (including a 16' birch!), planting along the front walkway, creating a "shade garden", creating a new garden on side of house, and mulching it all. 

-Going up the front walkway were all hosta that were just meals for the deer. We removed them and transplanted them in a shady are in the back of a bed, near the front entrance. We added some small shrubs and perennials. 

-We removed the very large white pine that someone planted in the wrong spot years ago near the front door. It was choking out a red maple and weeping cherry, and closed off the front facade garden opportunity. We then heavily pruned the weeping cherry that was far too off-balance from the pine, and the red maple was cleaned up of all of the dead from being overtaken by the pine as well. 

-The purple sand cherries were pretty when flowering, but they were very overgrown and had a lot of dead branches. As well, the homeowner didn't like them much. So we removed 2 of them, then pruned the middle one that fit into the new design, and "lollipop" pruned it. We also dug up the small pine bush and transplanted it in front of window where the homeowner can see it. We also removed a row of old rose bushes that were neglected for years and were in declining health.

-We weeded and cleaned up a shade bed under a large red maple and cleaned up the maple itself, removing dead branches and raising the canopy a bit. We then planted 28 or so shade loving native perennials. 

-Three island beds were created in the front lawn by removing the grass and planting with a beautiful 16' tall Heritage birch with gorgeous peeling bark, a weeping redbud, and added a large and numerous variety of mostly native shrubs and perennials (about 90%). 

-Along almost the entire front facade of the house, we created a new garden consisting of evergreens, shrubs, and perennials, almost all native. 

-On the side of the house, 3 old hollies and a few old boxwoods were all ripped out. We replaced it all with native evergreens and perennials for a whole new look!

-Lastly, we mulched all of the beds and put down grass seed for the disturbed areas. 

This was a fun project that now is a haven for pollinators, and overall we estimate the garden to contain about 90% native plants. 

This was a fun two-part project. One was the shoreline of a small pond that was being over-run by several invasives, poison ivy and general bramble, and the other was a little hillside area next to a structure for sitting that was also over-run.

It was our happy surprise that at some point in the past, someone had actually planted a few native species along the shoreline, including joe pye weed and spirea. It was left to be for a few years and they were getting choked out. 

The first part was the pond shoreline. We removed all of the invasives and poison ivy that were growing, and left all of the native species of joe pye weed, spirea, new england and wood asters and a few others. We then planted 100% natives along the shoreline including viburnum, oakleaf hydrangea, potentilla, bush honeysuckle, turtlehead, serviceberry, jacob's ladder and more.

The next section was a hilly area and the area around the sitting structure. We removed everything here except some pachysandra that we left for erosion control near the bottom (we will maintain this and may pull this out in time as the garden grows and takes hold with roots. Our fear was this was going to REALLY make the bottom area unstable resulting in a mudslide in any heavy rain). We then planted with a variety of small shrubs, perennials and grass, all native. 

We also fixed the bluestone slabs/walking path to the structure as they were a danger being so uneven- a real tripping hazard- and then backfilled with grass seed. All beds were edged and mulched with natural mulch that will break down safely on a shoreline and add to the structure of the soil. 

A great start to a multi-step project plan that will start again in 2024, where we will be ripping out Russian olives and tons of other invasives along this very long shoreline (about another 150' to go!), and backfilling with more natives. Going to be spectacular in a year from now!

6'x6'x24" deep custom liner pond with waterfall.  This was a fun project that we completed today. First I had to jump on the machine to dig a 30' long x 18" deep trench so the electrician could run a dedicated WR/GFCI line out to the pond to power a submersible pond pump. I then dug out the pond with the machine to get the bulk of the digging work done. We then switched to shovels to shape the pond and create the marginal shelf (a 4-6" deep "shelf" where marginal plants- those that grow in 4" or so of water depth). 

We then used dozens of empty compost bags we save from our projects to line the bottom and sides of the pond, several layers thick. 

Next, the pond liner went over it all. Rocks we foraged from surrounding woods and from the dig-out were used to surround the pond. The pond was then filled.

The custom-built waterfall was then constructed using large boulders and rocks from the dig-out, more used compost bags and more pond liner. This is the toughest part of the project! 

The submersible pump was then put into the pond. Yes, I have to get IN the water to do this. I ran the pipe up the side of the waterfall and then turned it on. At this stage, it takes a while to get the configuration of water flow and rocks adjusted.

Lastly, we planted all around the surrounding pond, mulched, spread grass seed and straw all over the worked area and placed the pond plants in the pond on the marginal shelf. There is also a large water lily in the deepest part. 

It will take a week or two for the water to clear. We will be returning to take more pics in a month or so.