A Small Sample of Recent Projects

Here are two different small projects that make a big difference in the appearance of each home. 

Deck Project.
-Before: The front of the deck was open and needed some beautification. This client had us install a large walking garden last year, as well as revamp several other areas. This year, we are back for this deck project and several other areas of the yard.
-After: We removed the grass, amended with compost, and planted Joe pye weed, orange butterfly weed, penstemon, cranberry viburnum, mountain laurel and a few other fantastic natives. Layered on some natural mulch and all done! Pollinator and hummingbird heaven.
PS: Video in first comment below!

Mailbox Project:
-Before: This area was just overgrown and full of invasive weeds and grass, and was not a very attractive driveway entrance. Like the previous project, this was a return to another home where we revamped the entire front facade of the home, put in a bluestone walkway and revamped a back garden. Back here again for more!
-After: We removed the grass and amended with some compost. We planted several small shrubs and perennials, including dwarf bush honeysuckle (hummingbirds and pollinators LOVE this plant), black chokeberry, coreopsis, butterfly weed, sedum 'autumn joy', coneflower, heliopsis, rudbeckia...mulched, added a little rock curb, and now this simple garden design makes a HUGE difference in looks, AND supports local native birds, bees and other creatures!

This project had many parts. 

-First, the front of the home needed a complete makeover. We removed everything except for a nice holly on the far right. We added a weeping redbud and a pink dogwood, replanted the inkberries to either side of the door, and added several native shrubs and perennials. We transplanted several perennials such as astilbe and hostas and daylilies from the island bed (description below) into this front as well. Then we re-set the edging that was existing.

-Next, there was an island bed that was very overgrown with weeds but had a lot of hostas and daylilies as well as a couple of astilbe that were being smothered that we re-arranged (and used some for the front of the house) to have a better, more designed look. Added several native shrubs and perennials. Here again we then re-set the existing edging. 

-On the right side of the property, there was a really nice rock wall that was kind of hidden. As it was part of the entry way and visible as you come up the driveway, we removed the weeds and bramble and planted ALL native plants to give it a more manicured look.

-The back of the house had a long narrow bed that was all dug up and rearranged (there was actually 2 beautiful peonies!) and again we added a few small native shrubs and perennials. 

-Up at the mailbox, we wanted to add a bed to give symmetry to the property. The homeowner was having no luck with grass there anyway. We dug out the grass, hand edged a bed, then we made a small rock border in front to protect from the street and to contain the bed. We planted a native shrub and the rest are sun-loving native perennials. 

-We put down heavy duty landscape fabric and added 2-3" of rock under the deck in back, so that the homeowners could have some storage space without things getting all muddy. 

Lastly, we mulched it all, cleaned up and gave everything a good, deep watering. 

More pics and vids to come in a couple of months as it grows! 

This was a project with two parts. 

The first was to remove two huge invasive barberry bushes and create an entryway garden next to the front walk and along the top of the driveway. 

The second was to create a garden around the pool area that would be full of perennials, vegetables, and herbs as well as plant some evergreens around a pool filter to hide it.
The property owners are dedicated to naturalization, as you can see they even let the clover completely take over where a lawn usually is, and are following "no mow May". If it isn't invasive, they let it grow and spread. Love it!

Part one: Driveway and front walk garden. Here, we removed two very large barberry shrubs that then exposed a beautiful rock wall. We dug out a few of the existing plants, and rototilled the ground adding in compost and mycorrhizal as the soil was not the greatest. We added a weeping redbud tree, and 95% native shrubs and perennials as well as marigolds, and then sourced lots of interesting rocks from around the property as accents.

Part two: around the pool area. Here, we rototilled the newly shaped bed adding in compost and mycorrhizal as this soil was lacking in nutrients as well. We constructed two climbing pea pyramid trellis out of bamboo sticks that we removed from another property a month ago that had been cut and dried for projects like this. Three different pea plants will climb up these in no time! We added 5 American arborvitae around the pool filter, and the bed around the pool was filled with various veggies, herbs and perennials as well as two plum trees (yummy!)and two grape vines on espaliers. Again here, we are at around 90% native.

The client has a huge pile of their own mulch made from leaves and shredded sticks and branches that they will be adding on their own as a top layer. 

More pics to come as we are contracted for garden maintenance and consultation for the rest of 2023. So on our site visits we will take more pics as the garden grows! It will be a very lush, beautiful and edible garden as well as being fully supportive of pollinators and birds.

Before and after pics of one of our recent projects. This landscape was overgrown and outdated and the front walkway was uneven and had a poor configuration. The homeowners wanted lots of color and to attract birds, bees and butterflies. So we carefully dug everything out, and replanted most of the shrubs you see in the original landscape along the driveway between homes. So we were able to save the vast majority of existing plants and repurposed them.

We then pulled up all of the existing bluestone walk, cut some of the 6x6 tie wall back by about 4' to allow a more flowing front walk, and reused all of the existing bluestone to create a new pathway, which had grass seed sown in between and all around. In a few weeks that walkway will look like it was always there. 

Next we added 95% native plants to this design which all have a purpose for birds and pollinators. 

In a few months, things will take root and grow and develop into a very full and beautiful new, amazing garden. More pics to come from this design as it grows and prospers!

This was a small revamping project. The front of the home had nothing except some hostas and weeds, the front walkway was just rocks, and the tie wall in front was rotting and falling apart, as well as the far right area of dirt which would spill into the driveway when it rained heavy. We wanted to keep this within a certain budget, so we used a lot of materials from around the home and property with the exception of the tie wall which is all new- and the plants of course are all new. 

-We first rebuilt the tie wall using new pressure treated 6x6's to replace the rotted wall.
-Then, we created a front walkway utilizing cobblestones and medium sized rocks that were lying around the property, filled it in with small river pebble, and built a front step.
-We sourced large boulders from the surrounding woods and property to create a rock wall to the far right bed which was originally just spilling over into the driveway when it rained.
-We dug up and transplanted any existing hostas back into a newly designed native planting scheme, including a cercis canadensis (redbud) tree, and added a small bed along the new tie wall. The homeowner wanted all shorter plants to not block the windows, so we chose accordingly plants that do not grow tall, or are easily pruned back.
-Mulched and cleaned up.

A perfect example of a small project for a lower budget that can make a HUGE difference in just a couple of days, as well as being fairly eco-friendly with re-using materials from around the property that were just lying around. As well, this planting was 100% native except for what was existing (some hostas and day lillies etc) 

This was a large area that had nothing before except lawn and rock outcroppings. We dug out the lawn and rototilled the ground, added lots of organic matter/compost, shaped the bed, made a rock pebble walkthrough path, and planted a wide variety of native plants and wildflowers to attract birds, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. 

The first few photos are from when it was first planted. The rest of the photos are one year later. With minimal, but proper organic care, everything has grown exponentially and filled in.