Ecological Landscaping

Planting for Privacy & Wildlife

The desire for an intimate private space has become a common request as homes are built closer together and more cars and lights clutter our environment. The majority of privacy issues can be solved with landscaping that mimics nature and does not rely on solid fences or stiff rows of evergreens. A natural arrangement of plants can create a buffer without making the homeowner feel too enclosed. A well-structured hedgerow includes a mix of evergreens, deciduous trees, flowering and fruiting shrubs, tall grasses and perennials. The density and variety of plants becomes a part of the natural landscape while screening out undesirable views.

A meadow is often the perfect solution to an area where the homeowner does not want to mow or prefers a natural view instead of a manicured garden. Even a modest sized meadow can be a magnet for pollinating insects and birds as these habitats offer food and shelter year round.

Meadows & Wildlife Corridors

Be it simple curb appeal or the place where you welcome people into your home, an entrance needs a character that suits the house and it's owner. The trend away from "bearding" a house with shrubs and a little weeping tree on a corner is a welcome one. Fewer people use their front door and these spaces can be transformed into courtyards that function like outdoor rooms A properly designed entrance courtyard can become a place to enjoy the outdoors as well as a place to greet people or welcome in friends.

Entrances & Foundation Plantings with Wildlife Value

There was a time when homeowners were judged on their ability to keep a velvety carpet of lawn enclosed with straight lines. Happily, society has been moving away from that aesthetic and now we can tinker with a freer way of landscaping that embraces color, texture, and curves. A lawn can still exist as a recreation space, or to simply frame a series of garden islands, but the days of fertilizing, reseeding and needing to sit down while mowing is losing its appeal.

Eliminating Lawn to Create Habitat

As wild areas disappear due to development, our gardens can replace some habit while offering a beautiful and peaceful sanctuary for ourselves to enjoy and to coexist with wildlife.

Gardens with Eco-Benefits

Even the toughest terrains can be transformed into biodiverse gardens when the appropriate plants are chosen. Matching plants to the environmental conditions they have evolved to want makes for low maintenance gardens that thrive. Water issues can often be solved with swales and dry creeks instead of expensive grading and buried drainage systems.

Xeriscape, Dry Creeks & Rain Gardens

We often get asked how to make a wet area less wet? We consider such areas to be an opportunity to create something special. Many plants love "wet feet" and wet meadows and bog gardens can become a favorite habitat for the homeowner to cultivate. We also work with helping nature manage flooding and hurricanes. Properly planted stream banks and flood plains can resist erosion and maintain that delicate balance between a little too much water and a disaster.

Ponds, Bogs, Wetlands & Rain Gardens

Glorious gardens can be created under a canopy of trees. A shaded area can be both mystical and earthy in the way a sunny garden cannot achieve. We often associate pollinators with meadows, but there are many woodland butterflies and moths and they require specific forest plants to reproduce on. Embracing these cooler, shady areas of your property can be especially rewarding during the hot days of summer.

Woodland & Shade Gardens

One of the most empowering things you can do with your land is to grow your own food. Whether it’s an herb garden, a vegetable plot or an orchard we can help you feed yourself and your family in a healthy, sustainable way.

Vegetable Plots, Herb Gardens & Orchards