LANDSCAPE INSTALLATION
SITE WORK
PLANTING
Prepare your property
Site work is the fundamental groundwork needed to organize the land into functional space. The concept is to work with the natural terrain rather than overwhelming it. Intense preparation is needed in order to unlock a properties potential and survive our relentless New England climate. The underlying foundation is the key, and properly done this work is largely unseen. It is hidden quality. The goal is a finished composition, where a beautiful landscape complementing the adjacent terrain blends into the surroundings so well that you cannot tell we altered the land.
HARDSCAPE
The landscape structure
Hardscape is the constructed element of a design. These features connect how we live in a landscape to its natural setting. The way you use your property is your outdoor lifestyle and it needs to be carefully thought out. Walkways, walls, and patios for cooking and entertainment have to be well considered. Structures such as decks, gazebos, pergolas arbors are dedicated living spaces. Swimming pools should be carefully located to maximize their use without dominating the yard in the off season. Support mechanicals, lighting, irrigation and technology work best when they are visually unobtrusive. A long-lasting hardscape becomes the framework for an outdoor living space when it complements its natural surroundings.
The right plant in the right place
Plants are the landscapes key aesthetic element. Different plants thrive in different conditions where they in their environment work together as a living system. Every property has a variety of microclimates, be it dry or damp soil, sun or shade, wind, aspect etc., so plants that will thrive in one spot may not in another. The design goal is to select a plant pallet that matches each plant’s unique growing characteristics, ultimate size, bloom, foliage, texture, to the specific conditions available. This is especially true in New England with our wide variety of geology, soils, seasons and weather. Anticipating how these conditions will affect plant survival leads to a much healthier and easier to care for landscape. Naturally native plants have a healthy advantage which is why New England Land Design advocates their use.