Landscape Articles

In recent years, there’s been a large push to educate homeowners and commercial landscapers on how to conserve the environment. More and more home and business owners are realizing that poor landscaping practices will not only hurt their plant life, but also negatively impact the greater environment.

In this blog series, we will discuss everything you can do to mitigate harm to the environment through your landscaping practices. The first installment will cover how to choose, arrange, and take care of plants in a way that reduces negative effects on the natural world.

In a July 2018 meeting, the Massachusetts Drought Management Task Force declared that the state of Massachusetts was free of drought conditions. This is a sigh of relief for residents of the state who remember the lengthy drought between March 2015 and May of 2017.

Even though we may not be currently facing a drought, the task force did mention that water and precipitation levels have gotten worse since earlier this year. This fact, combined with lower-than-normal precipitation expected for the rest of 2018, means people still need to be aware of their water consumption.

If you are looking for ways to reduce your impact on the environment, using less water is an excellent start. Below are three tips for conserving water that you can incorporate into your current gardening and landscape practices.

A short, neatly-edged expanse of sprawling green grass is the ultimate idea of the American lawn. Unfortunately, the “perfect” lawn is more reminiscent of a chemically-treated golf course than a healthy yard that supports the environment around it.

Without large amounts of watering, pesticide and herbicide use, and constant application of fertilizer, those pristine green lawns are impossible to maintain. These lawns are not environmentally-friendly, nor are they a healthy place for children or dogs to play on. Follow the advice below to create an organic lawn that is both safe for your family and good to the natural world.

Homeowners often place lots of emphasis on creating a garden with beautiful flowers and shrubs that bloom majestically in the spring season. Unfortunately, focusing on beauty for a single season can leave your yard lacking during the rest of the year.

With some careful planning and a bit of creativity, you can create a garden that will keep your yard in color and wonderful smells for all four seasons, even during the warm months. Use the pointers below to create a garden that will delight your senses all year.

Summer is about getting together with friends and family in a fun celebration of the season. Unfortunately, this is a tradition that is often interrupted by uninvited pests like mosquitoes. These insects can make happy guests itchy and miserable and leave them wanting to stay inside instead of enjoying the outdoors.

A mosquito problem is certainly an issue that needs to be solved before the season of summer parties comes into full swing. Don’t rely on Roundup or other chemicals to rid your yard of pests, as pesticides can be harmful to you and your family and contaminate the local water supply. Here are five organic methods to use to keep mosquitoes away from your summer gatherings:

There’s nothing like hosting a summer get-together in your backyard to celebrate the season. Spending quality time with friends in your outdoor space is the epitome of summer, and it’s time to prepare for upcoming BBQs and yard parties. Get your yard ready by updating patio furniture, adding new fixtures, and taking preventative measures against annoying insects. Follow the steps below to guarantee fun and successful gatherings in your outdoor space throughout the summer.

Every yard will eventually face pest problems. Caterpillars stripping leaves in your new vegetable garden and fungus that causes root rot in flowers and shrubs are only a couple of examples of the extensive damage that pests can cause. It can be tempting to use a chemical approach like Roundup to rid your yard and garden of pests, but organic methods can work just as efficiently, without the harm that chemicals present to your family and the environment.

Once summer hits and you’ve finished all of the work you had planned for spring, it can be tempting to spend your free time enjoying the sun and letting your yard do its own thing. While your yard doesn’t need as much upkeep in the summer, you do need to handle some maintenance tasks that will help maintain it for the season.

Here are a few tasks for your yard this summer to keep up that healthy springtime glow until the fall:

When looking to achieve a balanced, peaceful yard, remember that hardscaping is just as important as natural features. These man-made components, such as walkways, patios, and divider walls, are an important part of the perfect outdoor living space. Hardscape elements can add a great complement to your organic space, but creating them comes with a whole different set of concerns than building a vegetable garden or flower bed.

Here are the top four elements to consider before you commit to a hardscaping project:

Soil, seeds, and sunlight may be the foundation for a healthy and fruitful garden, but without proper care and attention, you won’t be able to grow the beautiful shrubs and flowers you want. With the right tools for taking care of your garden, you’ll be much more likely to find success with landscaping.

But just because tools for your garden are important doesn’t mean choosing them needs to be a complex matter. Picking the right type of supplies from the right vendor will not only give you a healthier yard, it will make your own gardening efforts much easier.

Here’s what you need to know about selecting and taking care of gardening tools:

Everyone loves the family pet, a companion that kids and adults appreciate having around. But as homeowners with dogs and cats know, there are some parts of your residence that you can’t share with your furry bundle of joy, and outdoor areas aren’t always the exception.

It’s great to have an outside space for your pet to run or play in. But if you plan on growing food, creating a peaceful garden for meditation, or simply want to keep your dog or cat safe outside, you have to consider the elements that could cause them harm.

Here’s what you should know when it comes to making sure your pet is safe while enjoying time in the yard:

Say the word “bees” around most people and the first thing that comes to mind is a black-and-yellow menace that terrorizes children and summer get-togethers.

But that’s an unfair and incomplete picture of the importance of honeybees to the world around us. Bees pollinate more than 400 different types of agricultural products, including many common fruits and vegetables. In 2010, honeybees helped produce $19 billion worth of crops - and that’s in the U.S. alone! They also produce one of the most common and delightful treats consumed by people today in many forms: honey.

Like every other state, honey bees are common in Massachusetts, both in nature and in beekeeping colonies. Whether you are a honey bee enthusiast thinking about starting a colony, want to attract them to pollinate your garden, or are looking to protect your property from bees, here’s what you need to know.

Growing your own food is healthy, reduces your environmental footprint, and can even reduce stress and improve your mood. But before you jump into buying supplies for a vegetable garden, you’ll want to do some planning. Not only will you have to decide what you want to grow, you’ll need to plot your garden, acquire the right tools and supplies, and protect your seedlings.

Here’s a quick primer to help you start planning your garden for the warm growing season:

The timing of your garden is much more complex than simply thinking about planting, growing, and harvesting seasons. You must also think about the lifecycle of the plants in your yard. With a bit of planning and foresight, you can create spaces in your yard that are welcoming, relaxing, and colorful all year.

One of the best things about the outdoors is its ability to rejuvenate the human spirit. After a tough day at work or a difficult experience with a friend or family member, it’s nice to be able to get home to a tranquil yard to let nature sooth you.

If you’re building a space in your yard for this purpose, you need the right flowers, shrubs, and trees. Here are five of our favorites for a meditation garden in Massachusetts:

The arrival of March means we are just weeks away from consistently warm weather here in the Massachusetts area. While we’ll certainly see some colder days, it’s also time to start preparing for the spring season. Beginning in mid to late April, homeowners in the region can get back into a consistent routine for gardening and landscaping.

Below are four tips you should follow to ensure that you transition smoothly into the warmer season and set up your garden and yard for a fruitful growing season.

Growing your own food has many benefits. Not only does it help you establish a more organic space in your yard, it allows you and your family to eat nutritious foods that are natural and healthy.

But creating a thriving garden for fruits and vegetables requires more than just putting seeds in your soil and waiting for them to mature. In fact, much of the work involved in growing your own food happens upfront. For best results, you should have a plan to follow before planting a single seed.

Here’s what you need to know before you can create a healthy, fruitful garden:

4 Tips to Prepare Your Garden for Warmer Weather

Think you can’t garden just because it’s cold outside? Think again! While you may not be able to put in the long, peaceful afternoons in the yard like you can in the summer, there are still plenty of things to be done to prepare yourself and your garden for the coming warmth.

Here are four steps to help you get ready for spring before it gets here:

Soil is the foundation for a great yard. Without the right soil, you’ll never be able to create a thriving outdoor environment that gives you relaxation, attracts beautiful wildlife, and supports the local habitat. Yet too many people neglect the process of evaluating their soil before looking to create or modify their plan for an organic garden.

Here’s what you need to know to ensure your soil is ready for an organic garden, and a few steps you can take to help it get that way if necessary:

Pollinators are the fundamental backbone of not just gardens, but agriculture as a whole. Did you know that 75% of the world’s flowering plants depend on pollinators to continue as a species? It’s safe to say that without these helpful animals, the world would be a very different place.

Here in New England, there are three main types of pollinators, plus a few others that are less common. While planning your landscape design, it’s important to be aware of the kinds of plants and flowers that pollinators like to feed on so that you can create a space that not only looks great, but attracts animals that spread enough seeds and nectar to keep your yard healthy.

If you’re in the process of creating a new landscaping plan and want a garden that is not only beautiful but good for the environment, you may be thinking about organic methods. There’s an entire movement focused on these principles, known as ecological gardening. This type of landscaping is based on organic methods and designed to not just avoid harming the ecosystem but actually improve it. This guide will help you understand the differences between organic and ecological gardening, the advantages of the latter, and how to get started.

Water conservation is important: it helps preserve limited natural resources, conserves energy, and saves you money. A properly engineered drip irrigation system can give your plants the exact amount of water that they need to thrive. With a lot of products available on the market, purchasing a new system can feel daunting. These four tips will help you know where to start.

Pollinators are animals that are a critical part of the ecosystem. They include bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, and many types of birds and bats; any creature that helps plants by moving pollen from one flower to another. This transfer of pollen causes germination to occur, allowing the plants to grow fruits and seeds. They do everything from promoting biodiversity to germinating plants. In fact, the population and diversity of pollinators is a good indicator of the health of an ecosystem.

Unfortunately, urbanization has hurt pollinator biodiversity because it disturbs their natural habitats. You can help reverse this trend by creating a garden that attracts them. This guide will help you understand what plants you need, how to arrange them, and other steps to create a beautiful garden to attract birds, bees, and butterflies.

Perhaps you just bought a new house and want to be sure you maintain your yard sustainably, or you want to transition to organic landscaping to reduce your environmental footprint. Before you start, read this guide to learn what steps you should take. It doesn't need to be an overwhelming process, but you should have a good plan.  

Organic landscaping may sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be - all you need is a good plan and the ability to stick to it. Once you’ve decided to start an organic landscaping project, these are the first five steps that you’ll want to take:

Organic lawn care is not only better for your yard, it improves the environment and human health. But what are the differences between chemical and organic lawn care products? Is there ever a time to use chemical products?

It depends. There are certain times when chemical products can be effective, but generally speaking, these only give you a short-term solution. Organic fertilizers and care products can be more expensive up front but will help you create healthy, long-lasting landscapes that require less water in the long run.

Are you looking for the best possible fertilizer for your lawn and unsure what to pick? Wondering if investing in organic fertilizers are even worth it? Organic supplements and fertilizers are not only better for the environment, they create long-lasting, healthy, and vibrant lawns. Check out these five reasons why organic fertilizers are the right choice for your yard:

We all know how important it is to take care of the planet, but you may be wondering what you can do to improve your practices. One easy step is to use organic landscaping methods.

Adopting these habits is much simpler than it may sound. The foundation of organic gardening is learning about your property, the kind of soil that you have, growing conditions, and what your yard needs to flourish. These six tips will help you easily use organic landscaping tactics for a healthy yard with minimal environmental impact.

Pollinators such as birds, bees, and butterflies are not only fun and beautiful to look at, they are an essential part of the ecosystem. Using plants that naturally attract these desirable creatures and complementing them with feeders will bring many pollinators to your yard. Here are five ways that will help you create a beautiful garden that welcomes these critical creatures.

Stones are a beautiful addition to any garden - they evoke a feeling of permanence and strength. By uniquely arranging rocks and boulders in your landscaping you can enjoy not only the aesthetic benefits but also the healing, grounding nature of rock’s mountain-like properties.

Here are some interesting ways to incorporate stone hardscapes into your property:

Being outside, interacting with nature, and actively gardening are beneficial for both emotional and physical health. Simply being in nature can enliven your well-being, and is a welcome break from a sedentary workplace with harsh, artificial lighting.

These are six health benefits to help motivate you to get outside, get your hands dirty, and enjoy your garden:

The way you design and plan your meditation garden is a matter of individual preference. There are many factors that may go into deciding how to create your own space to relax and unwind. Here are some features that have both proven to be both popular and effective in creating a tranquil meditation space in your backyard:

Fountains, birdbaths, and ponds add a soothing and relaxing element to your landscaping - but they can be expensive and difficult to engineer. This short guide will give you an introduction to picking out the perfect water feature for your yard.

Picking the right plants for your gardens not only makes your landscaping look beautiful, they can add pleasurable, relaxing scents. Choosing flower smells you enjoy is important because they can have a positive effect on your mood after a long, hectic day at the office.

Before you head to your local nursery or hire a landscaper, think about what scents you like. Some people like bright, sweet, and fruity smells, while others like more subdued, spicy, or herbal smells. From there, pick plants that have long bloom times and complement other flowers in your garden.

Here are eight popular types of flowering plants:

Is your garden just a garden, or is it providing you with a place to escape and find rejuvenation? With some careful thought, you can create a beautiful place where you’ll find rest from a busy world. These five tips will help you landscape in a way that is relaxing and remedial.   

Living in a busy urban area often disrupts enjoyment of your backyard. The sounds of cars driving by and loud neighbors can interrupt socializing with friends or quiet, post-work meditative time. Fortunately, with some well thought out landscaping, you can help muffle these sounds and create a more tranquil space in your yard.

These three tips will help you soundproof your backyard so that it is more enjoyable, even if you live in a dense, populous neighborhood:

Gardens are a great option for creating an area that is both soothing and good for the environment. When landscaping, you need to consider your personal preference and the effect the plants you choose will have on the environment.

Creating vivacious landscape designs can be challenging, given New England’s intense four seasons. Massachusetts weather ranges from bitterly cold nights in the middle of winter to hot and humid summer days. This extreme variety of temperatures can put stress on plants. The four tips below will help you create a beautiful landscape in New England’s fickle climate.

Picking out the right permanent plants will give your landscapes great color throughout the year. They will complement your house and the flowers you chose for the rest of your garden. That’s why many considerations need to go into choosing the foundation plantings that work best for your yard. Here are some things to think about before you start planting:

After a busy day of work, you want to come home to a beautiful landscaped yard – without worrying about hours of weeding, pruning, fertilizing, and watering. How can you design a stress-free garden? These three rules can help guide you through creating and maintaining a yard with minimal effort.

The front of your house is the first thing that people see. What does yours say about you? Creating a warm entryway makes your house feel welcoming and gives a great first impression.

A home with great curb appeal isn’t just for guests or neighbors to enjoy. When you return to your house after a long day at work, a well thought out and intentionally designed entry will make you glad to be home. Here are five ways you can create a beautiful front yard.

Entering your yard should feel like coming home to your own little sanctuary from the world. How can you do this naturally? A fence may seem like an easy solution, but there are other ways to give your backyard some seclusion that will be efficient and better looking than iron or wooden planks.

Fences can feel cold and impersonal. In crowded, suburban and urban areas, sound and light is still carried over them. They’ll also interrupt the expansive, picturesque views that you want to enjoy.

Instead of a fence, here are five simple and natural ways to help you create privacy, diminish light and sound pollution, and give your yard a warm and welcoming feel:

If you’re in the process of landscaping your property, you may not be sure where to start. You know hardscapes can add value to your home - but maybe you’re struggling to figure out exactly what features to include. These eight questions will help you make a plan to create your ideal yard.

Playing outdoors and learning to love nature are integral parts of growing up. Perhaps you have fond memories of playing whiffle ball with your siblings, going on neighborhood adventures with your dog, or rolling in the grass and staring up at the sky looking for shapes in the clouds.

You probably want the same experiences for your children, but how can you create a space for them that is enjoyable yet safe?

These five tips will help you assess options available in your area and give you some great inspiration for helping your children make memories like the ones you enjoyed.

You’ve spent time, money, and energy making your house a home. You’ve got the right furniture, the perfect paint colors, and the best setup for the kitchen, and now you're ready to tackle your outdoor living space.

Perhaps you’ve tried to grow plants before with mixed results, or you wanted to start a flower bed and got overwhelmed by all the descriptions of what each flower needs. Here are some ideas for how to create an outdoor space that you’ll never want to leave:

Most people want to know that they are a vital part of their home improvement projects, even if they choose to hire professionals to carry out the heavy lifting. It is important for homeowners to understand what is happening on their properties, and that the job is done professionally. In order to get great landscaping services, you must create a viable landscape budget. By understanding what is a reasonable cost for your plans, researching local services, planning for investment potential and asking for professional guidance, you can create a design that will improve your property and fit your budget for your landscape project.

Your garden is a reflection of your personality as well as the personality of your home, and it can be quite challenging to find a professional landscaper who can take your personality and translate it into an outdoor area that you will love. A good professional landscaper will take your needs into account, but will also ensure that the landscape works in terms of choosing the right plants for your area, having buildings placed sensibly and ensuring that the garden is as easy to maintain as possible. Finding the right designer for you can be quite tricky, so here are a few tips that will help you make your decision.

Anyone who has installed an impressive landscape of any size knows how much work it can be to keep it up properly. The fact of the matter is that few of us have enough time to get the work done and then have time to enjoy it with family and friends. Landscape maintenance involves much more than simply mowing the lawn on Saturday morning. To compound the situation, anyone migrating from a chemical to organic program will have a steep learning curve. Luckily, professional landscape maintenance services are available to come to the rescue. So, what services are available?

Custom landscaping can be an involved process that brings in a surprising number of trades, and it's quite understandable that someone who is not familiar with it would have some questions.

Here are some of the most common of those questions that we have encountered, along with the best answers we can provide:

A great backyard landscape design makes all the difference in how you and your family enjoy your outdoorspaces.

Massachusetts has some of the best summer weather in the country, and you want to make sure you get the most out of everything.

When you're planning your design, you want to make sure it works well for your lifestyle, your family's needs, and looks great.

Now that spring has (almost) sprung, you might notice that your landscaping is looking a bit sparse and sickly.

Don't worry, that isn't uncommon, but an easy way to usher in the spring in style is to consider custom landscaping.

Custom landscaping can make a home feel fresh, alive and new. We've collected seven signs that indicate it might be time to call in the professionals in regards to your landscaping. Does your home tick these boxes?

What Do You Want In An Outdoor Space?

There are a myriad of options available to homeowners when it comes to residential landscape design. This is great, but it can be difficult to find the one that suits your needs. You may have an idea of what you want, but run into difficulties finding a company that can get the job done. You may find yourself having to hire multiple companies for hardscape installation, planting and maintenance. 

While you may love the idea of a do-it-yourself yard, you may not have the hours to pour into planning and executing your vision. This is where a residential landscape design expert can help. Design can make the difference between a yard that is nice and a yard that is breathtaking.

Landscaping can be broadly defined as the changes you make to the land around your home in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing. It covers everything from the plants that you choose to the extra structures that you can fit in your garden. Landscaping helps you create usable spaces for any outdoor activities you want to engage in and can create a safe and secure outdoor space for the entire family.

There are plenty of options for what you can do with the space around your house. You can create a perfect balance between plants and man-made structures, or create a sustainable area that feels more like a wilderness than a sculpted garden. Some people want to have plenty of indoor amenities, and outdoor dining rooms and kitchens are becoming more and more popular. Some people want water features that contain exotic fish, while others want natural fencing grown out of plants.

Choosing what sort of landscape design you want is the first step to creating a space that suits your needs and will keep you happy for years to come.

Each client we work with presents new challenges and unique experiences. Our mission remains the same: create inspirational and harmonious landscapes by infusing the client's practical needs and aesthetic desires within the existing nature of the landscape.

This is the story of one client's personalized landscape design. British homeowners wanted a formal feel in their front and backyard and they hired Moodscapes, which has more of natural style of landscape. Working together we were able to integrate a structure landscape that was elegant but also had warmth with a natural flare to it.

The key to profoundly satisfying personal landscape design is the "something extra" that delivers a landscape capable of retaining its personalized magic that delivers the mood you and your family want to invoke. This can only be accomplished by selecting the right materials and plants according to their texture, color, scent, and even taste. It is details like these help transform a landscape into a therapeutic healing garden - a place for the family to relax and unwind. Winds waft perfect fragrances, textures are coordinated with complimentary colors. Shapes and images deliver a context that when placed within an overarching design - a moodscape is created.

When it comes to relaxing in an environment that you find peaceful and inviting, few places can hold a candle to being on your own property and in your own home. Even if you travel to exotic locations and have seen fantastic gardens and yards, your own yard and your own land can give you a sense of satisfaction and completion you can't get anywhere else. And, if you're the outdoors type, one feature you can use to add softness and vibrancy to your landscaping is to take advantage of moss.

Organic lawns provide major advantages for your family and the environment. Your home is a major source of pride, and you want it to look great all the time. When you need to maintain your lawn, it's important to find a solution that works well for your lifestyle, but is healthy for everyone.

Here's five unique advantages of organic lawns:

An elegant, well-landscaped backyard is a joy to behold when looking out your kitchen or living room window; however, if you are like most homeowners, you want your backyard to serve many purposes. When landscaped properly, your yard should function as a retreat that appeals to many senses – a visual palette of color and movement, a soothing place to relax, and a setting for fun with friends and family.

With the help of a professional landscaping company, you can design an outdoor haven that multi-tasks to meet the needs of you and your family. To create an elegant backyard, keep the following tips in mind:

Tip #1: Get your green on.

Green doesn’t have to mean spacious acres of immaculate lawns. Many homeowners are embracing environmental trends, including landscape design. Whether you are dreaming of a zen-like private garden area to meditate, or an inspirational yoga-friendly space, going green in your yard supports your values.

• Native plant design
• Sustainable horticulture
• Ecologically beneficial landscapes
• Edible gardens
• Healing gardens
• Sustainable landscaping

Your yard is an extension of your home. It is a place for rest, relaxation, play and rejuvenation. For children in particular, a backyard is a magical space where many memories are made. Long days playing outside, getting dirty, laughing and running are a universal childhood experience. The backyard is seen differently through the eyes of a child - tall grass or flowers becomes a jungle and a play structure becomes a fort, a castle, or a pirate ship.

To help transform your backyard into a kid-friendly location, incorporate the following elements:

When you need to give your patio a makeover, you might be tempted to do it yourself. After all, you can save a lot of money on labor if you do not have to pay a professional. But, when you want a beautiful patio that will stand the test of time, you need to seriously consider how hiring a professional makes the process easier for you.

You must have the skills to build a good foundation for the patio, grade it properly, choose the right material and ensure solid work. In the long run, an expert will give you the best investment. Here's four reasons why you should leave your patio remodel to the professionals:

If you love the outdoors, you’ll want your children to develop the same love, instead of sitting in the house all day long. Having a backyard that suits both your needs as well as that of your kids can encourage them to spend time outside, learning new skills and exploring in a safe place.

Whether you’ve got a yard already, or if you’re only in the planning phase, here are some elements that will ensure that your backyard is family friendly and a safe and relaxing place for everybody.