Fall Is For Planting

As the leaves begin to change and the air turns crisp, there’s no better time to consider the benefits of planting trees in the fall. We’re passionate about the environment and want to share with you why autumn is the ideal season for tree planting.

1. Strong Root Growth: During the fall, the soil is still warm from the summer months, while the air is cooler. This unique combination encourages robust root growth. Trees planted in the fall have several months to establish their roots before the heat of summer or the harsh winter cold sets in, giving them a head start for a healthier, longer life.
2. Water Conservation: Fall typically brings more rainfall, reducing the need for excessive watering. This not only saves you time and money but also promotes eco-friendly practices by conserving water resources.
3. Less Stress on Trees: Trees experience less stress when planted in the fall. Cooler temperatures reduce the risk of transplant shock, allowing your newly planted trees to acclimate gradually to their new environment.
4. Fall Foliage: Fall offers the added bonus of stunning foliage. Imagine the vibrant colors of your new trees enhancing your landscape as they transform with the season, providing beauty year after year.
5. Environmental Impact: Trees play a vital role in combating climate change. By planting trees now, you’re contributing to a greener, healthier planet for future generations. Plus, they provide habitat for wildlife and improve air quality.

At Land Design Associates, we’re here to make your tree-planting experience effortless. Whether you’re a homeowner, business owner, or a community organizer, our expert team is ready to assist you with the right tree selection, planting advice, and the highest quality trees available. Take advantage of this perfect season to invest in the environment, your property, and your community. Together, let’s make a positive impact by planting trees this fall.

When the owners of this Needham home asked us to help out with their landscape design, we were all in.  Visiting the site, we saw a beautiful new home but with a “builder’s special” landscape.  

The family wanted an outdoor fire pit with sitting walls, a grill island, lighting and privacy screening.  They wanted the front yard to give a welcoming feel to the neighborhood but allow them visual filtration and privacy so they could sit on their front porch without feeling like they were on view.

The Design Process is Key to Making a Great Space 

Organizing the flow and usage of the outdoor kitchen area, fire pit and dining area was the first step.  We gave the homeowners multiple layouts. Each design layout had unique elements organized in a different flow and arrangement.  

We encouraged our new Needham clients to think about how they would use the spaces on a day-in-day-out basis.  We sprayed the design out with marking paint and had them to “live in the space” for a weekend using their use tables and chairs and imagine being in the completed space.  This is the best way to get the feel of the spatial organization. Does it feel too big, too small or, as Goldilocks says, “Just Right.” We often suggest that families spend time “feeling” what the new space will be like then and deciding whether they need to be tweaked.

We will show you many possible ways to organize the components of your patio design  so you can see and imagine being in each of the spaces.   From there, we will put together a final drawing.  Usually, we end up taking one element of one design and one from another and so on, combining the client’s desired patio components into a working concept drawing.  From there, one idea leads to another and then another.  It’s a heuristic process.  At the end of the landscape design process, we can layout the patio in place in your yard.  We often suggest that families spend a weekend “living” in the spaces and deciding whether they need to be tweaked to be a bit bigger or smaller. 

Going through the landscape design process is fun and often the kids get into it.  They like to imagine themselves and their friends sitting around the backyard fire pit.  They enjoy giving input on where the swingset will go and if the lawn area is big enough for soccer etc.  Children also have fun selecting plants and flowers and usually are quite interested in the different attributes of each plant.  Kids also get really excited to plan vegetable gardens.  They love talking about planting strawberries, blueberries and apple trees. After all, you never know if an early pleasant experience in landscape design will lead to a career as an architect or a scientist.

Patio, Wall, Grill Island Materials Create A Welcoming Space

Once the overall configuration of the outdoor space was determined, we focused on choosing patio materials and wall materials.  We used the Unilock Estate Wall for the sitting walls, fire pit and grill island. For the patio pavers we used Techo-Bloc .  The custom bluestone wall caps were templated by our crews and fabricated locally in Newton at Stone Gallery . The landscape masonry choices are all a blend of good looking and economical.  The paver and wall block, when married with natural bluestone and granite caps and a grill island countertop, sings out with welcoming notes.  For the landscape lighting, we used Integral lights.  The ambience of low voltage, outdoor lighting is wonderful and makes eating out under the stars ahhhhhmazing. By going through all the layouts, components and materials ahead of time on paper with the client, their options and final selections easily fell into place.  The worst thing is to finish a landscape project and say “why didn’t I think of that!!!”

A custom outdoor kitchen in Westwood, MA designed by Land Design Associates featuring a stainless steel grill, granite countertop, and natural stone base for a timeless, functional design.

Trees, Shrubs and Flowers Enhance the Ambiance

Being originally from New Hampshire, the homeowner wanted to add a touch of New England to the patio area.  And since it was an unbearably hot sunny space prior that was too uncomfortable to sit out in during the day, we suggested planting sugar maples around the patio.  These trees provide lovely fall color and just the right amount of shade for the sitting area to be cool and usable during the summer heat.  We used white Annabell hydrangeas, Crystalina summersweet, a Sweetbay magnolia and long-blooming purple Rozanne geraniums to enclose the patio with nice fragrance and interesting texture.  

Around the perimeter of the yard, privacy was sought from the relatively close neighbors’ houses.  For this we used Norway spruce, Green Giant western red cedar and Nellie Stevens evergreen holly. In the front of the house we used Endless Summer hydrangeas planted behind a low hedge of Green Mountain boxwood providing a separating element from the street.  Along the porch, we planted Landmark rhododendrons which have a lovely deep pink/red flower and are evergreen with year-round foliage.

All the plants selected for this Needham landscape  were recommended because of their relatively low maintenance and their reliable performance.  We never suggest plants that are “fussy” and require a lot of care.  All of our plants are proven winners in the Massachusetts climate.  We recommend flowering plants that have fragrance and are summer blooming when folks are outside enjoying their backyards.  We like the mix of evergreen and deciduous plants for year-round interest.

A Needham, MA backyard retreat designed by Land Design Associates featuring a custom bluestone patio, outdoor kitchen, and circular fire pit with lounge seating for seamless indoor-outdoor living.

Cozy furniture tops off this patio turning it into an outdoor living area you’ll never want to leave

Lawn and Plant Irrigation Keeps Everything Green 

To keep the fresh sod for the lawn happy, we installed an automatic sprinkler system with both rotary heads and spray heads.  This system is controlled by a Hunter Hydrawise smart sprinkler system that takes satellite weather information and automatically adjusts how much water goes to each lawn area and planting zone. 

The best way to water a lawn is to soak the soil thoroughly to simulate a heavy rain and then to let it dry out.  This makes the roots of the grass plant “chase” the water down rather than staying near the surface dependent on daily shallow watering.  The deeper the root system, the stronger the lawn will be and enable it to resit drought, insects and diseases.   Also, cutting the grass high keeps moisture in the plant since it has more leaf surface to help conserve water.  Also, longer grass leaves give needed energy and support to the lawn’s root system as it works its way deeper into the soil. 

Combined with lawn irrigation, cutting the lawn and leaving the clippings down helps promote bacterial activity in the soil.  Like probiotics for humans, high soil microbial activity is beneficial for making the grass healthier so it can fight off bugs and any diseases that may occur.   A properly scheduled fertilization program will enable good grass leaf production. Also, watering the fertilizer in deeply with the irrigation is key. 

Plant irrigation is vital to healthy growth and flowering of all the plants in the yard. Trees, shrubs and flowers will win the battle against weeds.  Lush stands of plants will cover the ground enough to shield the soil from the sunlight weeds need to grow. This means that dense spacing of plants is the best way to design the garden beds.  We create our landscape designs with plants that spread and cover a lot of the plant bed.  This also creates a full, relaxed, opulent garden design.  Large groupings of plants that are allowed to grow together in masses is definitely the way to go instead of staccato-style design where there is one plant of each here and there with a lot of space between them.  This is how weeds get their toehold and pretty soon the nice landscape plants are losing the weed battle.  Proper plant spacing along with proper fertilization and irrigation will ensure this happens.  

Looking to Upgrade your Backyard Space in Newton and the Surrounding Area with a New Landscape Design?

Here is what the Needham homeowner, had to say about working with Land Design Associates on this project: 

“The outstanding communication, care, responsiveness, flexibility, and patience of LDA’s staff during the design process gave us complete confidence in choosing the firm’s hardworking landscape professionals to complete the project for us. Their expert installation of a patio, sitting wall, fire pit, trees, shrubs, flowers, irrigation system, and lighting created a beautiful and functional outdoor living space and landscape that our family will enjoy together for years to come.!”

We work in Needham, Newton, Wellesley, Westwood, Dover, Milton and other communities surrounding Boston.  Fill out a form on our contact page today to book your no cost consultation.

A new walkway can make a real impact on the appearance of the front of your home. A walkway is an extension of your home and adds tremendous aesthetic value. With proper planning and execution walkways become a functional seamless integration into your landscape. There are many things to consider when planning what kind of walkway fits your property’s character, your projects goals, and of course the budget. 

Location

Consider where you park and where guests will park and how they get to the entrance. Nowadays many homes have two front entrances and don’t bother to build a walk to the main door.

Although you may not use the front door, creating an inviting entrance makes your house look better. One option is a walkway going from the main entrance and to the side entrance. If people park on the street, have the walkway go towards it.

Shape: Curved or Straight

If curved, accentuate the curves, otherwise it can look like poor construction. Curves work well for larger front yards so the walk can extend out from the house a little more. This also creates planting beds that are larger, which is a nice option for an informal look. Meandering walkways cause you to slow down to focus on your surroundings.

Steps

If there is a slope, add steps to the beginning or end. If you require many steps, separate them and add landings making it easier for everyone to walk on. Too steep of a slope can be slippery and hazardous for some to navigate. Avoid a single step as it can be a tripping hazard.

Consider removing old concrete steps or having them veneered with other materials.

Materials

Materials must complement the style of your home. If you have a brick house, use brick as an accent. Don’t be hesitant to mix materials with others. You also want the color to coordinate with your home and not detract from it. Select surfaces that are easy to walk one that is safe and non-slip.

Looking to Upgrade your Backyard Space in Newton and the Surrounding Area with a New Landscape Design?

If you want to stun your family and friends and truly fall in love with spending time outside in your own backyard, come talk to us. We’ve been providing landscaping services to Newton, Norfolk County and southern Middlesex County for over 25 years, and we’re proud of what we do.

This grand Norwood mansion-style home was severely overgrown when we first met the homeowner.  Her husband was an avid plant collector, but not the best designer –  as he had many rare and interesting plants all around the property but with no rhyme or reason.  In fact, most of the plants were in the wrong spot for their sun/shade preference. They consumed the front yard with seeming random plantings of specimen plants.

Another major problem with the property was that the ample and flat front yard was right on a busy street and many people would even cut through the yard rather than walking around the corner on the sidewalk.  The homeowner’s daughter was planning on moving into the house and she had small children who needed a safe, private area to play.

Landscape Architectural Plans Make it Easy to Meet Landscape Use Goals

Our team crafted a custom landscape design to solve problems presented by the home’s landscape and location. It included building a beautiful stone wall and columns with steps.  Then we put a fence on top of the wall set back in a perennial garden plant bed. We used a solid fence to deflect street noise away from the front yard and also to present a visual raised barrier to people looking in while the family played and relaxed in the front yard.

For details, we did landscape lighting under the step treads and columns.  We also installed a very ornate walk mixing the “mosaic” style of stone laying with rectilinear bluestone borders.  

For plantings, we relocated most of the existing specimen plants to the perimeter of the front yard, gave the lawn nice curves using steel edging, and designed for many perennial flowers to billow up in beds along the edges of the newly sodded lawn.  

By going through the landscape design process, the homeowner was able to bring this Norwood mansion back to its glory on the outside.  The entry and front yard are now not only grand but useful for a young growing family.

“Land Design Associates was very professional and their labor crew highly skilled. They provided exceptional advice and created a landscape design based on our vision. The management team was patient and very helpful as we made numerous changes prior to the final drawings. I highly recommend Land Design Associates and their great crew to any potential client.” – Homeowner

Looking to Upgrade your Outdoor Space in the Greater Boston Area with a New Landscape Design?

If you want to stun your family and friends and truly fall in love with spending time outside in your own backyard, come talk to us. We’ve been providing landscaping services to Westwood, Norfolk County, and southern Middlesex County for over 25 years, and we’re proud of what we do.

When choosing a landscape firm to partner with, there are a number of factors to consider. Often times the cost of an outdoor landscape project is similar to doing a new kitchen or family room. There are many factors that go into the design, building, and maintenance of your new investment. By hiring an experienced contractor, you can be assured that all the aspects of the design and installation have been considered. Who wants to get to the end of a project and find out that the contractor has missed crucial steps in the process or not installed things according to proper standards? This often happens when inexperienced and “budget” contractors are chosen, leading to frustration, costly re-work and possibly legal action. Who needs that! Follow these recommendations to ensure your project is done right and the only hassle you have is carrying all the food out to your new grill area for your first neighborhood barbecue.

The Value of a Trained Designer

The first step in any building process is to sift through all the possibilities and make the best outdoor spaces possible. Here is where a trained designer is worth their weight in gold. By putting your ideas down on paper and combining them with new ideas, the project can easily be thought through in terms of space utilization, flow, visual elements and material selection. Don’t settle for a contractor who draws an illegible sketch on a napkin or who tells you how your yard renovation will look using a lot of arm-waving and gesturing. Let’s face it. The process is very abstract taking concepts from ideas to reality. We recommend hiring a company who can give you colored drawings that you can easily understand and use to visualize the finished product. The major benefit to drawing out all ideas on paper is that you can change your mind easily and also let one idea lead to the creation of another. The client can “try on” different designs and let them percolate over time eliminating the awful potential of being at the end of the project and saying “I wish I had thought of that BEFORE the job was complete.” The landscape design, to quote Frank Lloyd Wright, “Is the cheapest but most important part of the job.”

Do Subcontractors do the Installation Work?

If you have ever had any construction work done at your house, you know the delay game. The general contractor explains his delays and the fact that there is no one working on the site that week as “waiting for subcontractors.” This often drags out the project and can create installation quality problems due to the finger-pointing of mistakes and miscommunication.
It’s much better to hire a company that can do all the work in house. That way there is no subcontractor excuse game being played. A high-quality landscape firm should be able to do all the grading, walls, patios, lights, irrigation, plants and fences themselves. It is usually the case and is perfectly fine that these companies sub out asphalt driveways and large tree removal.

How the Installation Process Unfolds is Crucial for a Great Outcome

Make sure that the landscape company that you hire has a site foreman or project manager that is communicative and asks a lot of questions during the installation process.  Make sure the designer doesn’t disappear and is on-site regularly to guide the installer and to handle any issues that may arise. Communication with you the homeowner is critical all along the way.  The lack of keeping you in the loop often leads to rework and potential conflict.

A major root problem in most construction projects is poor communication on the part of the contractor.  Our approach is the opposite of most contractors who prefer that the client is not involved. We, on the other hand, love keeping the client involved, our foremen are strong communicators that engage with clients proactively when unexpected changes must be made.

Choose Experience: It Matters

Find out how many years the company has been in business and how much experience the designer, project manager, and foreman have.  Also, did they go to school for landscape design and construction? Or are they inexperienced and lacking fundamental construction knowledge.  The worst thing is to entrust your

expensive landscape project to a poser who does not know or care to do things the right way. Experience matters. Seek it out when deciding on who to work with. 

Is Your Contractor Insured?

Usually, an established company will have two points covered in the insurance area. Firstly, they will have an overabundance of insurance coverage for property damage or worker injury. Secondly, a good company will never have to use its insurance because it is a well run and safe company. Often times small “Truck and Shovel” companies or people just starting out in the business will not have insurance. The problem with this is that if there is an accident on your property, you and your insurance company will have to pay not the contractor who will usually disappear and not answer their phone.
So remember to ask all these questions if you live in Norwood, Westwood, Needham, Canton, Newton, Weston, or Wellesley and are looking to do a landscape renovation project.

“Land Design Associates was very professional and their labor crew highly skilled. They provided exceptional advice and created a landscape design based on our vision. The management team was patient and very helpful as we made numerous changes prior to the final drawings. I highly recommend Land Design Associates and their great crew to any potential client.” – Homeowner

Looking to Upgrade your Outdoor Space in the Greater Boston Area with a New Landscape Design?

If you want to stun your family and friends and truly fall in love with spending time outside in your own backyard, come talk to us. We’ve been providing landscaping services to Westwood, Norfolk County, and southern Middlesex County for over 25 years, and we’re proud of what we do.

Before Land Design Associates renovated the backyard at this family home in Westwood, it was bland and underutilized.

The small, discolored vinyl deck was misshapen and tired, the paver-stoned yard offered no privacy for socializing and the lawn areas presented unkempt woods that imposed on the amorphous space.

In short, the homeowners had a beautiful house but lacked a stunning outdoor living space that they could be proud of.

So we set out to design and build for this family with children a backyard patio and lounge area, complete with an outdoor gas fireplace, a kitchen grill built into a stone island and a beautiful perimeter of flowers and plants, to help get them back into nature.

Patio with Grill Island Replaces Old Deck

We designed and built a new patio by hand-laying modern, blue-hued pavers from Techo Bloc and enlarging the surface area for proper outdoor gatherings.

These pavers are a popular choice for many backyard designs in the Boston area as they fit into modest budgets better than most natural stones without greatly sacrificing aesthetics or functionality.

We constructed a grill island along one corner of the patio using a durable, blue-gray granite called Blue Mist for the countertop to complement the nearby wall colors and to match materials for the wall caps and steps.

We built the base from natural veneer stone, sliced very thinly and cemented to a steel-reinforced, concrete-block wall trimmed and hand-laid by our skilled masons, for a high-quality look.

Because veneer stone, which is available in multiple colors and styles, is sliced so thinly, our masons can easily create tight, aesthetically pleasing joints.

We designed the steps to flow gracefully to the patio and ensured they would be large enough even for the children to sit on. The Blue Mist granite for the steps has a non-skid surface yet is smooth enough to comfortably enjoy the area with your bare feet during the summertime.

Outdoor Gas Fireplace Provides Warmth to the Outdoor Lounge Area

Sited at an angle to provide a great interface with the upper patio, the outdoor fireplace is the focal point of the lower sitting area.

We built walls at bench height on the sides of the fireplace to allow plenty of sitting room for friends and family, again using veneer stone and Blue Mist granite for the caps for continuity.

The remote-controlled gas fireplace eliminates the time-consuming needs of having to prepare a fire by hand and to wait for potentially unsafe embers to extinguish before retiring for an evening. Gas fireplaces also do not need to be cleaned of ashes and potentially foul-smelling half-burnt logs.

We used the same Techo Bloc pavers for the lower-area patio surface from the dining-area patio for further aesthetic consistency, accenting them with a lovely Victorien paver border. Banding the patio with a paver of contrasting colors here provided a nice, inexpensive flourish to the design.

The fireplace area is now a “go-to destination” for the family, enabling them to enjoy their outdoor space from early spring to late fall (and even sometimes during mild-weathered winter days!). Gone are the family’s times of not being able to relax outside with a red wine and friends on a gloriously crisp autumn day.

Outdoor Lights to Illuminate Evenings

Our landscaping specialists installed light fixtures underneath the wall caps, step treads and the grill-island countertop to cast just the right amount of light to warm up the patio at night.

Additionally, LED path lights and up-lights on the trees augment and expand the effect of these built-in lights to create a feeling of moonlight throughout the whole backyard, while being fully within the family’s convenient control from either an inside switch or a phone app.

Providing Privacy With Beautiful Flowers and Plants

We used a large variety of colors and textures for the plantings that surround the patio areas.

Along the edges of the upper patio area and throughout the lower patio area, respectively, the family now delights in the aromas and visuals of Boxwood and super fragrant summer sweets.

Endless Summer Hydrangea gives beautiful balls of flowers all summer while large fir trees and western red cedars were planted along the property line to create a sense of privacy from neighboring houses.

Colorful perennials provide vibrancy color throughout the summer season, including a pink dogwood tree that blooms in June to provide flowers that last for weeks.

Lastly, we installed a high-tech drip-irrigation system from Netafim for the plants to create an eco-friendly watering solution that also saves the family tons of time and effort. The drip system connects directly to the lawn-irrigation timer, so hand-watering is never required.

Plant Beds and a New Fence to Define the Large Side Yard

The homeowners have a very large yard that was encroached upon by some messy woods.

Confronted with this challenge, our professional landscapers built a layered planting bed with tall evergreen plants at the back, medium flowering plants in the middle and colorful perennials along the front of the bed with a nice arch and steel edging to permanently maintain the flowing curves of the bed.

The layered planting bed’s effect defines the lawn-area space and creates an edge to separate the yard from the woods. In the back of the planting bed, we installed a spaced picket-vinyl fence that provides a neat appearance and works very well as a background or foil for the variety of textures and colors in the planting bed.

New Outdoor Space a Success for Family and Friends

With the installation of the new patio, fireplace area and side yard, this beautiful house in Westwood now has places for the family and their friends to actually enjoy outside, whereas before they wouldn’t even venture into their backyard.

The project also provided a ton of value to the house when the family decides to sell. The reality of today’s housing market compels young couples to focus on certain must-haves, including nice outdoor living areas and green yards with flowers for their kids to play in.

“Land Design Associates was very professional and their labor crew highly skilled. They provided exceptional advice and created a landscape design based on our vision. The management team was patient and very helpful as we made numerous changes prior to the final drawings. I highly recommend Land Design Associates and their great crew to any potential client.” – Homeowner

Looking to Upgrade your Backyard Space in Westwood and the Surrounding Area with a New Landscape Design?

If you want to stun your family and friends and truly fall in love with spending time outside in your own backyard, come talk to us. We’ve been providing landscaping services to Westwood, Norfolk County and southern Middlesex County for over 25 years, and we’re proud of what we do.

How to Take Care of Your Evergreens for Landscaping

Protecting Plants for Winter

New England’s harsh winters can wreak havoc on your evergreen trees and shrubs if you’re not careful. Even though evergreens can survive through the winter months, cold temperatures, high winds and a winter sun can dry out evergreen foliage, damage bark and, if severe enough, even injure or kill branches and roots.

Protecting your evergreens during the winter can mitigate the damage and make for a prosperous spring. When you’re landscaping your yard and taking care of evergreens, you want your trees and shrubs to be an investment.

It takes a little time and planning in colder zones as in ours, so make sure that your fall maintenance schedule includes time for plant protection.

Here are five tips to protect your evergreens during the winter.

Apply Winter Mulch

During the winter, mulching landscape evergreen shrubs insulates the soil and roots.

Mulch maintains a steady soil temperature to prevent temperature extremes because it acts as an insulating blanket. Bare ground in winter causes temperature fluctuations that can force plants out of the ground exposing the roots. A warm spell can also do more damage by forcing plants out of dormancy triggering new growth that will ten be damaged as soon as temperatures plummet again.

Check susceptible plants after the first hard frost in fall to apply winter mulch. Applying too early, before the plant is dormant, may damage the plant.

Spray Anti-Desiccants

Anti-desiccants, also known as anti-transpirants, are landscaping sprays that supply protective coatings to evergreens during the winter months. Spray an anti-desiccant product to reduce moisture loss on evergreens.

When the ground freezes, plants are unable to absorb moisture so they take moisture from their foliage, causing it to dry out. This can damage or kill your beloved rhododendrons, andromeda, hollies and more.

When sprayed on the evergreen foliage, anti-desiccants hold in the moisture during winter. They provide a protective coating on the foliage to reduce the water that escapes.

An application in November and again in January should protect them for the entire season. 

Water Your Landscape Evergreens

It might sound counterintuitive, but watering your evergreens during winter in between snowfalls will provide them with needed moisture to prevent desiccation and add insulating protection.

This is especially true during those sunny winter days that we’re sometimes accustomed to in New England thanks to our dry winters. Evergreens, after all, die not because of freezing but because of a lack of humidity.

As for leaving the work to snow? Snow insulates plants and regulates ground temperature. Don’t be afraid to shovel some extra snow on your shrubs but take care not to break them!

Wrap Your Shrubs

Wrapping shrubs creates a wind barrier and traps some warmth.

Use a porous material, such as burlap or sheets. There are many benefits to wrapping prized evergreens, including protection from deer damage, salt damage, ice damage and sun damage.

Tie up your shrubs that have a tendency to split from the weight of snow with twine. Evergreens such as arborvitaes sometime split down the middle and this damage is irreversible. Deciduous plants will typically recover, but some evergreens will not regrow from the damaged area.

Wrap Your Trees

Wrapping your landscape trees also offers some great winter protection in order to protect bark from sunscald.

Sunscald is a condition whereby tree bark on deciduous trees is damaged and frozen following periods of high temperatures during the winter season. On cold winter days, the sun heats the bark to stimulate growth. When a cloud or other obstacle suddenly blocks the sun, the temperature quickly drops, killing the active tissue.

Signs of sunscald include deep fissures, cracking dead bark and sunken areas. You can protect your trees by wrapping them with a commercial tree wrap designed for this use. Use white or another light color, never black or brown as they will absorb too much heat.

Thinking About a Yard Upgrade?

If you want to maintain your landscape properly for the winter and get a head start on spring landscape planning, chat with us. We’ve been helping families in south Boston create and maintain beautiful landscapes for over 25 years, so we know a thing or two.

Planning a New Backyard Patio Design

Sometimes, all it takes is a creative design and a little hardscaping with a patio wall to liven up your backyard without breaking the bank.

In the spring, we met with a family who wanted to enhance their back patio paver area of their property and create a more aesthetically pleasing and connected space without bankrolling their retirement plan.

So how did we do it? It all starts with planning and consultation.

We met the family at their home to identify the lay of the land, highlight key areas and take measurements and photos. Asked how we would create a larger paver patio to accommodate more guests, design a smooth transition from the existing space to the nearby lawn and build a natural seating area through hardscape in the form of a wall, our team set to work!

Designing a New Patio Hardscape For Style and Comfort

Our design team drafted various landscape paver plans that offered different styles to reach the same solution.

Once we presented the landscape plans to the family and a decision was made, we moved on to finalizing the design. At Landscape Design, we identify items such as materials for our builders, carefully select and curate plants and set a schedule date for installation as part of the process for developing a landscape design from concept to completion.

For paver materials, we even invited the homeowners to join us at local stone yards and masonry-supply shops in Greater Boston to help them choose which landscape stone or landscape paver they wanted to see on their property. Net, we move on to project preparation and installation.

How We Bring a Hardscape Design to Life  

For any landscaping project to run smoothly, staying well-organized from the beginning is essential for ensuring that the work is done on time and creates space for handling any issues that come up along the way.

Our landscape designers equipped our hardscapers will a thoroughly dimensioned plan so that they could lay out sprayed lines to identity important parameters. The crew began their work by removing the existing hardscape and stringing a line to points for key items such as the wall and patio edges.

Because of the varying heights between the patio area and the lawn, we installed hardscape steps to guarantee a pleasing transition between the two planes.

With a strong base set, our crew began to build the rotunda-like wall with block pavers. Block pavers are a hardscape material that resemble natural stone on the exterior surface but feature a pierced shape on its interior to accommodate affordable and easy installation.

After constructing the wall, we finished off by laying the new hardscape paver patio, and when the job is complete, we clean the backyard area and repair any tidy up the lawn.

The homeowners  were extremely happy with the final result. We handled all of their design requests to create a stunning space and we’re excited to show you the before-and-after photos.

Want to Show Off Your New Backyard Patio in the Boston Area to Friends and Neighbors?

If you want that “wow factor” for your backyard patio with a custom hardscape design, come talk to us. We’ve been making hardscapes and amazing-looking paver walls and patio spaces for families and homeowners in Greater Boston for over 25 years.

Dreaded Deer in the Garden

When it comes to keeping your yard beautiful and thriving, protecting your garden from cute but menacing deer should be a top priority.

With some exceptions, deer will eat or at least trample on almost anything in your garden, and with fall upon us and the winter months fast approaching here in Greater Boston, suburban deer will want to feast on what’s available.

If deer are starving they will eat almost anything. This typically occurs when there is a heavy snow load or loss of habitat thereby reducing their natural foraging areas. This forces them out into your yard to sample your shrubbery and tulips. 

Why You Should Protect Your Landscaping Plants From Deer

Deer can be an amazing sight in your yard, but once they start feeding on common landscaping plants like your favorite hostas, they become a problem. They severely damage your landscape plantings, reducing them to mere sticks or eating them to the ground. Plus, easily accessible landscaping plants as a source of food will cause deer to congregate, increasing the odds of disease transmission.

Deer are creatures of habit, so once they find your hostas, they will return to finish them off. They eat fresh buds on trees and rub their antlers on tree trunks damaging bark. The best options to deter deer are physical barriers, removing plants they forage on and spraying plants with deterrents.

Top Methods for Deterring Deer in Greater Boston

Planting and Landscaping Tips to Protect Your Yard

1. Build a Landscaping Fence

The absolute best solution that is almost 100% effective is to install a fence. Some deer have the ability to jump as high as 12 feet, so any landscaping fence should be at least eight feet in height and well built so deer can’t jump over or break it.

Deer fences are most often made of welded wire or plastic and almost disappear into the surrounding landscape. A six-foot stockade fence is also effective as deer won’t jump over something if they can’t see the other side.

2. Select Good Landscaping Plants to Deter Deer

Proper plant selection is paramount to reducing damage. Yes, deer will eat almost anything but there are certain plants that they will skip over; it has to do more with the characteristics of plants.

Deer tend to dislike hairy or fuzzy foliage, such as lambs ear, yarrow or lungwort. The amount of “fuziness” isn’t important, as long as they have hairy leaves. Deer won’t touch your ornamental grasses, so plant away.

Also consider fragrant foliage. Most herbs fall into this category including sage, thyme, oregano and lavender. Deer will usually also pass over boxwood, salvias, bee balm and Russian sage. Crush the leaves of a plant before you purchase it and if it has a scent, the deer won’t eat it.

3. Liquid Sprays and Active Deterrents

If it’s too late and deer are already chomping away, some liquid deterrents can be effective. Spray repellents work by using taste and odor with an additive to help them stick to the plant. 

Some brands to try are Liquid Fence and Deer Away. Keep a few bottles by your door as they need to be sprayed weekly, or more if there’s rain.

Scaring deer away can be effective as well. I’ve had my small dogs bark out the windows and it seemed to work for a little while. Motion-activated sprinklers with infrared sensors, however, can work wonders and frighten deer with a spray of water.

Popular Landscaping Techniques to Deter Deer in the Boston Area

At Land Design Associates, we have been helping families with gardening and planting support for many years to help keep their yards looking stunning and stay deer-free! If you want to beautify your garden with popular landscaping plants and shrubs or fencing products and want to consult the experts in regards to deer retention, talk to us and we’ll be happy to help!

With ever-increasing home-energy costs, leveraging your landscape design in Boston during the cold winters and hot summers can serve as a lifesaver for improving the energy efficiency of your home.

How can you use backyard landscaping and best practices in yard design to make those small differences that we all know add up over time and impact your family’s bottom line?

Before things got so high-tech and people started to simply adjust their thermostats, landscape architecture design was a common way to make a home more comfortable in varied weather conditions. Not only does it remain a cost-effective way to control for internal temperatures without incurring costly overuses from your home’s heating system or air conditioning, the same practices of landscaping trees and unique backyard landscape designs can help protect your home’s exterior from high winds and add a tasteful decor to the outdoor areas of your home.

Build a Wall of Tall Landscaping Trees

In the Boston area, cold winter winds blow down from Canada out of the northwest. As they move past your house, they rob warm energy from the inside of your house.

Want to keep these energy thieves from pulling heat from your house all winter? Consider building a wall of landscaping trees near your home to keep the northern mistrals away. Known as a windbreak, this was a common design feature when there was no thermostat to reach for.

If you look at old farms, you will often see large masses of evergreens designed to shelter the house from cold winter winds.

First, determine which is the northwest side of your house. Then talk with a Boston landscape designer to help plan and build a windscreen out of tall evergreens such as Norway spruce, western red cedar, or Canadian hemlock, which are often the best evergreen trees for landscaping. Incorporating these trees into your landscape design will stop the wind from sucking energy from your house and draining your heating budget.

Be Cool in the Summer With Landscaping Shrubs for Shade

When things get toasty in the summer, why not use an old-fashioned way to stay cool and mitigate costs for air conditioning at the same time?

Look at older homes and you will most certainly find large shade trees planted on the south side of the house. The shade from the trees keeps the house cool in the hot summer months and lowers the cooling costs of air conditioning.

Trees like sugar maples were commonly used for this purpose (and farmers could get pancake syrup too!).

By including trees and shrubs as part of your Boston backyard landscape design, you can not only improve cost efficiencies for your home but also make patio and backyard gatherings more enjoyable on those hot and sunny days. The dense leaf canopy of one or more trees makes things more comfortable in the summer.

In the winter, when the leaves drop, shade trees such as maples allow warming sunlight to heat the house.

Landscape Design for Creating a Wind Tunnel

If you have the space in your yard, you can use plants to accelerate wind speeds around your home and deliver nice summer breezes to your house.

In the Boston area, the summer wind comes from the southwest. Using trees and shrubs as part of your landscape installation in the Boston area, you can create an opening that is shaped like a funnel. The wide part will capture the summer breezes and bring them through the funnel. As the funnel narrows, the wind will accelerate increasing its cooling effect on your home.

This will create moving air to make you more comfortable as you sit on your patio in the hot days of August. It will also allow cooling breezes to come through your open windows on the southwest side of your home.

Stay Warm or Cool With a Trusted Boston Landscaper

At Land Design Associates, we have been helping families use landscape elements to improve their lives for more than 25 years. If you want to beautify the exterior of your home and improve energy efficiency for your Boston house during the winter or summer months with trees and shrubs for landscaping, talk to us to build your dream yard.