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.

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.

… That’s a question we hear a lot.  Which would you prefer to gather around with your friends? Each has its pros and cons.  Consider the following 5 things when choosing what’s best for your family:

1. Seating

Many people choose a circular fire pit because they feel it offers more space for guests to pull chairs around than a fireplace.  We build fire pits so that the top is just at the right height to allow many people to put their feet up while enjoying a glass of wine and good conversation.  For a fireplace, we usually build a raised hearth also to give people a place to sit next to the fire and also to put their feet up and relax.

2. Garden Focal Point

Having a beautifully crafted fireplace as the focal point of your outdoor living area will add a lot to how your space feels.  After all, the fireplace is the iconic symbol of “home.” It suggests a central anchor for family and friends. Even when viewed from inside the house while washing dishes at the kitchen sink, the fireplace will evoke memories of family events with the laughter and warmth of the times spent in front of it.  So the picturesque quality of a nice stone fireplace can give you a feeling of warmth even when it’s not in use.

Gas Firepit with seating for the whole family in Wellesley, MA       

Wood burning fireplace in Needham, MA

3. Smoke

Both fire pits and fireplaces can be wood burning or gas burning. Do you want the romance of crackling wood and the aroma of wafting smoke bringing you back to campfires as a kid?  Some folks say that they absolutely love the old-time ambiance of a wood fire on a crisp evening. Others don’t like their clothes and hair smelling like smoke or the added annoyance of having to move their chairs around to get out of the way of blowing smoke.

Also keep in mind that a wood burning fireplace will smell of ashes if it is not cleaned out or covered from the rain. Gas units burn clean and there is no smell. The heat produced is the same for both.

There is a new product we love called a “nearly smokeless fire pit” from Breeo (and our clients love it too).  The unit pulls smoke down under the edges of the fire pit where it is heated and re-burned, producing a nearly smokeless fire pit. It’s relatively inexpensive and is a great new technology we recommend you consider if you want the romance of a fire pit without all the smoke.

4. Cost

Fireplaces, while gorgeous, are roughly two to three times more expensive than fire pits. Gas inserts for either fire feature type will add roughly $2,000 to $4,000 depending on the style you choose. Running gas lines from the house will add roughly $3,000 to $5,000.

5. Materials

Natural stone from producers such as Delgado Stone and Stoneyard is the optimal choice for fire pits and fireplaces; however, the cost is much higher than the alternative material – concrete block.  While the phrase may not sound appealing, concrete block products from Unilock, Techo-Bloc and Cambridge Pavers do look very good. If you find the right style, texture and color, you can save a lot of budget on the installation and material cost.

Let the experts at Land Design Associates help you choose the right fire feature for your outdoor living space.  With more than 20 years experience, we have the knowledge and skill to advise you and install the type you choose.  Browse our portfolio here. Or, if you’d like to get started, contact us here.

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