Beyond seasonal weather and pesky deer, New England gardens may also struggle to survive shady conditions. Many of you ask us about what to do with shaded areas of your yard. Between tree coverings, your house and fencing, shade can happen from so many directions. A planting bed that receives three hours or less of sun per day is considered shaded. Often these areas retain moisture as they are less ventilated and do not dry out easily after rain. While these areas don’t require the same frequent watering and the high maintenance needs of full sun locations, they do need specific plants t ..read more

Did you know that coffee grounds are rich in nutrients including nitrogen, magnesium, potassium and phosphorous? Acid-loving plants like hydrangeas can be fertilized with your used or unbrewed coffee grounds to give them a boost. You can add coffee grounds to your compost or simply sprinkle directly around the roots of your hydrangeas. If spreading them, do not put a thick layer or they may compact and prevent air or water to pass. A thin layer is best.   Blue Hydrangea Blossoms You can change the color of your hydrangea blossoms. By adding coffee grounds around your plant, it alters the ..read more

With everyone spending more time around our homes with families and friends we have found we want to maximize our outdoor spaces and add a little more privacy and coziness. There are many reasons that a fenced area makes sense for your property. Shrubbery hedges, wood fencing and stone masonry borders can be the just right solution that serves more than just a visual divider.   Outline Your Backyard With Hedges Laurel flower hedge   If your yard has a lot of space to work with, a planted hedge is a beautiful solution to serve as natural fencing and outline the edges of your property ..read more

Our New England region definitely has some unique weather conditions ranging from very cold winters to very warm summer days. Plants that are native to our Fairfield and Westchester county areas have adapted to our climate with the changing seasons over the course of hundreds of years. There is a benefit to housing these native trees and plants in your yard. Lonicera sempervirens flowers, common names coral honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, or scarlet honeysuckle, in bloom.   The Balance of Native Plants Part of the balance of nature in each particular ecosystem, native plants have adapte ..read more

With everyone spending more time around our homes with families and friends we have found we want to maximize our outdoor spaces and add a little more privacy and coziness. There are many reasons that a fenced area makes sense for your property. Shrubbery hedges, wood fencing and stone masonry borders can be the just right solution that serves more than just a visual divider.   Outline Your Backyard With Hedges Laurel flower hedge   If your yard has a lot of space to work with, a planted hedge is a beautiful solution to serve as natural fencing and outline the edges of your property ..read more

Our New England region definitely has some unique weather conditions ranging from very cold winters to very warm summer days. Plants that are native to our Fairfield and Westchester county areas have adapted to our climate with the changing seasons over the course of hundreds of years. There is a benefit to housing these native trees and plants in your yard. Lonicera sempervirens flowers, common names coral honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, or scarlet honeysuckle, in bloom.   The Balance of Native Plants Part of the balance of nature in each particular ecosystem, native plants have adapte ..read more

Adding a waterfall to a backyard is one way to connect the brain to nature, right in your own backyard. Ever noticed how much calmer you feel by a lake or an ocean? Listening to water and staring at water, be it a river, pond, lake, ocean or waterfall, sooths the 21stcentury brain besieged daily with push notifications, phone alerts and over all noise in our day. Reducing stress is one reason to add a waterfall, but there are a few more great reasons. Block Out Noise If a major street runs close to your property, a burbling waterfall becomes “white noise” to block out traffic or even your nois ..read more

  Shade garden plants will provide color and lush foliage even in the darkest corner of your backyard. Instead of trying to force full sun plants or a full lawn into a low light area, focus on flowering shrubs, moss, ferns and perennials that thrive with little to no sunlight. From ground cover to shrubs, we have some shade garden plant suggestions for you. Moss Moss is a plant that naturally thrives in shady spots. A couple of bonus points, there is no need to fertilize or use pesticide on moss and there is no mowing involved. It is very low maintenance ground cover and forms a nice gre ..read more

A pool deck surface should be heat resistant, slip resistant and durable. If you are going to spend the time and budget to build a swimming pool in your backyard, the pool deck should also be beautiful! Natural stones are a wonderful option that satisfy all of the prerequisites for a heat and slip resistant, durable surface. Another important factor for pool deck surfaces is their ability to withstand the freezing and thawing that occurs during the winter. Winter temperatures play a factor in choosing stones that rank highly in durability. These four types of stones satisfy beauty and functio ..read more

Are you thinking about adding a fire pit to your landscape design? There are great reasons to add a fire pit or a fire place, but there are some compelling reasons to add a fire pit aside from the lower price point. You have a choice or wood burning or gas, decorative or fully able to grill a meal on top of the fire. But, there is something about a campfire environment that entices people to put down their phones and gather around for conversation and cocktails. Food on a Stick A fire pit is a great excuse to put food on a stick and cook it over a blazing fire to be a “modern stone-age family ..read more