While we specialize in Water Gardens, we can also turn your yard into a spectacular showpiece, whether you're planning all-new landscaping or hoping to update a flower bed. We use color, form, and texture to create beauty in your garden. We select and combine colors for your garden, then explore the flowers and foliage plants that will help create a planting design that sets the mood you desire. We can turn your yard into an oasis for entertaining and relaxation with a deck, patio, courtyard, or private retreat. Our high-quality garden planning and installation is designed to satisfy all your landscaping needs.

Treat your home and family to a garden with an all-new look.

Need a secret retreat?

We can create a secret retreat within any garden.
It's a matter of knowing what you want.

Need elegant container gardens

We can plant an entire miniature garden in a single container for you, loading it with flair and style. Try one of our potted treasures on your deck or patio this summer.

We can even decorate a tabletop for you...

This broad, flat surface of a table cried out for interest. Here, annual 'Pink Crystals' rubygrass (Rhynchelytrum nerviglume) makes a striking tabletop arrangement. Sitting on stone tile bases, the terra-cotta containers create a clean, contemporary feel.

We think  beyond the ordinary flowerpot...

We found a wire wastebasket of preferred height at a home store and lightly line it with peat moss, then fill the remaining area with potting soil. We top it off with your desired plants. Here, white delphiniums lend subtle elegance to an entry area.

We can bring the sights and sounds of water to your garden, deck, or patio with our fountains and ponds.

 

We can make Your Yard More Private

Along with protection from bugs, sun, and rain, homeowners like to be shielded from prying eyes. Here are seven easy ways we can create privacy in your yard.

Garden Hideaways

A quaint little seating area is a perfect place to escape from the workaday world for a bit of rest and reflection. A bench placed out by itself is likely to make you feel isolated and exposed. We can build a small structure to house the bench and create seclusion.

The structure shown here features an open-slat design, allowing the breeze to pass through. It works well in this situation because the garden is surrounded by greenery. In an open landscape, we cover lattice panels with vines. Enjoy the beauty of your garden from an area that provides both comfort and privacy

 

Trees and Shrubs

It's not exactly a revelation that trees and shrubs can be used to create natural separation. A soldier-straight row of arborvitae is as imposing a barrier as a concrete wall.

For a more natural look, we forgo the parade-formation design by combining a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. By planting species with different mature heights, shapes, and colors, we can layer the plants into a beautiful mosaic.

Need some special garden touches...

We  can nestle a few whimsies among your posies --
a strategically placed sundial, a sculptural birdbath,
a reflective gazing ball. Even the tiniest garden can
benefit from a change of pace.

Bird Abodes

Handcrafted bird "condominiums" draw bluebirds, jenny wrens, and swallows. The lofty birdhouses encircle a dining area in a wildflower meadow. Morning-glories climb the poles; sunflowers and cornflowers bloom between them.

 

No-Fuss Sunny Garden
This low-maintenance sunny perennial garden will provide colorful blooms summer to fall. And, as a bonus, it requires a minimum of watering once established in your landscape.

Corner of Perennials

If flowers are your thing, this is the garden for you. Seven high-performance perennials give plenty of flowers, all summer long and into fall. We can tuck the garden into a corner or plop it in the middle of the lawn-these plants will put on a show wherever they get six hours or more of sunlight daily.

 

 

Have the Best Blue Flowers in Your Garden

We can bring the best blue flowers into your garden to add a peaceful note.

 

 

Garden Plans

Our high-quality garden plan collection is sure to satisfy all your landscaping needs.

 

Yard Makover

Treat your home and family to a garden with an all-new look.

Color, Form, and Texture

 

Is what we use to create beauty in your garden

Outdoor Rooms

We can turn your yard into an oasis for
entertaining and relaxation.

 

Garden Color

 

We know how to select and combine colors for your garden, then explore the flowers and foliage plants that will help create a planting design that sets the mood you desire.

 

We employ the elements of great landscape design in every project we pursue.

Line

A line can be any "skinny" element that wanders through the garden. Common lines include paths, fences, edgings, or a wall. In general, curved lines are more interesting than straight ones. Used to entice visitors to a special place (like a shady nook) or to draw their eyes to a special element (like that $200 Japanese maple you broke your piggy bank to buy).

 

Light

Light makes colors and textures come alive. We place trees and shrubs with colored foliage along an east-west line so they can benefit from the backlighting of a rising or setting sun. Using artificial lighting to produce soft pools of brightness at dusk, you will be amazed at how an ordinary garden can be transformed into a magical night garden with just a few strategically placed lights.

 

Texture

Plants are often divided into two classes: those with coarse foliage (such as these hostas) and those with fine foliage (such as the Hakone grass in this photo). We put one type of plant next to the other and -- voila! -- inspired landscaping.

 

Form

Form is the art-school word for shape. Easily defined shapes -- the cones of these pruned trees, for example -- are very distinctive in the plant world, where so many inhabitants are jumbles of several shapes (or no shape at all). Strong forms can make a garden distinctive and memorable. If that's your aim, we will select a form or two and repeat it throughout your garden.

 

Proportion

Proportion is the relative size of one element to another. In this photo, the hulking tree menaces the itty-bitty house. We use trees and shrubs to frame a house, not to conceal it or draw attention away from it. In a garden bed, we limit the height of any plant to two-thirds the depth of the bed, for example, in a 25-x-6-foot perennial garden, the tallest plant would be no more than 4 feet.

 

Scale

In design, scale refers to the size of items relative to gardeners (that is, to human beings). For example, a 4-x-12-foot banquet table is grossly out of scale for an intimate dinner for two. In the photo, the scale of the walkway (that is, its width) is well-suited to the modest number of people who will be using the walkway at any given time. In general, we follow the Goldilocks rule: Don't build too big or too small to accommodate your needs.

 

Pattern

Humans like patterns because they take the guesswork out of a scene. If we see a latticework trellis, our mind can assume that the hidden portions of the trellis have the same checkerboard pattern. In this regard, patterns give our brains a rest. That's why it's useful to maintain the same paving pattern all along a path. On the other hand, a bold pattern can draw attention to itself. The tightly controlled pattern of an herb knot garden turns a group of mundane little plants into a work of art.

Balance: Formal

Balance is a general sense that the visual elements on one side of a scene are of equal weight to the elements on the other side of the scene. Balance creates a feeling of calm. The easiest (or boringest, depending on your personality) way to achieve balance is to divide the scene down the middle and create mirror images on either side. This traditional home exhibits formal balance.

 

Balance: Informal

Informal balance is much harder to achieve than the mirror images of formal balance. For example, in this contemporary home several small container plants on the right side of the dividing line balance a single large shrub on the other side. With informal balance, you have much more flexibility because the dividing line (or "pivot point") can be anywhere in the scene. Think about how a see-saw works and you'll be on the right track.

 

Unity

When all elements of a garden seem to come from the same personality or sensibility, you have achieved unity. This Asian-inspired meditation garden achieves unity. If you were to plop in a conga-line of pink plastic flamingos, the unity would be gone, replaced by levity -- which might be just what the gardener wanted! Don't worry too much about unity in your own garden.

 

Contrast

The eye loves contrast. The more dramatic the change, the better. In this case, the smooth finish of the blue wooden gate is a nice contrast to the white, rough-textured wall. Most gardeners are comfortable with using contrasting colors (blue iris and pink peonies). We look for other opportunities to use contrast in your garden.

 

 

Color

Color has many uses in garden design. Bright, warm colors create a sense of action and excitement. Cool colors and pastels lend a calmer feeling. Single-color designs create a sophisticated look, while multicolor designs engender a festive atmosphere. Color can also evoke a sense of time -- think of the rusts and oranges of fall. We aren't afraid of color: we play with it in your garden, and try as many combinations as we can dream up until we find the right colors for your landscape.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the regular repetition of an element in the garden; in most cases, developing a rhythm means using many repetitions, not just two or three. For example, it might be a line of trees beside a long driveway or the pickets and posts of a fence next to a 100-foot-long sidewalk. When we are planning a smaller area, simply choose smaller plants.

 

Variety

It's the spice of life, and of gardening. Introducing variety simply means creating some breaks in the monotony -- some focal points that stick out. These little bird sculptures would be perfect in a small shady nook. A burbling fountain might be just the tonic for a bland patio. Drop some garden art in the middle of a flowerbed. You'll soon find that these little surprises can help your garden come alive.

 

Water Features

Nothing can quite transform a landscape like a water feature. Whether it's a dramatic waterfall or a quiet pond, water works its magic on any garden, providing a focal point and soothing the soul. Moving water provides delightful background music and masks noise. If you're thinking of adding a water feature to your yard, Mock's is your best bet as we specialize in water gardens!