OUR SERVICES
Garden Designs
Our garden designs begin with function: how do you want to use your garden? how will it enhance your life? Then, practical issues like drainage, traffic flow, and safety are considered. We try to understand the "spirit of place" or inherent character of your site: what is unique about your land, what feelings does it engender, what defines your property, what do you want to emphasize or protect? Design skills based on knowledge of the fine arts and ecology are then used to develop your garden plan. We keep the above in mind in the renewal or renovation of an existing garden as well.
Our gardens are designed for enjoyment throughout the year, including the winter months. We carefully select reliable plant varieties with which we have become familiar over decades of gardening and land care experience. Garden conifers, blooming shrubs, and trees provide structure and solidity in your garden or landscape. Our depth of experience in choosing plants makes it possible to provide continuous bloom over the three seasons.
We use many summer and fall-blooming bulbs; unusual and heirloom plants are often incorporated. To delight the senses of smell and touch, we include highly scented and textural plants. To encourage a garden alive with activity we incorporate plants of value to wildlife, birds, and insects.
Ecology and Organic Land Care
Garden Artisans follows the principles of ecological design and organic land care. The discipline of ecology tells us that each living organism has an ongoing and continuous relationship with every other element in its environment - this is the web of life. A garden created and maintained organically will sustain many creatures (besides you!), including wildlife, birds, butterflies, insects, and the invertebrates and teaming microbes that make up the living soil. A mixture of annuals, perennials, bulbs, groundcovers, vines, shrubs, and trees will provide a diverse, multi-layered community of plants that becomes your garden, full of beauty and life. In this way, you will support and even improve your environment.
Organic methods begin with the soil, the living matrix from which your garden springs. Soil tests will help decide what fertilizers, minerals, or soil conditioners, if any, need to be added to your soil. Using the right plant for the right place includes taking into consideration the soil type, plant positioning needs, hardiness zone, light factors, proper planting and watering techniques, companion plants, mature plant size, and maintenance needs.
Healthy plants are usually disease free. In the event of disease or pests, organic solutions are employed. Toxic, noxious chemicals are never used. Your children and pets can safely play in your organic garden. The edible flowers and vegetables your garden grows are safe for your table.
Garden Maintenance
Meticulous maintenance may include proper pruning, edging, cultivating, raking, weeding, deadheading, disbudding, staking, fertilizing, compost applications, plant replacements, and mulching. Insects and diseases are prevented by growing healthy plants in a diverse plant community; companion plantings help repel or attract certain insects; susceptible plant cultivars are avoided. Diseases and insect infestations are treated only with organic remedies approved by NOFA and OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute).
We will also teach you our methods if you so desire. Probably the best gardens are those nurtured by their owners on a regular basis. Short of that, we will provide garden maintenance as agreed upon. We provide some type of ongoing garden care to the majority of our clients.
Services
Garden Consultation ~ Garden Design ~ Garden Installation ~ Garden Maintenance ~ Pruning ~ Organic Lawn Care ~ Plant ID ~ Old Garden Restoration ~ Rehab and Renewal ~ Soil Testing and Soil Improvement ~ Compost and Mulch Applications
Garden Design Specialties
Shade and Woodland Gardens - Butterfly, Bee, Hummingbird Gardens
- Moss gardens
- Dry stream beds
- Shrub borders
- Foliage Gardens
- Perennial borders
- Containers
- Lo-Maintenance Texture Gardens: Conifers, Japanese Maples, Tree Peonies, & Ornamental Grasses
- Layered Continuous Bloom Gardens
- Specialty Gardens: blue ~ heirloom annuals ~ tropical ~ primeval ~ parterre
Organic Garden Maintenance
- Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
- Spring, mid-season, and/or fall clean-ups
- One time only clean-up of neglected beds.
- Plant division and replanting
- Garden tour preparation
