Green Jay Landscape Design

Green Jay Landscape Design

(914) 560-6570

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Step into a landscape that has undergone one of the most breathtaking transformations of the year! Nestled around a classic Tudor home in Hartsdale, NY, this project began with a vision to elevate the exterior. The homeowners, eager to breathe new life into their outdoor space after renovations to the home, partnered with us to reimagine the entire landscape in carefully orchestrated phases. We aimed to create a garden of native plants that would navigate the front yard’s steep slope while providing resources for a diverse array of pollinators.

Phasing for Plants and Pollinators

Each phase, timed to perfection, embraced the changing seasons, ensuring optimal plant growth while working around the windows of plant availability. But the real magic began with the first and most critical phase: transforming the soil and refining the hardscape, laying the groundwork for a garden path that would invite discovery at every turn.

Severly Sloped Lawn transformed into Garden Terraces
Severely Sloped Lawn transformed into Garden Terraces

Soil Reconditioning

The fieldstone exterior walls had been beautifully repointed during the renovations, but this process left behind a challenge—soil contaminated with masonry debris, an elevated pH, and altered texture. Rather than seeing this as a setback, we saw this an opportunity. We seized the moment to redesign the garden path, subtly adjusting the course of the existing bluestone walkway to create an elegant curve from the driveway to the front door. This was no small feat, as the path had to align perfectly with the future grade of the yet-to-be-installed driveway. With the path established, we focused on revitalizing the soil, carefully amending it with a rich blend of topsoil, compost, and strategically applied elemental sulfur to lower the pH.

Before: Front Foundation after home renovations and HVAC relocation

We expanded the existing garden beds, with some existing perennials seamlessly incorporated into the new design such as the  Vernonia lettermannii, beloved by the client and pollinators alike. While we prepared the entire bed, we took a thoughtful approach by planting the shrubs and perennials first, leaving the grasses to be planted in the spring, ensuring they’d thrive in the optimal conditions.

After: Front Foundation Native Landscape and Bluestone Path

Pollinators Paradise

While working we encountered active ground nesting bees. These pollinators were quite literally buzzing at our feet as we planted, however they were passive and nonconfrontational, not a problem at all to work around. These native bees are most active in the spring and by the summer I did not see them in the landscape.

 

Monarch pollinating Blue Mist Flower

Other pollinators word appear more regularly: Monarchs on the milkweed, painted ladies on the pussy toes, dozens of other species drawn to the masses of Goldenrod and Mountain Mint.  We were also excited to hear from the client, that there were considerably more fireflies  than in the past.

Agastache attracts many kinds of bees and pollinators

Stormwater Management

Winter 2023-2024 found us hard at work tackling pressing drainage and erosion issues that had become increasingly urgent. As downpours grow more intense and frequent, flooding and drainage problems have become a recurring challenge. The silver lining? These issues are now more visible than ever, giving us a clear opportunity to prepare and adapt for the storms of the future. While we can’t control the weather, nor the land of our neighbors, we’re still committed to addressing the most pressing stormwater concerns. Unfortunately, surface runoff from properties above our client’s home had been overwhelming the landscape—eroding soil, carving gullies, and depositing debris right in the driveway. With a new driveway slated for installation, it was critical to resolve these issues before the work began.

Dry well with infiltration pipe and drainage stone. Erosion control and stormwater management  is critical for steep slope landscapes

In the mature woodland garden at the top of the property, we carefully identified the most strategic spots to introduce stormwater management solutions. We dug infiltration trenches, filled them with drainage stone, and incorporated drywell overflows. Using the resulting fill, we created small check dams to slow water flow. We also installed a river rock-armored forebay and swale, designed to direct water, reduce erosion, and improve water infiltration.

River rock armored swale and infiltration trench

As we dug nearly 3 feet deep to install the storm water infrastructure, we were pleasantly surprised by the soil’s composition—loose and well-draining, ideal for hand excavation. Considering the landscape’s natural slope and soil conditions, we hypothesized that the entire hill might be a moraine of glacial till, left behind thousands of years ago by retreating glaciers. A soil test from Rutgers was consistent with this idea, classifying the soil as sandy loam, with  an unusually high percentage of organic matter for that texture.

If you are interested in testing your you can contact Rutgers soil testing lab.

Enter the Matrix

Throughout the winter, we dove into planning the next phase of the landscape, building upon the existing conditions and natural grade of the front yard. The layout was clear: the steeper areas would be transformed into lush planting zones, while the flatter sections would be carefully graded and maintained to create terraces of inviting lawn spaces for relaxing and enjoying the garden. These zones were carefully flagged, and the plan was reviewed and refined with the client on-site. We took precise measurements to estimate the square footage of the proposed planting areas and determined the ideal plant ratio: 40% shrubs, 25% perennials, 35% grasses, and 5% boulders. Armed with this framework, we curated a thoughtful plant list featuring native species and cultivars, aiming to stay as true to the local flora as possible while considering practical needs. A conceptual planting plan was then created, outlining the front yard slope and driveway planting area—setting the stage for a beautifully balanced landscape to unfold.

Conceptual Master Plan
Flags were used to delineate garden beds and terraced lawn

Creating Rhythm and Flow

While the primary focus of this project is the front yard, circulation and egress across the entire property were thoughtfully incorporated into the master plan. Early in the spring, we installed a set of natural stone steps, framed by boulders, to navigate the slippery steep slope of grass beneath the home’s shaded canopy. This new connection seamlessly links the front yard to the backyard, enhancing both accessibility and flow throughout the landscape.

Natural Stone Staircase and Christmas Fern Planting

Sculpting the Steep Slope

As spring progressed, we completed the planting of the front foundation with grasses and began preparing the remaining garden beds. The existing slope presented a significant challenge, making the use of heavy machinery nearly impossible. Opting for a more hands-on approach, we tackled the work manually. Though we used a sod cutter where feasible, we removed  most of the lawn with sharpened garden hoes, with approximately 60 yards of sod, roots, and soil painstakingly loaded into wheelbarrows and carted off to the dumpster. The effort, though labor-intensive, was crucial to the process of soil reconditioning, removing much of the seed bank and persistent lawn weeds.

Lawn removal done by hand necessitated by steep slope
Topsoil ,Compost, and Boulders are added the Garden before planting

Balance, Form, and Function

‘Winter King’ Hawthorns provide stunning spring blossoms and vibrant red fruit, which not only catch the eye of garden enthusiasts but also attract birds in the winter, and pollinators in the spring. Their strategic placement was key to anchoring the garden, framing the house with their elegant presence. Once the trees were positioned and the conceptual plan in hand, we took the design into the field, working alongside the client to fine-tune plant placement in real time, adjusting as we went.

Placing the ‘Winter King’ Hawthorn

Given the scale of the planting, it was essential to create plant masses that felt cohesive yet not overwhelming. The natural slope of the land played a significant role in our decisions—taller plants were placed lower down  on the slope, acting as a buffer from the street and framing the higher garden beds. In contrast, we strategically placed low growing perennials in the upper beds, nestled in front of the garden wall between the hawthorns.

‘Winter King’ Hawthorn’s balance the landscape while providing wildlife resources, masses of Blue Mist Flower, Side Oats, and Agastache are underplanted below

In the some of the steepest areas of the sloped garden more erosion control measures were needed.  Jute netting was stapled into the landscape, and plants were planting throughout.

The driveway planting bed offered a unique challenge, with a different plant ratio and species mix, tailored to its specific conditions. Shaded by mature trees, including a willow oak and flowering dogwoods, this area called for a distinct palette of native plants. Despite the variety, we we designed to maintain a sense of unity through overlapping rhythms, textures, and forms, ensuring it harmonized beautifully with the rest of the landscape. This diversity creates resilience and resources for pollinators and wildlife.

Driveway Shade Garden

Mastering Maintenance: Irrigation, Weeding, and Erosion Control on Steep Slopes

With planting complete in early summer, the next challenge was achieving the right balance between irrigation, weeding, and soil erosion. Without a strategic approach, a negative feedback loop can easily emerge. Excessive irrigation encourages weeds, weeding disturbs the soil, which increases erosion and weed pressure—especially tricky on a  steep slope. Over time, as the garden matures, this becomes less of a concern, but in the early stages, it requires vigilant attention.

Evolving the Landscape: Enhancing Access and Plant Composition

As we continued to monitor the garden into the fall, we worked closely with the client to find ways to improve access to the garden beds and create safe, easy pathways to navigate the slope. To address this, we installed two stone staircases, which also necessitated transplanting some of the year’s plants. This turned out to be a great opportunity to re-edit and refine the landscape. As a team with the client we agreed, although great for the pollinators, the large swaths of mountain mint and blue mist flower were overwhelming for this particular garden. We reduced or removed these plants entirely. Meanwhile, smaller plant clusters were relocated and concentrated in more impactful areas, improving both the visual strength and legibility of the garden.

 

The middle lawn was regraded and fresh sod was installed. We installed stairs to help navigate the steep slope
Street view of the garden after mulching

 

Pollinators & Biodiversity FAQs

Q: What is a Pollinator Pathway?
A: Towns in New York and Connecticut along and between the Hudson and Housatonic Rivers are working together in engaging homeowners to establish pollinator-friendly habitat and food sources for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinating insects and wildlife, thus creating continuous pollinator-friendly and wildlife corridors. The Pollinator Pathway initiative is significant because of its scale and ability to link larger habitats together, for example inland forests with coastal areas, thereby reducing habitat fragmentation and revitalizing threatened species. Learn more about Pollinator Pathways

Q: Are pollinators really in decline?
A: For over a decade, bees have been on the decline. Charismatic indicator species like Monarch butterflies have also faced extreme fluctuations, with populations dropping 44% in 2013. Stressors that pollinators face that negatively impact their populations include: pesticide use; loss of habitat due to land fragmentation; climate change, which is disrupting synchronization between flower bloom time and pollinator emergence; air pollution; and light pollution. According to NRCS, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of animal pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insects.

Q: Are Birds Really in Decline?
A: Yes, bird populations have declined by nearly 3 billion birds since 1970. Species most dramatically affected include orioles, meadowlarks, swallows and warblers. Researchers attribute this decline to habitat loss (from over development and climate change), pesticide use, insect decline, outdoor cats who prey on birds, and glass windows that birds fly into. 47% of the species studied (122 of 261 species) showed significant population declines, with accelerations of these declines found in agricultural areas where synthetic chemicals and prominent. Read more about the study here.

Q: How Can I Turn My Yard into a Habitat for Birds and Pollinators?
A: GJLD abides by the National Wildlife Fund (NWF) Certified Wildlife Habitat guidelines when designing backyard habitats. The NWF stipulates that habitats should have year- round food sources, meaning a sequence of native flowers, seedheads and berries for pollinators and birds to feed on. 70% native plants within your home landscape is a good benchmark. It is of the utmost importance that your landscape is maintained organically, otherwise synthetic pesticides and herbicides turn these valuable food sources into poison. Water sources, for drinking and bathing, are equally important. Try adding a bird bath, bubbler or other water feature with shallow ledges or stones to invite
birds to bathe in and pollinators to drink from. Water is also a dragonfly habitat, and dragonflies are natural mosquito predators. Your yard should also have multiple mass plantings, “safe cover,” as NWF describes, where wildlife can safely move from habitat to habitat within your yard. Within these masses, you should include woody shrubs, grasses, and native trees, which make great nesting spots and nesting materials for birds. NWF also promotes sustainable gardening practices, including conserving soil and water, reducing impermeable surfaces, removing invasive plants, reducing lawn area, and turning off lights at night.

Organics FAQs

Q: What standards does Green Jay follow for organic landscaping?
A:

  • No synthetic chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides).
  • No cedar oil, neem oil, or horticultural oils – they are indiscriminate in their impact on all insects, pest and beneficial alike.
  • No mosquito control or tick control applications – these are ineffective towards their target and end up harming beneficial insects.
  • Only Natural-Source Earth Products.

We are NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals. We also follow standards promoted by the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Bedford 2030 Healthy Yard Program, NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat, the Rye Healthy Yard Program, and the H2H Pollinator Pathway project.

Q: Do organic properties look as good as chemical ones?
A: Absolutely. With proper planting and an organic maintenance program, our organic properties are just as lush, colorful, and thriving as traditional properties. The only difference you will notice is the plethora of pollinators and birds that can safely visit your organic property. For more information, view our Organic Lawn, Tree & Shrub programs.

Q: How can I improve my landscape organically?
A: Start with the soil. We take a soil chemistry test of the garden beds and lawn for all of our properties and then determine what organic soil amendments and applications may be necessary. Cultivating a soil microbial community will greatly improve the health of your landscape. Plant a diversity of plants that attract beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps and syrphid flies. These insect populations naturally respond to plant pest problems like aphids, gypsy moths, and spider mites, eliminating the need to use pernicious chemicals.

Q: Are Green Jay Landscape Design properties child and pet safe?
A: Yes. All of the products and applications we use are derived from natural-source earth materials. They are harmless to pets, children, elders, and any landscape visitor. Unlike traditional chemical programs, our organic products do not persist in the environment, and they have no risk of being tracked indoors (where they cannot break down because of the lack of UV radiation and are more likely to be trapped in carpets and furniture).

Q: How do I know if I have healthy soil?
A: There are many factors, but a few signs that you have a rich, nutrient-dense soil include:

  • Soil color is darker and crumbles easily off plant roots.
  • Soil organisms are present as they aerate soil.
  • Good water infiltration where water drains within five seconds of pouring water in an area.
  • Soil structure shape is retained when pressure applied.
  • No compaction is present. Compacted soils reduce circulation of water and nutrients and beneficial organisms to move around roots.
  • Root development is healthy.
  • Plant leaves are rich in color and growing.

 

Interested in improving your landscape? Contact us for a consultation!

914-560-6570

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Designing a landscape for a newly renovated home or new build brings a special sort of excitement that only blank slates and full creative freedom can bring. Something about welcoming a new structure into a landscape that complements its style, grounds it in place, and benefits the local ecology is immensely rewarding. Of course, a “blank slate” doesn’t really exist in the real world. We are always dealing with variables such as construction debris compromising soils, watersheds and topography influencing stormwater behavior, and neighboring developments impacting viewsheds and lifestyle. At this Dobbs Ferry property, we had ample space to flex our creativity muscles, with the front yard landscaping, while also tackling very specific site condition issues: improving stormwater management, screening the adjacent property, and managing the pond. The client hired us for a Landscape Design Master Plan and completed the work in phases, with site development starting in the fall and winter, and planting completed in spring.

Contemporary front entry planting, designed and built by Green Jay Landscape Design.

This project is #2 in our Best Landscape Design & Build Projects of 2024 series!

Catch up on the other projects in the Top 5:

#3: Hilltop Edge Habitat Fit for a Public Garden

#4: Restoring Functionality & Reducing Erosion on a Steep Slope

#5: Nature Play at Home: Designing a Backyard World of Wonder

Contemporary Front Yard Landscaping for Pollinator

We knew the front yard landscaping needed to have a contemporary feel, to match the renovation style, without compromising our biodiversity goals. We designed a matrix-style planting, using native grasses and sedges (little bluestem, purple love grass, Cherokee sedge, to name a few) as matrix plants to provide visual consistency and fill in gaps between other highly ornamental plants (vignettes).

Matrix planting along the front walk favors grasses and spreading shrubs for visual consistency.

The front yard landscape also includes many dwarf shrubs, some flowering, some evergreen, to create structure throughout the seasons, particularly in fall and winter. Chokeberry and Inkberry are native shrubs that provide critical berry sources for birds, plus aesthetically, they offer beautiful fall color or evergreen foliage, respectively.

Inkberry shrubs and hydrangeas interspersed with native grasses create the perfect backdrop for perennials to shine.

The overall composition has a whimsical lightness to it, thanks in part to airy plants that catch the morning light beautifully.  We opted for contrasting flower shapes, which have the added benefit of attracting a larger range of pollinators.

Some of our favorite perennials for pollinators and beneficial insects!
Careful selection of plants allows to optimize biodiversity while maintaining visual continuity.

It was important to the client that their views of the pond were preserved, so the overall height of the front yard is low.

Contrasting textures along the driveway for a low-maintenance landscape.

Along the driveway entrance beds, we opted for shadier low-growing plants to maintain a clear view of the stunning new architecture. Masses of contrasting textures make for a simple, low maintenance and deer-proof planting. This is especially important for the driveway beds outside of the deer fence.

Coralbells, Dogwood and Sedges create habitat and visual contrast, especially against boulder accents.

Stormwater Management with Bioswales

The front yard landscape slopes toward the backyard, so we knew we had to create pathways for the stormwater to flow. In the front entry landscape and on the other side of the house, we constructed three bioswales of gravel and river rock.

River rock bioswale directs stormwater alongside existing steps in the front yard.

Bioswales direct stormwater, while also interrupting it and slowing it down. Stormwater running across stone is less erosive and destructive than when it runs through soil.

A bioswale in the front yard lined with native shrubs and boulders for an attractive and functional feature.

Pond Management

A large pond resides in the front yard of the property, with a large expanse of lawn between the pond and the house. We knew we needed a vegetative border of some sort to intercept any nutrient runoff coming from the lawn, but we also couldn’t obscure all views of the water from the house.

Enjoy the view and the show! Bench-side pollinator pocket garden.

We designed three “pocket gardens” of native, moisture-loving perennials and ferns. These isolated gardens were a great opportunity to use some of our wilder native perennials, like goldenrod (considered the best native perennial for bees).

Moisture loving native perennials and ferns are the perfect pond bank planting.

On the side of the pond, we seeded the area with a conservation mix and planted some wetland shrubs along the border.

Mowed path through a seeded conservation mix zone along the far pond banks.

Since the surrounding topography, outside of the property lines, was shedding water toward the pond from all directions, we also installed some perforated pipe drywells to help disperse the water underground before it has a chance to erode the pond bank.

Bioswale with river rock and fieldstone directs surface water to the pond through one channel instead of many.

We also installed some bioswales along the pond border to help direct sheet flow in specific locations, another erosion control technique.

Screening & Erosion Control on a Slope

The backyard slopes down toward the neighbors’ and lacked any understory planting beneath the mature trees. The client desired screening of the neighbors’ property, and we knew the slope, in its current state, was prone to erosion. GJLD crews armored the slope with large boulders to help stabilize critical during the planting establishment phase, until the roots can secure the soil further.

Boulder-armored slope with river rock bioswale behind it, directing water from the side yard.

We also installed a drainage system off the gutters and leaders, called a level spreader with vertical infiltrators. It essentially acts as a dry well across a larger area, and allows stormwater to infiltrate horizontally and vertically across the backyard.

Excavating for the drainage system.
Installing pipes for the level spreader drainage system.

 

We designed a native shrub border to create a mid-layer of screening vegetation and secure the slope. The plant selection also creates essential bird habitat by providing berries, insect habitat and safe cover for nesting.

Backyard landscape has visual layers and effectively projects the slope.
We often call this style planting a “living fence.”
Below the shrub planting, we seeded with a no-mow lawn mix for low-maintenance coverage.

For more information on this project, visit the case study in our Portfolio.

Now Scheduling Landscape Design Projects for 2025

Do you have a new construction home that needs an ecological landscape design to complete it? Stormwater, erosion, or screening plaguing your current landscape? Want to foster more bird and pollinator habitat at home? Contact us to schedule a consultation!

Lush plantings are the perfect backdrop in a front foundation.
Break convention and embrace biodiversity with a contemporary foundation planting in your front yard landscaping.

—

Green Jay Landscape Design

914-560-6570

Follow us on Instagram for more projects!

Expansive and unique, this project had to make our top three landscape design projects of 2024. Sited atop a hill in Fairfield County, Connecticut, the property already had extensive landscaping. The client approached us with a very specific objective: designing a garden around a custom gazebo in the lawn, with a woodland border underplanting behind it. The massive garden becomes an edge habitat and flyway between the woodlands encircling the four-acre property, an essential link between larger habitats. The scale, at almost an acre of new gardens, represents a massive addition of biomass and biodiversity – an ecological achievement in itself!

Newly planted gazebo garden extends the woodland edge habitat and offers immense biodiversity.

Harsh Hilltop Site Conditions

 The stunning hilltop location comes hand in hand with challenging site conditions. It sits at a higher elevation, atop a plateau on the hilltop, where winds are stronger, and the resulting microclimate is colder and drier. Within a rural zone of Fairfield County, the historical land use was agricultural and logging, which influenced the current soil profile.

The site: an expanse of lawn, mature oaks surround the gazebo, with a steep wooded drop off the hillside behind.

Soils on top of a hillside are more prone to erosion – from wind, stormwater, and the gradual depletion of soil from traditional maintenance practices like removing lawn clippings and leaves (that provide essential organic matter for creating new topsoil).

Gorgeous view of a nearby lake is a reminder of the fragility and ripple effect of this landscape environment.

The four-acre property is in proximity to three major river systems and includes wetlands, woodlands, pasture lands, and an expansive lawn area. The lawn, from a bird’s perspective, is a dangerous open land offering no food source, no cover, no nesting materials, and no water. It is a high stakes flyway between two valuable habitats, where they are most vulnerable to attack from predators. Bridging these environments with an edge habitat and safe, vegetated flyway has enormous potential for extending wildlife habitat.

A Client with a Vision

When we arrived on site for the consultation, the client had already staked out his desired landscape area. It centered around a massive custom gazebo in the lawn, with four amorphous quadrants extending from it, leaving space for four mowed paths dissecting them. A mature oak in one quadrant also had an existing swing hanging from its branch, that swung perfectly through one of the mowed paths – well thought out!

Staked out quandrants and paths, with the existing swing and gazebo.

Just behind the gazebo garden, the woodlot begins and drops steeply down the hillside. The client had an existing trail system and wanted to add underplanting at the woodland border and along the initial stretch of trail.

Before: woodland border is filled with garlic mustard and other invasive species.

The scale of the proposed garden and the grandeur of the existing gazebo are on par with public spaces like botanical gardens and public parks. What a treat to work on such a project!

Designing an Edge Habitat and Savanah Landscape

The site receives a range of light conditions, from deep and dappled shade in the woodland to part shade to full sun throughout the gazebo garden. This variety of microclimates offers immense opportunities for biodiversity and, on the flip side, can make continuity throughout the landscape more challenging. With over 1300 plants planted, we aimed to strike a balance between biodiversity and visual legibility.

Plant delivery! Staging 1,300 plants for placement in the garden is no small feat!

The woodland underplanting palette is heavy on native shade-loving shrubs like dwarf fothergilla, itea and dogwood. Interspersed with the shrub groupings are masses of native ferns, sedges and wildflowers.

Woodland Edge Habitat planting plan, designed and installed by Green Jay Landscape Design.

Bloom periods for woodland natives are often shorter and concentrated in spring, so choosing plants with enduring foliage interest, or appealing visual succession (ie. from flower to berry) pack more visual punch.

Gazebo planting plan, designed and installed by Green Jay Landscape Design.

In the gazebo garden, a mix of ornamental grasses and native perennials form a tapestry of color and habitat. Given the light conditions, the grasses were concentrated in the sunnier quadrant which faces the home, creating a frame and structural support for the perennials behind. With the mature oak anchoring the garden, the plant palette takes on the aesthetic of a savannah, a type of grassland interspersed with trees.

Newly planted gazebo garden.

We like to think of the gazebo garden as the birds’ shopping center: it is so jam-packed with biodiversity, specially chosen for their continuous sequence of food unfolding throughout the season. There is something for everyone, at every time of year. Butterflies and bees pollinate the perennials; birds eat the caterpillars, seedheads and berries; the cycle continues.

Baltimore Oriole taking shelter in a newly planted Hydrangea shrub.

We also peppered in larger Viburnums through the gazebo garden, essentially acting as bird islands, with their mass of branches, flowers, and berries.  It is important to include larger woody shrubs to help transition birds from the upper canopy to the lower garden safely. Woody plants have the added benefit of creating spider habitat – their branching structure supports spider webs – which act as natural pest control in an organic garden.

Boulder accents are an important ingredient for multi-season interest.

Boulder accents, repurposed from old farming walls on site, were placed throughout the gazebo garden to create contrast among the plants and structural winter interest. Plus, they are very low maintenance. We also reclaimed fieldstone from the woodland and used it to line and define the existing trail.

Placed plants along the woodland edge habitat connects the woodlands habitat to the savannah habitat.

Planning an Efficient Installation

Garden areas of this size require careful planning to ensure an efficient install that does not leave bare soil exposed for very long (bare soil is ripe for erosion). In this case, we brought on extra crew members to remove turf from the garden zone with sod cutters.

Crew members use sod cutters to remove turf grass.
Garden area de-thatched and ready for grading with new engineered topsoil.

Removing turf is relatively efficient when it is on a flat enough plane to use a sod cutter. Since turf only has about three inches of root depth, it can be cut away and rolled up like a carpet. However, you must be fastidious in removing any clippings that may fall in the process, as they will create a maintenance headache down the road, ass grass begins to germinate in the garden.

We were fortunate to be able to compost the turf on site in a portion of the woodland, which made the project more efficient altogether.

Given how vulnerable the site is to erosion, the remaining soil depth once the turf was removed was too thin to ensure successful establishment of the new plants. We graded about fifteen yards of soil throughout the gazebo garden and woodland edge habitat. Most native plants require 6” – 1’ of root depth, so we wanted to plant into at least 3-4” of good soil to start. Again, the added crew members helped us to efficiently spread the soil and prepare the area for planting.

GJLD crew removing invasive vegetation from the woodland border to prepare for planting.

Habitat-Specific Soil Amendments

As organic land stewards, we take our soil amendments very seriously. Organic fertilizer, bio-stimulants, and compost are key component of our organic program. For this project, we tailored the soil amendments for each zone. Perennials and herbaceous plants tend to cultivate a bacteria-based soil microbe support system, while woody plants cultivate a fungal-based soil microbe support system. Knowing this, we applied slightly different products to each zone to cultivate the right kind of microbial communities for our designed plant communities.

Prairie plants, like our native ornamental grasses and other charismatic native perennials, prefer very lean soil, so we omitted compost for this section of the garden. We also added sand around some of the native grass plantings to better imitate the prairie soils.

Newly graded and amended gazebo garden beds are ready for planting!

By choosing a leaner soil type when grading the project, we ensured we weren’t over-enriching the soil. Side note: most commercially available soil is made by mixing soil dug from a foundation of a building project with leaf and brush compost. While this may be an economical model, it results in soil with 30-40% organic matter! Most plants prefer 10% at most, and many native plants even less. By purchasing a more mineral soil blend, we can better control the quantity and quality of compost to add.

The client had collected leaves from the property and stored them in a compost pile. We repurposed it as mulch for the woodland garden, creating a slow-release drip of nutrients and protecting bare soil.

A Savanah edge-habitat fit for a botanical garden!

Best Landscape Designs of 2024

This project is part of our count down of the Best Landscape Design Projects of 2024, ranking #3!

Read about the rest of the top five:

#4: Restoring Functionality & Reducing Erosion on a Steep Slope

#5: Nature Play at Home: Designing a Backyard World of Wonder

Interested in improving your landscape? Contact us for a consultation!

Childhood is a magical time, filled with curiosity, creativity, and play. For these Montclair, New Jersey clients, it was important to transform their backyard into a child-centric play area that felt incorporated into the landscape.  Natural Play Areas are built with natural materials and foster different types of outdoor play and movement, and an appreciation for nature. With more and more children spending time indoors in front of screens, designing appealing play areas at home makes access to outdoor nature play easy and part of a regular routine.

Natural play features including a timber tower of logs, balance beams, and a vegetated tunnel.

Designing Natural Play Areas

We had a blast collaborating with our clients on what kind of play spaces were most desirable for their family. Effective play areas for children foster spontaneous play – where the kids can take the wheel and let their imagination run wild.

Woodchip trail meanders through the play areas, creating desirable space for kids to wander and explore.

We knew from past designs that woodland trails are a favorite for children – weaving through mature trees and lush underplantings, they inspire exploration, observation and a connection to nature.  We decided a woodchip trail would also serve as the connective thread between each play area.

We designed six unique play features using only natural materials:

  • Balance Beams – made of wood and log stumps. Helps develop balancing skills, coordination, spontaneous movement.
  • Timber Tower – a series of cut logs of different heights create a graduated surface to climb, building strength and agility and inspiring countless king of the hill games.
  • Boulder Scramble – a stack of varying size boulders to inspire future rock climbers and build body awareness.
  • Stone Bridge – crosses the faux stream bioswale and is a catalyst for imaginative play
  • Vining Tunnel – a wooden tunnel acts as a trellis for climbing hydrangea and creates a leafy passage or play house.
  • Council Ring – a kid-sized seating area of sitting boulders offers space to rest, discuss and contemplate within the landscape

 

Stack of boulders of various sizes makes for a natural jungle gym.
Climbing boulders with the vegetated tunnel and balance beams in the background.
Balance beam obstacle course and timber tower in the woodland understory.
Kid-sized sitting boulders form a rustic council ring.

In addition to these unique play areas, we incorporated the clients’ existing playset, setting it on a proper base of Certified Playground Mulch and connecting it to the other play features via woodland trail.

Clients’ play set, on a raised base supported by timber ties, sits directly next to the adult entertaining patio.

Another prominent feature of this backyard design is the flagstone patio, which we sited at the top of the backyard, next to the play area. This additional patio creates a relaxing area for adults to reside while keeping an eye on the children playing.

Newly constructed flagstone patio offers a fire pit entertaining area.

The existing patio of the house is small and can only accommodate a dinning table and grill. The upper patio offered an opportunity for a fire pit and unique views of the new backyard landscaping.

Landscape Construction: Making a Design a Reality

This project involved extensive site development before any planting or play feature construction. The backyard is sloped and mostly lawn, that had succumbed to soil loss from erosion. We knew we needed to add significant amounts of soil to reestablish a planting depth.

Renovated and graded lawn as viewed from new fieldstone staircase.
Fieldstone staircase construction and grading were completed during winter months.

Aside from the flagstone patio, we also needed to construct a fieldstone staircase to connect it to the lower existing patio. Large fieldstone steppers on a rammed Earth base, lined with a “boulder rail” continues the naturalistic aesthetic and feels as if it has always been there.

Fieldstone staircase with a boulder rail and river rock accents.
June photo of the new landscape after installing in early spring; early installs allow new landscapes to fill in by the peak summer season.

We started the masonry and site development in late fall, which is a great way to get ahead on the project and be slotted for early spring planting installation.

Erosion blankets help secure slope as turf seed gets established.

The remaining area of the backyard required a lawn renovation and additional grading. We completed this in November as well, using erosion blankets to secure the slope as the seed germinated. Spot seeding in the spring fills in any gaps from the November germination.

Creative Sourcing for Natural Play Areas

We had never built these kinds of play features before, so we had to get creative with our material sourcing. To construct the Timber Tower, we purchased trunks and large branches from a local tree company and had them cut to specified, varying lengths. We dug a pit, created a layout, and buried 18” of each log to secure it in place.

Buying logs from a local tree company to create the Timber Tower.
Burying cut logs at different heights to create the timber tower.

For the Boulder Scramble, we used granite curbing To create the base, then our masons expertly stacked different size boulders on top of each other securely.

Building the boulder scramble with granite curbing and varying boulder sizes.

Stormwater Considerations

Since the backyard is sloped, we knew we had to direct and manage stormwater. One side of the backyard naturally collected stormwater, so we decided to turn that zone into a rain garden and use a faux stream bioswale to funnel it that way from the top of the slope. A bioswale is essentially a trench with a gravel base, topped with decorative river rock.

River rock bioswale (with stone bridge!) directs stormwater.

This is a great example of incorporating stormwater management into attractive design elements, rather than using underground drainage infrastructure which is often more expensive and intrusive to install. In this case, adding a stone bridge across the ‘faux stream’ bioswale added another imaginative element to the children’s World of Wonder natural playscape.

Video Tour

If you loved this blog, check out our video tour with Jay himself!

 

Phase Two Landscape Installation

Now that the clients have the ultimate nature-based play area in their backyard, the next phase will be installing the front yard landscape this spring. The front yard is uniquely challenging, with a steep, shady slope and a history of ornamental bittersweet.

Contact us to start your landscape design project – we love creating family friendly landscapes to inspire the next generation of nature lovers.

The so-called river towns of Westchester County have an immense amount of charm—views of the Hudson! – as well as their challenges: steep topography coursing through small lots. This natural topography often creates very steep yards with little level space outside the footprint of the home.  For these clients in Dobbs Ferry, New York, expanding their functional backyard space to accommodate their growing family was a high priority. The backyard’s old masonry was not standing the test of time and required repairs and reconstruction to make it child-safe again. The clients hired us for a Landscape Design Master Plan for the whole property and decided to start with the backyard as Phase One for installation.  Below we detail the design and installation process for this complex, steep slope landscaping project.

Restored slope is erosion proof, has a softer grade and is incorporated into the landscape.
Landscape Design Master Plan for a woodland steep slope in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

Assessing the Site, Designing to Improve Function

The backyard of this property is about half slope and encircled on most sides by mature trees, making it a shady site.  Overgrown Burning Bush and Andromeda around the patio isolated the space from the rest of the yard. A narrow and crumbling set of stone steps led up the hillside to a deer trail. The landscaping was effectively shrinking the yard instead of complimenting and enhancing it.

Before photo: the slope is more of a boundary than an incorporated landscape feature.
Before photo: outsized shrubs on the patio border make the space feel more confined.d
Existing stone staircase is narrow, irregular and loose; it needed to be replaced.

We knew we had to reclaim the slope and make it a feature of the yard again. To do so, we designed a larger and more gradual fieldstone staircase to navigate the slope, culminating at a woodchip trail that runs the length of the backyard. Nature trails are one of our favorite ways to create a kid-friendly landscape. They encourage exploration, movement and have a sense of mystery and adventure.

The upper slope had potential to become a feature!

Grading the slope with significant amounts of topsoil would soften the grade and restore a planting depth of soil that had been lost after years of erosion. We designed a native woodland planting for the slope, featuring native flowering or evergreen shrubs, ferns, sedges, and wildflowers.

A hedge of native switchgrass conceals the iron fence dividing the front and backyard and blueberry shrubs are incorporated as a native, edible element for the outdoor classroom.  We even helped the client select the perfect native tree to plant to commemorate their son’s birth: a flowering dogwood.

Staging Materials & Project Management

Another challenge to this property is accessing the backyard. From the driveway, materials would need to be hauled up a significant staircase and through a gate to reach the backyard. Instead, we opted to temporarily remove part of the chain link fence enclosing the backyard to give us direct access from the road, a much more efficient staging area. Since the client has dogs, we made sure to secure the fence again at the end of each workday.

Hardscape: Fieldstone Staircase & Woodchip Path Construction

Beginning the staircase construction: laying a base for each step.

The first stage of this landscape installation was constructing the fieldstone staircase. We rented an articulator, a machine with extended range for the arm, to drop the large fieldstone steppers into place on the hillside, once the base was created. The base for each step is Item 4 and stone dust, a “rammed Earth” construction method that avoids using cement.

Master masons continue the fieldstone staircase construction.
GJLD crew finesses each stone placement by hand using crow bars and shovels.
Using a machine to place stones in the upper section of the staircase.

The woodchip path has a filter fabric base and several inches of Certified Playground Mulch on top.  We used fieldstone and cedar logs to line the path. At the far ends of the property, the woodchip path navigates the slope with cedar water bars acting as steps and erosion control.

Wood chip trail with cedar water bars and fieldstone.

Erosion Control Devices to Stabilize a Slope

Installed erosion socks and boulders set a foundation to stabilize the slope during storm events.

We installed two types of erosion control devices to help stabilize the slope and enable further grading: compostable erosion socks and boulders. The erosion socks are fabric tubes filled with woodchips that are staked into place along the hillside to create a physical barrier to interrupt stormwater and hold soil in place. They biodegrade over time.

Boulders do not biodegrade but are a constant physical barrier as well as an attractive garden accent.

Newly graded soil restores planting depth for new landscaping.

With the slope secured, we were able to add many yards of topsoil to the backyard, using a skid steer machine to move the soil while we finessed the new grade by hand.

Newly planted woodland slope with nature trail.
Beautiful fieldstone staircase is functional and invites your exploration.
Erosion socks and boulders secure the slope until the planting fills in and further stabilizes the soil with their roots.

Restoring an Existing Patio

Power washing the patio to remove mold and grime.

The clients existing patio did not have a proper base, and as a result the stones were shifting and no longer level. To restore the patio we took a three pronged approach: first we power washed the patio to remove the mold and grime. Next, we lifted every piece off stone so that we could create the proper base. Finally, we repointed the joints with stone dust to create a level surface.

Restoring the joints of the patio with stone dust.

Phase Two & Slope Landscape Progress

Stay tuned for more photos as this landscape matures! We can’t wait to see how this new landscape thrives. In spring of 2025 we will be completing the front yard as part of phase two. Follow us on socials to follow along! @greenjaylandscapedesign

To start your ecological landscape design or steep slope project, contact us today!

Nestled amidst a sloping topography, mature woodland and adjacent wetland, this contemporary Greenwich, CT home is sited amongst natural beauty, but is also prone to landscape drainage challenges.  A holistic evaluation of the property during the initial consultation and site visit led us to discover an underlying well issue that impacted our design decisions. Ultimately, the landscape drainage plan and planting design were sized to the water availability and a multi-pronged stormwater strategy resolved the pooling and intrusion issues. The timing was perfect, as winter can be the most dangerous time for landscape drainage impacts. Expansion and contraction from the freeze/thaw cycles of subgrade water against the foundation creates pressure and the potential for fissures and infiltration.

BEFORE: poorly chosen masonry materials and improper grading created landscape drainage issues.

Analyzing Landscape Drainage Conditions Holistically

There were clear signs of landscape drainage problems on this property. The existing drainage infrastructure was inadequate and during large storm events, the four gutters and leaders directed to the courtyard would overflow, flooding the courtyard. The surrounding lawn landscape pitched downslope toward the driveway, exacerbating the surface water sent toward the sunken courtyard.

Surface water from surrounding landscape is funneled down the driveway.

The existing bluestone patio in the courtyard was pitched improperly and directed stormwater toward the foundation. The patio was consistently covered in mold from the wet and shady conditions, creating a slippery surface and unhealthy respiratory stress. As an impervious space, it further inhibited stormwater infiltration.

The upper courtyard landscape bed above was planted with a monoculture of pachysandra, a notoriously inefficient plant for landscape drainage or stormwater absorption. Since pachysandra is an evergreen ground cover, it needs little water and has a shallow root system that barley diverts stormwater or secures the soil.

Beyond the Landscape: Asking the Right Questions

Another unique element of this property is the indoor swimming pool. The client had recently discovered a leak in the pool. The pool is connected to an auto refill (even indoor pools naturally evaporate) from the well holding tanks but was refilling at an alarming rate due to the leak.

When the client expressed concern about their well, we recommended they hire a well company to perform a well recovery test. Shockingly, their well recovery rate was only .75 gallons / minute. This is far too low for a family to live on. This critical piece of information shaped our design direction to phase in the landscaping until the well issue is resolved, instead of over-burdening the well with an extensive planting plan and irrigation plan.

Sunken Courtyard Stormwater Strategy & Design

After speaking with the client, we learned that although the courtyard is highly visible from within the home, the clients never used the outdoor patio. Its function was essentially view-only, and as an outdoor habitat for their box turtle. The family Labrador befriended the turtle, visiting it daily, like something straight out of a Disney movie!

We knew the bluestone patio had to be removed, it was not functional, and it was worsening the stormwater problem. Bluestone is slippery and moldy in cool weather and very hot in warm weather. Plus, once removed, we could install more sub-grade landscape drainage infrastructure. The bluestone patio was removed by hand and carried up a ladder to the driveway level.

Progress: bluestone patio removed, pachysandra reduced, and installation of drainage infrastructure begins.

We then installed a level spreader overflow pipe and drywell system.  By installing a T bracket on two of the existing leaders, the stormwater will still flow to the existing (unknown) drainage system below, but once that reaches capacity, it will exit into the level spreader.

T-bracket installation allows original landscape drainage system to function, and have an overflow system.

The level spreader consists of solid pipe for the first 10’ away from the foundation. It then switches to perforated pipe and connects to a flow well.

Stormwater Management Plan for a sunken courtyard in Westchester, NY.

Below the flow well is a three-foot vertical infiltrator, a perforated pipe extending down from the flow well, surrounded by gravel. The level spreader is overflow for the existing landscape drainage system, and the vertical infiltrator is overflow for the level spreader.

Level spreader installation in the courtyard directs stormwater away from foundation and allows it to infiltrate.

Gravel Garden & Grading

Another problem spot in the courtyard was around the patio, where the grade was inexplicably pitched toward a corner of the house, where it collected and caused intrusion. To remedy this, we regraded the entire area to properly pitch toward the new gravel patio.

In the corner, we installed a four-inch button drain (an exposed grate surrounded by gravel, with a edpm liner beneath to protect the foundation). The button drain is connected to a curtain drain (perforated pipe surrounded by gravel) which is pitched to the flo-well in the center of the gravel patio.

Courtyard and gravel garden designed for stormwater management.

To replace the bluestone patio, we opted for a Zen Gravel Garden: decorative gravel with boulder accents, all retained in an organic shape with aluminum edging. The gravel garden is aesthetically pleasing and allows stormwater to collect and infiltrate. All materials were brought in by hand, bucket by bucket down the ladder.

In the corners of the courtyard, we installed an impermeable pond liner apron along the foundation and covered it with decorative river rock, to protect the foundation and encourage evaporation.

Upper Courtyard Landscape Drainage

We also had to remove a stump and root system from an old Japanese maple. The stump and roots take up a significant amount of soil volume in the upper terrace, but do literally nothing for stormwater absorption, so removing the mass and replacing with new soil and planting was a significant improvement in biomass and absorption capacity.

Japanese Maple stump was removed to improve soil drainage capacity.

Rectifying a Slope & Mitigating Erosion

 Along the side of the house, a steep topography change and improper grading technique funneled water toward the house, eroding the slope in the process. Scouring of the soil was evident as well as a loss of soil depth.

We noticed one of the leaders had a broken elbow that leaked stormwater, exacerbating the landscape drainage issues. We replaced the elbow, installed a 20’ solid pipe directing stormwater to a new wagon wheel drywell, and re-graded the area.

A Wagon Wheel dry well consists of layers of perforated pipe arranged in gravel.

To create the wagon wheel, perforated PVC pipe was cut to 18’ length, laid sideways and horizontally, alternating layers, and filled with gravel to create enough of a void to improve infiltration. The entire system is encapsulated by filter fabric with 6” of soil to allow for lawn to grow above. This strategy only works with limited stormwater volume/flow and good soil infiltration rates, which can be determined by a simple percolation test.

In all these stormwater strategies, the objective is to relieve pressure from stormwater on the foundation walls. Modern construction requires two waterproof layers and an insulation layer around the foundation of the house, but many of the homes we work at are not up to code and need further steps to protect the integrity of the foundation.

Front yard landscape plan includes strategic planting to absorb stormwater.

Phase Two Landscape Installation

In the spring, we will return to install the planting along the driveway, which will contribute even more biomass and stormwater absorption capacity, intercepting sheet flow before it reaches the courtyard.

To get started on your landscape drainage or landscape design project, contact us today!