Category: landscape design

Hedges Add Privacy and Beauty to Landscape Design in Bethesda MD

While fences can provide instant privacy to your yard, hedges add privacy and beauty to your landscape design in Bethesda MD. Here are some types of easy growing shrubs that work well in hedges for our gardening zones (6B, 7A).

  • Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
  • Columnar juniper (Juniperus scopulorum’Skyrocket’)
  • Columnar white pine (Pinus strobus’Fastigiata’)
  • English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
  • Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
  • Yew (Taxus x media)

For additional height, plant your hedge shrubs on berms (small hills or mounds). If you already have a fence, a hedge of shrubs can soften the look of the fence and give additional depth to your landscaping. To keep your shrubs looking their best, time their pruning (which is different depending on which shrub you choose) and make sure the bottom of the shrub is wider than the top.

For more information on hedges for your landscape design in Bethesda MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been Bethesda MD’s leading licensed landscape contractor; we’ve created many landscape designs that include hedges for privacy and beauty for homes in Bethesda MD. Please contact us today.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories Bethesda MD, landscape design, Uncategorized

Latest Trends in Landscape Design in Silver Spring MD

Thinking about a new landscape design for your Silver Spring MD home? Here are some of the latest trends for you to consider:

  • Your landscape design in Silver Spring MD should be a positive reflection of you and your health. This means incorporating plants that resonate with you, and enhance your mental and physical health. Think about how tastes, smells, textures, colors, and health benefits of plants affect you and your family.
  • Your landscape design can be both beautiful and good for the environment. For instance, you can have attractive native species plants that will thrive in specific areas around your Silver Spring MD home and conserve water. There are also organic methods for managing weeds, grass clippings, leaves, and feeding plants that will also benefit the environment.
  • Your landscape design should enhance your lifestyle and enjoyment of your Silver Spring MD home. A delightful path through wildflowers with a place to sit and read, a beautiful wood deck with planters full of herbs and edible flowers for dining, and outdoor mood lighting can really enhance the enjoyment of your Silver Spring MD home.

For more information on the latest trends in landscape design, and how they can benefit you and your Silver Spring MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been Silver Spring MD’s leading licensed landscape contractor, and has designed and installed landscapes that both enhance our clients’ lifestyles and the beauty of their homes.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories landscape design, Silver Spring MD

Landscape Design to Prevent Fall Allergies at your Rockville MD Home

Did you know that landscape design can prevent or lessen fall allergies at your Rockville MD home?

Fall allergies occur from mid-August until the first hard frost. These allergies are cause by both pollen and mold spores. The pollen comes from weeds and grasses, and the mold comes from fallen tree leaves.

If you or your family members suffer from fall allergies, you may think there’s nothing you can do – besides take allergy medicine, and invest in a huge Costco-sized pallet of tissues. However, there are changes you can make to your landscape design in Rockville MD to prevent or lessen fall allergies at your home. These changes include:

  • Weed reduction – mulch often and with hard materials where possible
  • Grass reduction – hardscape where possible, including patios and walkways
  • Leaf reduction – replace leafy trees with evergreens

For more information on landscape design to prevent fall allergies at your Rockville MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. For over 30 years, East Coast Landscape Design has been Rockville MD’s leading licensed landscape contractor, and has designed and installed many allergy-reducing landscapes.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories landscape design, Rockville Md

Make the Most Out Of Your Landscape Design in Bethesda MD

When you think of your dream home – doesn’t it always include beautiful landscaping? Here are some ways to make the most of your landscape design in Bethesda MD.

  • Don’t settle for a cheap patio or a deck or deck design. These are two cases where you get what you pay for. It’s definitely worth it to pay a professional designer to help you create the kind of space and design you will use and enjoy throughout different seasons.
  • Always go for quality over cheap products. It is easy to find products in many home improvement stores that are reduced cost but low quality. Shop at specialty stores to find the best equipment and advice from qualified professionals. Paying extra money will be worth it due to the fact that you’ll get better products as well as great advice.
  • Be wary of how new plants and trees will affect your home. There are a lot of things to consider such as pipes, gutters, and roofing materials that you have to worry about whenever you are landscaping. Make sure you are prepared to deal with these things – now, and in the future.
  • Regular maintenance is the easiest way to keep your landscaping looking great. Trim your bushes and hedges regularly. If you trim a hedge, or a bush when it is just starting to become over grown, it will be a quick and easy process. If you wait until the bush is completely over grown, you can expect the project to take all day.
  • When planning a landscaping project for your house, consider breaking your entire project down into much smaller jobs. This is important if you are not able to afford the entire project at one time. Doing so will let you tackle your project bit by bit, and not have your yard look like a mess in the meantime.

For more information on landscape design in Bethesda MD, please contact the expert landscapers at East Coast Landscape Design. We understand that a professionally designed, properly installed and maintained landscape adds beauty and function to your home. It also adds immense value and curb appeal to your Bethesda MD home.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories Bethesda MD, landscape design

Landscape Design to Prevent Flooding at Bethesda MD Homes

Flooding – it’s a huge problem for many homeowners – but did you know that great landscape design can prevent flooding in Bethesda MD?

Flooding in your home happens when your landscape can’t handle the water through proper drainage. This occurs due to having the wrong soil, soil erosion, a yard that slopes toward the home, plants that don’t capture the water, and a lack of water drainage through hardscaping.

If at all possible, flood prevention systems should be installed during the construction process. Unfortunately, water drainage is often overlooked, because many drainage problems don’t present themselves until after the home is built. So what landscape design changes can be done after construction in Bethesda MD?

  • Plants: plant flower beds in areas where the water tends to collect.
  • Catch basins: a drainage system that collects the water runoff at the edge of the landscape feature, such as the patio, driveway, or lawn and brings the water to a collection point through the use of underground drain pipe.
  • Dry streambeds: create a path for the water, directing it away from your house.
  • Retention ponds: this drainage system is located at the lowest point of the property to collect the storm water runoff.
  • Regular inspections: it’s important to have your landscape inspected by a qualified landscaper, such as East Coast Landscape Design, anytime you see a pattern of flooding.

For more information on landscape design in Bethesda, MD, that prevents home flooding, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. Our consultation will outline how to protect your home and create lasting beauty and value. We use erosion control applications to Maryland state specifications.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories Bethesda MD, landscape design

Landscape Design for Bethesda, MD Winters

Great landscape design in Bethesda, MD should allow you to keep your landscape safe and usable during the winter. With careful planning, you will be able to enjoy the view and wildlife while you use the hot tub, barbecue, patio, and walkways around your home. Here are some upgrades to consider:

  • Covered structures: A covered deck keeps the snow off of the hot tub, and allows you to grill out of the snow, sleet, and rain. A heated all season room allows you to enjoy the outside and wildlife, while staying comfy inside.
  • Heated patios and walkways:  Heating elements installed under new patios and walkways keep them clear of snow and ice, and safe for your family and friends.
  • Low-voltage lighting: Uplighting or downlighting adds beauty to winter landscape, and allows you to see winter wildlife.
  • Create interest: When annuals have died off and perennials are dormant, landscape design should consider the placement of evergreens and ornamental grasses. Include trees and shrubs that have berries they hold onto during fall and winter, and those can provide food for birds overwintering in your area.

For more information on landscape design for your Bethesda, MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. A successful landscape installation begins with a solid all-season design. Every East Coast installation in Bethesda, MD is completed with the utmost care and attention that you expect from a professional landscape company like East Coast Landscape Design.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories Bethesda MD, landscape design

Landscape Design in Gaithersburg, MD: Fall is a Great Time for Planting Trees and Shrubs

Fall is an ideal season for planting trees, shrubs and other assorted plants as a part of the landscape design for your Gaithersburg, MD home. Why?

The cooler, wetter weather is the perfect time for tree planting.  This is because the soil stays warm even after the air temperature cools, and that encourages root growth. During shoot dormancy, trees grow to establish roots in new locations before warm weather stimulates top growth.

Therefore, planting trees and shrubs in fall enables the root systems to grow before the hot summer returns. Trees planted in the fall are better equipped to deal with heat and drought in the following season. Your smaller plants will be established before winter sets in, and get a head start over shrubs in the spring. Larger plants will also get a head start since a general rule of thumb is one year per one inch of trunk diameter.

Another great reason to plant in the fall is because you can pick your trees and shrubs by the fall color they produce. Some tree species that are recommended for fall planting include the maple, buckeye, horse chestnut, alder, catalpa, hackberry, hawthorn, ash, honey locust, crabapple, spruce, pine, sycamore, linden and elm.

Planting can begin in September through November, but should not go too late into the fall, since the shrubs and trees won’t have as long to grow their root systems before the first hard freeze.

For more information on adding trees and shrubs to your landscape design in Gaithersburg, MD, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. A successful landscape installation begins with a solid design that includes a balanced choice of plants, shrubs, and trees for your Gaithersburg, MD property. Every East Coast installation is completed with the utmost care and attention that you expect from a professional landscape company like East Coast Landscape Design.

Posted on Author mdlandscaperCategories Gaithersburg MD, landscape design