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Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. · Saturday: By appointment · Sunday: ClosedMonday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Fernwood Landscape Co.Bethesda, Maryland
(301) 555-0100
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Design

Garden design for Bethesda and Chevy Chase homes

A good plan answers the dull questions first: where the water goes, where the grade changes and what the trees will shade in July. Then it draws the garden you want on top of them.

What is included

  • A measured survey of the site and its levels

  • A plan drawn to scale, with sections through walls and steps

  • A materials list, with samples to look at

  • A planting schedule by bed, with light and water needs

  • Drawings for permits or association review

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A wide lawn and planted beds surround a lit shingle house at dusk

How it works

From the first visit to the finished work

  1. 01

    Step 1: Site visit

    We walk the property, measure, photograph and ask how you use each part of it.

  2. 02

    Step 2: Survey

    We record levels, trees, utilities and drainage, and mark what has to stay.

  3. 03

    Step 3: Concept

    You see two or three arrangements as sketches before one is drawn in detail.

  4. 04

    Step 4: Drawn plan

    We draw plan, sections, materials and planting, and go through them with you on the page.

When it is done

Design runs in the cold months

Plans are drawn in winter, so work is ready to start when the ground opens.

  • Winter

    Survey, concept and detailed plan. Permit papers are filed.

  • Spring

    Final changes, material orders and the start of construction.

  • Summer

    Plans for fall planting, and revisions to phase two.

  • Fall

    Surveys for next year, and a plan in hand before the first frost.

Sample work

Plans and the gardens they became

A stone path curves through flowering shrubs, clipped hedges and lawn toward a large brick house
A path drawn to curve around a mature tree
Clipped shrubs, ornamental grasses and flower beds edge a lawn in front of a white house
Clipped shrubs and grasses along a lawn edge
Rounded clipped shrubs and a red azalea fill the front garden of a cream house
Rounded evergreens with one seasonal accent

Sample photos.

Questions

About this work

Do I pay for the design separately?

The design is written up as its own proposal, so you can decide on the plan before you decide on the build. The proposal states what the design includes and when the work starts.

Can I keep what is already in the garden?

Often, yes. The survey marks the trees, shrubs and stone worth keeping, and the plan is drawn around them.

How many changes can I ask for?

As many as it takes to reach a plan you are happy with. We go through the plan on paper first, since changes are cheaper there than on site.

Walk the site with us

We take measurements, listen to how you use the garden and agree what to draw first.

Book a site visitTerraces and walls