Philosophy

Personal

A landscape, especially a home landscape, is and should be a very personal space. It should be a creation designed to best fit and express the unique desires and needs of each client. It should be a space that gives much satisfaction and even joy to you.

While we want and achieve customer satisfaction upon completion of our work, the true value of a landscape only shows over time. Three or five or ten years later is when the landscape should look its best. Therefore our first and foremost principle of the landscape work we do is that it be sustainable.

Functional

The landscape work we do is also very functional. We want the landscapes we design, build and maintain to be usable by our clients, in whatever fashion they desire. Whether you want to entertain large parties or have a quiet meditation spot we design to meet your needs. We creatively block objectionable views and frame desired ones. Your landscape should be a creation that works for you!

Sustainable

Along with being sustainable and functional, we want your landscape to be truly beautiful. We interview our clients to find their aesthetic preferences and then work to create the beauty that will most speak to them. We often combine plants of different textures, forms and colors that will bring interest and variety together in stunning ways. We can design to invite and sustain wildlife or bring elements of sound, movement and fragrance to your landscape.

Our Approach

Our plants are selected and placed with their mature size in mind. This has several beneficial effects, especially in the long-term. The increases the likelihood that the plant doesn’t grow too big and then need constant heavy pruning which means less work for you and the plant looks better. Additionally, heavy pruning can adversely affect plant health, thus the plant is more likely to thrive and, again, look better.

There are lots of other little things we do with soils, irrigation and plants to help create just the right environment for your plants. But it all comes down to our goal of putting your plants in an environment in which they’ll naturally thrive… and then let Mother Nature take care of her own.

Environmental Considerations

SHG is an environmentally sensitive company. We recycle wherever possible. This includes office products as well as a portion of our field crew’s empty cans, bottles and cardboard. We keep our trucks tuned and our tires inflated to increase our fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

We also practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This means we use the lowest toxicity and most accurately targeted pest control methods. We use a range of methods, from cultural and physical (blasts of water--healthy plants defend themselves), to biological (release of beneficial predators), and finally chemical methods (fungicides, herbicide, insecticides).

When chemicals must be used, we use the lowest toxicity with the highest specificity product. We constantly look for ways we can be more environmentally sensitive. Perhaps most importantly, we build our landscapes to last AND benefit the environment.

Our designs seek to shade buildings from hot sun but let the sun through in the winter. We also (if our customer so desires) build landscapes to attract, feed and house wildlife. With our focus on sustainability, these designs are meant to last without needing to be redone.

In general, our designs are meant to reduce maintenance, mostly by putting the right size plant in the right place. We also strive to be water-conscious, especially in creating efficient irrigation systems. Even our valves are better, less likely to leak or stick open, meaning less water is wasted. We strive to be beneficial in our community.