Category: HOMEPAGE

As you look through our portfolio you may notice that we love natural materials. Our team takes pride in crafting beautiful plantings, artistic wood and steel structures, and of course, custom stonework. Stone is available in a wide range of colors and textures, demanding that the craftsman knows what it can and cannot be asked to do.

What type of stone is best suited for your project? I would have paid more attention in my 8 am college geology class had I known how important stone would become in my career! Basalt is widely used for columns and accent stones in water feature. The soft stone on historic buildings in the Manassas area is a rich red that was once quarried locally. Pennsylvania fieldstone is easy to shape with a hammer; New England granite is not.

Custom stonework means that we can design and fabricate stone in myriad ways for your project. With the help of cad landscape design we can have curved stone steps precisely cut to fit. The brackets that support this fireplace below were drawn and sent to a quarry that made them to our specifications, from stone that was local to them:

You can even select special stone finishes. For example, flagstone can be natural cleft, which just means that you get it just how it was split. You can get it thermal treated, which means a kiln is used to create a smooth, even texture that’s sort of like an orange peel. For mantels and firepits, you can even get a glass-smooth honed finish, like we did for this custom stonework gas firepit:

If you want to see what beautiful stonework we can design and install for you, contact us today!

When you look out at your yard, do you see the same problems that have bothered you for years and you can’t figure out a path forward? That’s where our 3D and CAD landscape design comes in. We not only provide a fresh perspective, we can create drawings that will help you visualize everything your landscape can be!

Once we’ve agreed on the details of the design, we start the process of site analysis – a fancy way of saying we measure and document everything that matters. We measure windows and doors. We locate trees, we locate patio edges. If there are plants we want to reuse, we ID what you have and create an inventory. Since we find crawling around in the bushes relaxing, it’s like a spa day for us!

That site information is then basemapped in AutoCAD. This gives us a dimensionally accurate starting point for the cad landscape design. From there we start working out concepts, seeing what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes the ideas we discussed with you at your home work as planned. Other times, we have to move on to something even better.

For the 3D design work, we use a program called SketchUp. Sometimes we complete the cad landscape design and then move to 3D. In some cases we need the 3D to help us work out details before finalizing the 2D drawings. 3D modeling has helped us complete projects on time and on budget simply because we can identify potential construction problems in the office – not in the field.

We don’t always do everything on the computer. Sometimes if it feels right, we do all or part of the design by hand. After years of designing, we’ve worked out some techniques that give us the beauty of a hand rendering with the precision of a computer generated drawing.

Above all, we recognize that the end goal isn’t creating pretty plans that don’t get built. The design work is just a tool to get us to the most important step: creating a gorgeous, one of a kind landscape that’s perfect for you.

If you want to find out just how much you’ll love working with us, contact us today!

At Revolutionary Gardens, it’s our goal to create outdoor spaces where you WANT to be. One way to ensure our clients interact with the landscape we design for them is to incorporate edible plants. The thing is, anyone can pick up a few blueberry plants and chuck them in their side yard. We see these plants as valuable design features, not just means to a (tasty) end.

From fruit trees and berry bushes to bountiful herb gardens, edible plants can serve you in so many more ways than just providing you with a snack. For example, cherry trees are touted from Washington, DC, to Bonn, Germany, to Japan for their delicately beautiful canopy of pink blossoms in springtime. You can capture that beauty in your own backyard- and end up with enough cherry preserves at the end of the season to feed your whole neighborhood! 

Your edible garden

The fact is- the edible nature of these plants is just one of their many characteristics. A cohesive edible garden design deftly intermingles its edible plants with the rest of the landscape. It considers their blooms, bark texture, shape, size, and all other notable characteristics just as if they were any other plant.

The result isn’t necessarily recognizable as an orchard or an herb garden, per se. Instead, it’s a bountiful landscape that appeals to all of your senses. You see scarlet pomegranate blossoms, hear the buzzing honeybees lazily drifting from flower to flower, smell the nostalgia of a home cooked meal as you run your hands across the soft mats of thyme and nodding rosemary fronds, and yes, you get to eat it all, too.

As I get older, I realize more and more just how rewarding it is to eat and share a well-cooked meal you’ve prepared with your own hands. Even when the ingredient list was cultivated at the grocery store, enjoying a home-cooked meal with loved ones is something special. Now, when the ingredients themselves are the literal fruits of your own labor, that feeling is amplified tenfold. In this way, edible gardens really are a gift that keeps on giving. 

Let us do the heavy lifting to give you the edible garden of your dreams! Reach out and we can work together to design something perfect for your needs.

Food cooked outside just tastes better. I can’t tell you why that is, but I can help you have more fun cooking outside and get better results. The right equipment is critical to quality outdoor kitchens in Virginia.

Revolutionary Gardens sells a wide range of outdoor kitchen and outdoor living products. We also custom fabricate items like built-in ice bins, utility backsplashes, and more. I love to cook, I know what is possible to achieve in and outdoor kitchen, and I have strong opinions. These are three things you want to find in whoever says they can design outdoor kitchens in Virginia.

Grills & appliances for outdoor kitchens

Cooking requires heat, which is why we start planning your outdoor kitchen around the grill. We offer gas grills (both propane and natural gas), charcoal grills, and ceramic egg cookers. Many of our manufacturers also offer companion appliances, including side burners, warming drawers, and refrigeration. We offer Fire Magic, AOG, MHP, Delta Heat, and many more.

Cabinetry that lasts!

When I built my first outdoor kitchen in the 1990s, it was a massive concrete block affair with very little in the way of usable storage. It was, in other words, just like every outdoor kitchen built back then. Times have changed and so have outdoor kitchen storage options!

We’re proud to be a dealer for both Danver stainless steel cabinets and Brown Jordan outdoor kitchens. Their cabinets are just like the cabinets you have in your kitchen, except that they’re built of stainless steel to withstand the outdoors. We have rain gaskets, soft close doors and drawers, and you can even get the cabinets powdercoated to match your outdoor decor. If you purchase a Summit, True, or Hoshizaki refrigerator or icemaker with your cabinet order, we can even have the doors coated to match your cabinets!

We also offer cabinets, doors, and drawers available from our grill and appliance partners, so you have a lot of styles and price points to choose from.

I can’t think of a single argument against sustainable landscapes. If I told you we could design a landscape that would require less maintenance and fewer inputs, would last longer, would cost you less in the long run, and was good for the planet, would you be interested?

What makes a sustainable landscape

The American Society of Landscape Architects describes sustainable landscapes thusly:

Sustainable landscapes are responsive to the environment, re-generative, and can actively contribute to the development of healthy communities. Sustainable landscapes sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, restore habitats, and create value through significant economic, social and, environmental benefits.

Let’s focus on regenerative landscapes. A regenerative landscape helps restore the environment, it withstands the challenges of weather and climate, and it increases biodiversity. Restoring the environment means reducing the wall to wall grass lawns and incorporating plants that welcome birds and pollinators. That leads to increased biodiversity in plants and in animals. Even a tiny water feature can draw in frogs, and native plants can welcome back some of the local fauna.

Withstanding weather and climate keeps getting more important each year. Our Virginia clay soils have never been great at absorbing stormwater and they can get hard as rock in a drought. We work with the contours of the land and with the site soil to manage all that water and to sustain a beautiful landscape through the hottest months. This all comes from our core belief that while no landscape is maintenance free, a well designed sustainable landscape can make life a lot easier.

If you want to learn more about how sustainable landscape design could make your property better, contact us today! We’d love to chat with you, see your property, and figure out how to create a beautiful and sustainable space for you and your family.

We love Virginia native plants, and you will too! More and more homeowners are discovering the benefits of incorporating natives into their landscape designs. These plants are a vital part of the ecosystem. Monarch butterflies, as well as other species, depend on certain native plants for food. The flowers found on many Virginia native plants are fantastic for attracting pollinators. A lot of critters rely on fruits and nuts from native plants for energy, especially in the colder months.

You may be asking “but Dave, I’m neither a songbird nor a squirrel. What can native plants do for ME?” Well, first and foremost, a landscape designed with native plants can be beautiful. Whether it’s the subtle grace of Virginia switchgrasses swaying in the wind, the bright flowers of native irises and butterfly weed, or the bold berries and gorgeous fall foliage of chokeberry, there’s a Virginia native plant that will thrill you. If you want a terrific source for learning more about natives, the Virginia Native Plant Society is a good first stop.

Native plants can also reduce your maintenance needs. Being well suited to our climate – their climate – means they thrive with fewer inputs from us humans. I’m a lazy gardener. The plants in my landscape have to earn their place by being awesome and by handling the periods where I’m way too busy fussing over other peoples’ plants to fuss over mine.

Will I like the look of Virginia native plants in the landscape?

Whatever you do, don’t dismiss a landscape featuring Virginia native plants as “messy” or “too wild”. A wild, natural looking landscape is a terrific look, and one we tend to love here at Revolutionary Gardens. We’ve also created formal landscapes, modern landscapes, and even commercial projects that celebrate the beauty of native plants.

If you’re ready to see how native plants can make your landscape more beautiful we can’t wait to talk to you. Contact us now for a consultation!