Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. I read voraciously as a kid and I always envisioned myself locked in a cabin somewhere, with …
Landscape Design
One That Got Away: Challenging Retaining Wall in DC
One of my favorite things to do on this blog is to profile recent projects. It's a fun opportunity to show what's possible, and maybe brag a …
What’s behind door # 1? Helping guests find your front door
I grew up in a 1950s ranch house in Rhode Island. It's the one in the photo above. You can see that there are two doors on the front of the …
Pros and Cons of Building a Pergola in Northern Virginia
I get a lot of requests from people interested in adding a pergola to their landscape. They’re cool to begin with and they’ve been made all …
Replacing Storm Damaged Trees in Virginia, Maryland, or DC
Well, it looks like Winter Storm Titan!!! (cue dramatic music) is fizzling out already, but that's not to say it didn't bring ice and snow …
How 40 Pounds of Dog Has Changed My Plans for 10,000 sq ft of Yard
I finally wore Mindy down this fall and we adopted a dog. This is my sweetheart Bonnie, a German Shorthair Pointer (GSP) mix who came to us …
Can a Built-In Charcoal Grill Be Installed in an Outdoor Kitchen?
I'm a charcoal snob. It's one of the reasons why I really only deal with the higher end gas grills, because an infra-red sear burner is the …
Why Landscape Design for Plant Collectors is So Haaaaaaaaard (and How to Make a Cohesive Collection)
One can break landscape design clients into general categories. There are the "I don't care whatever you want" types; the ones who are …
Bethesda Landscape Design Case Study
I've been really excited to share some case studies with you - detailed posts explaining what we did and why we did it - but it seemed like …