About Us

commercial landscape architects

Silver Spring Landscape Architects

We are commercial landscape architects who feed our love for the garden through our residential designs—beautiful and long-lasting landscapes.

Craig Richmond Landscape Architects specializes in the best sustainable landscape design in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. We take pride in working with our clients to understand their project needs. We are landscape renovation specialists with extensive new construction experience. 

The principal landscape architect has designed many public and private projects, including streetscapes, university campuses, high schools, commercial buildings, parks, apartments, and single-family residences. We provide our clients with detailed residential landscape designs and professional commercial landscape design services. 

Meet the Principal Landscape Architect

As a Principal, Craig is responsible for all project phases through its life cycle, from the earliest planning and programming through the final construction. With over thirty years of experience in commercial and residential landscape design, he has always been committed to providing the best landscape design service. 

Education: the University of Texas at Arlington, BSLA

Registration: Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

IQ Landscape Architects, Project Manager/Office Manager, New York, NY

Retnauer Design Associates, Project Manager, St. James, NY

Diversified Technology Consultants, Project Manager, North Haven, CT

Landplan Engineering, Project Manager, Lawrence, KS

The Outside In, Commercial Landscape Architects, Cleveland, OH

AFFILIATIONS

American Society of Landscape Architects – Member

The Cultural Landscape Foundation – Member

ACE Mentors NYC – Mentor

Black Landscape Architect-Craig Richmond

Choose Your Design Package

Let us help you to create your dream landscape!

Luxury Landscape Architecture

This service level is primarily for commercial or large, complex residential projects and clients who want the landscape architect to spend more time on the site. Includes the following phases:
Site Reconnaissance
Site Analysis and Concept Development
Design Development
Construction Documents and Permit Drawings
Bid Services
Construction Administration (twelve 1-hour site visits)
Landscape Maintenance Plan

Complete Landscape Architecture

Our complete package is our most popular service level. It covers the most essential phases of the project. It’s the minimum required to get competitive bids, project approval, and build. Includes the following phases:
Site Reconnaissance
Site Analysis and Concept Development
Development
Construction Documents and Permit Drawings
Construction Administration (four 1-hour site visits)

Sustainable Planting Plan

Includes the following phases: Site Reconnaissance Site Analysis and Concept Development Design Development Final Planting Plan Construction Administration (two 1-hour site visits)

Concept / Master Plan

Includes the following phases: Site Reconnaissance Site Analysis and Concept Development Color Rendered Final Master Plan

We believe in using fewer chemicals and treading as lightly as possible on the land. Doing less damage in construction means less ground to repair and revegetate.

Reckless use of chemicals throws off nature’s balance, leading to more chemicals to fix the damage, and the cycle continues.

The bottom line is that doing less destruction will save you more money regarding the landscape. Let us guide you through the process from concept to completion to maintenance.

For commercial or residential landscape design, our office produces the best designs. Ask about our green roof designs.

We are residential and commercial landscape architects who care about the environment.

Social Media

Frequently Asked Questions

Answer: That’s a complicated answer because it depends on what is involved and how large the property is. It will cost more if clients want waterfalls, custom pergolas, reflection pools, and outdoor entertainment areas. But, to give you an idea, a design for a front walk, stoop, and plantings for a small residence would start at $1,500.

That would include an initial meeting, concept drawings, a presentation, a revision, construction drawings, and a site meeting with the contractor. Generally speaking, the design fee is a small percentage of a project like the one described above. That’s a small price to pay for three decades of experience.

Answer: A complete landscape design for a residential project’s front and rear yards typically takes two to three weeks per phase. Those phases consist of concept drawings, design development, and construction drawings.

Generally, it is a good idea to plan to complete the process in two to three months. This gives plenty of time for meetings and revisions.

Whether it’s a small residential plan or a professional commercial landscape design, you want the designer to give it adequate thought.

Landscape architects do landscape design. There are some extremely skilled landscape designers out there. Most landscape architecture firms have them on staff.

The difference is committing to get the degree, completing the internship, taking the national exam, and passing.

When hiring a professional to design your landscape project on the property you worked hard to get, you want one at the top of their game. You want someone licensed in the District or your state.

Don’t just take our word for it. This is what the American Society of Landscape Architects has to say.

Answer: Yes. Many clients we work with do exterior home improvements with their bonus pay or when their budget allows. We can design a phased landscape plan that the client can do in a sequence that doesn’t waste materials.

Answer: We are licensed to practice in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Click on the gray button below to get the ball rolling.

Let’s talk about your project!

Submit Contact Info

Social Media

@crlasites
930 Posts
170 Followers

Craig Richmond Landscape Architects

We provide commercial and residential landscape architecture. Call us for drawings for site plan approval, forest conservation plans, GAR Plans, etc.

Follow on Instagram
Some trees will be affected, and others will need to be removed to make room for our senior apartment building. I’m not losing any sleep over several Zelkovas, but there’s one big Linden that is gorgeous and sits in the middle of the future building's footprint. But the trade-off is quality senior housing in a nice neighborhood, and we’ll plant as many native shade trees as we can fit on the site. This is the last vacant parcel from the old Memorial Stadium site where the NFL’s Baltimore Colts used to play. In fact, it was the northwest corner of the massive parking lot. The image shows the original Euonymus hedge that screened the lot from the residential neighborhood. I’m not sad to see it go. Stadium Place, Baltimore, Maryland
1
1

Some trees will be affected, and others will need to be removed to make room...

I found this old, hand-drawn grading and drainage plan for the parking lot addition on the church’s property when researching their project records. I love the look of hand lettering and drawing; when reproduced onto a blueprint, it takes on another level of warmth. That said, all the warm fuzzies go away when it comes to revisions. I still use my hand skills, but I wouldn’t give away my AutoCAD and Photoshop for anything.
2
0

I found this old, hand-drawn grading and drainage plan for the parking lot addition on...

I didn’t know that landscape architects preparing, signing, and sealing grading and drainage plans was controversial until I recently posted a couple of old textbooks on the subject. A couple of civil engineers responded against LAs stamping grading and drainage plans. I like several landscape architects and have worked at civil engineering offices preparing complete commercial site designs, including grading and drainage plans, so I found it odd. There is some overlap in the professions, but there are plenty of pieces in the land development pie for us to get along. My skills are limited, and I don’t provide services I am not trained to provide. Landscape architects are trained to do more than just plants. I’ve been designing grading and drainage plans like this bus depot for my entire career.
2
0

I didn’t know that landscape architects preparing, signing, and sealing grading and drainage plans was...

1
0

Killing with Kindness

I noticed several years ago that some citizens with too much time...

This was an unusual project for me. The client was planting trees and shrubs around their property to beautify it. They were basically refreshing the original landscape plan from the 80s. I was hired to make sure the landscape contractor installed everything according to specifications. Wide, ugly holes were the order of the day. Backfilled with rich compost and native soil. You can see how much the dark compost changes the color of the existing soil. This group of 'Dragon Lady' Holly got off to an excellent start. The client was smart enough to know that most shrubs get squeezed into small holes with no soil preparation and too much mulch. It makes a big difference in the long run. Properly installed trees and shrubs do a better job of caring for themselves. Toss a little fertilizer on them in the spring and fall, and remove dead branches occasionally; that's it. They look better and increase in value over time.
2
0

This was an unusual project for me. The client was planting trees and shrubs around...

You can terrace a steep backyard to create a flat play area without it looking like a state-highway retaining wall project. Specifying boulder work can be tricky, though. It depends on whether local landscape contractors are experienced and efficient. In Cleveland, OH, and Long Island, NY, it's no problem getting a boulder wall and ledgestone steps for less money than a poured-in-place retaining wall and steps. Travel down I-95 for four hours or so to the DC area, and boulder work becomes this exotic, head-scratching thing that landscape contractors charge a premium to build. The same boulders, the same topography, hydrology, and vegetation, but different skills. Designing in Metro DC, I retain most of my slopes with reinforced concrete retaining walls with fieldstone veneer when a more natural look is desired. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

You can terrace a steep backyard to create a flat play area without it looking...

The biggest thing preventing folks with landscape architecture degrees from becoming licensed landscape architects is passing the grading and drainage portion of the National exam. I didn’t learn how to grade and drain a site at university; I learned by working at a civil engineering and land planning firm. Doing site design at the civil office freed me from landscape architecture’s rules to focus on the ‘nuts and bolts’ of draining a site. I’ll admit that most of the designs I produced there were pretty straightforward and no-frills; they all worked and still work today. Besides the selection of paving materials, grading and drainage are areas where a landscape architect can get into serious trouble. Flooding, erosion, and mass wasting can turn a small residential project into a career-ending nightmare. On a set of construction documents, I spend most of my time preparing the grading and drainage plan. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

The biggest thing preventing folks with landscape architecture degrees from becoming licensed landscape architects is...

This property along the James River offers some of the area's most spectacular views. The house sat vacant for a while, so the site needs a lot of attention. As you can see from the image, there’s a serious change in elevation between the pool deck and the river. There’s a boathouse and dock below, but the wooden stairs need to be rebuilt. I’m envisioning a dramatic stairway with a deck area with seating to break up the journey. The homeowners are wisely going to do the landscape renovation over five years. I recommend we develop a master plan for the entire property first, create construction documents, and build each phase as their budget allows. Besides, when you have a challenging site that needs a lot of work, it's best to handle it in manageable portions. Without a general contractor, it can be a nightmare for a homeowner to coordinate several different trades at once and do their day job. Chester, Virginia
0
0

This property along the James River offers some of the area's most spectacular views. The...

I believe that we've learned our lesson on planting monoculture street trees. It started with planting American Elms on every city block in the early 1900s, which were later wiped out by Dutch Elm disease, leaving many cities with treeless neighborhoods. Then we went to Green Ash, along with Canada, as a preferred street tree. In 2014, I saw block after block in Ottawa, Canada, that looked like a blast had occurred because the Emerald Ash Borer had killed all the mature Green Ash. Around the time I started my career as a landscape architect, hybrid Pears and hybrid honey locusts were marketed in the profession as the perfect trees. 'Cleveland Select', 'Chanticleer' and 'Bradford' Pears were being pushed by every nursery because they bloomed early, had a long-lasting, glossy, green foliage that turned a brilliant red in the fall, and then had a decorative fruit that wasn't messy. Now, decades later, the weak, wooded Frankenstein tree has invasive, smelly, blooming offspring that sprout from seed and take over vacant lots. The hybrid Honey Locust was perfect because it was tough and had fine leaves that didn't block sunlight, so a lawn could grow thick underneath it. The icing on the cake was that you didn't have to rake the leaves. After giving some nice yellow fall color, they fall off and blow away. Perfect, right? Wrong. I'm finding that even though they are supposed to be drought- and salt-tolerant, several other trees outperform them in urban conditions. So now I'm making up for the hundreds of 'Bradford' Pears and 'Skyline' Honey Locusts that I have specified over my career. I bring a lot more diversity to my street tree planting layouts now. I believe hybrid Honey Locusts are the only tree species in this entire commercial development in Beachwood, Ohio. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

I believe that we've learned our lesson on planting monoculture street trees. It started with...

I’ve certainly used a few River Birch adjacent to a bio-retention basin before. It’s interesting to see a mature one doing its job after about twenty years. The one in the image captures runoff from the pavement at a fire station, so it handles a lot of square footage. Although I didn’t design this one, I did design several in the Metro Cleveland area in the early 2000s. I saw this one during a walk around the hotel where I was staying. Beachwood, Ohio
1
0

I’ve certainly used a few River Birch adjacent to a bio-retention basin before. It’s interesting...

Every landscape architect needs at least one project in their career to test what they are made of. It has been more than 5 years now since I was forced away from the largest residential project of my career. It took me a while to get over this one. I later found out that I was the third landscape architect on the project, well into my work. I talked with the homeowner almost daily because he kept adding more to the project. A new pavilion, sports courts, pond, fire tables, putting green, it's something new every other day. He would ask me for my opinion, and I would tell him things were getting busy, but he would still keep adding more. I was still doing landscape construction drawings when construction started. The nightmare begins. One day, I was on a site visit when truckloads of hardscape materials began arriving. None of it was what I had specified. I had called for (with the client's approval) a native Virginia wall stone veneer to match the home's architecture. Instead, the owner decided to go with a more modern-looking thinset, marble tile veneer. I told the owner that the tile would fall off after a few freeze-thaw cycles, and he didn't seem concerned. The tiles were falling off during construction. There was a patio area off a basement game room where the contractor installed a trench drain (partially covered with pavers) at the base of a retaining wall, instead of installing the more centrally located catch basins called for in the approved landscape plans. Trees surround the home, and a trench drain would easily become clogged. Once again, the owner shrugged things off and said he would have the maid bleach the algae growing on the marble. The final straw for me was seeing the treads on the steps. They were cut from marble and could split a human’s skull open if they fell on it. Given that the client had grandchildren and enjoyed entertaining, I stepped back from the project. It wasn’t easy to walk away from such a grand project, but if a client doesn’t respect you enough to listen to you when you are looking out for their interest, you’ve got nothing.
3
0

Every landscape architect needs at least one project in their career to test what they...

I remember my first boss telling me never to use thin tile like pavers unless the project is in California or Florida. He said, "You need the weight and the thickness of the paver to offset the frost heave in the winter." He wasn't the scientific type, but I carried that lesson with me for my entire career. There are several examples where thin tiles have been used in Silver Spring, and they have all failed. It's very difficult to keep water from getting between the paver and the base material. When that happens in freezing conditions the pavers pop and slide.
2
0

I remember my first boss telling me never to use thin tile like pavers unless...

My little firm's first significant job in 2009 was renovating the gymnasium and aquatic center at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY). I did the demolition, layout, grading, drainage, and planting plans. The civil engineer reviewed my work and sized the pipes and drainage structures. Even though I had dozens of large commercial projects under my belt at the time, it's different when your company and your name are on the documents. I was nervous from the moment the excavator began excavating the site until the contractor installed all the hardscape and tested my design after a prolonged, sustained rain. The project has been installed for several years without any problems, so I will consider it a success. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

My little firm's first significant job in 2009 was renovating the gymnasium and aquatic center...

I have worked on a few projects that were never built in my career, but I was pulling for this one. A small congregation had bought a small house and wanted to convert it into a church. The neighbors worked hard to stop the project, so I believe they eventually gave up. The Long Island neighborhood was the notorious gang MS13's territory. I take pride in doing projects where other landscape architects wouldn't set foot. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

I have worked on a few projects that were never built in my career, but...

I must admit that I've gone full-bore on specifying native shade and understory trees across all of my commercial sites for about 14 years now, but I'm starting to rethink that approach. I love Ginkgo trees because they can grow in the worst conditions, and they have beautiful yellow fall color. I understand that the native plant movement is still going on, and I'm curious where everyone else is on the journey. Is anyone out there committed to a plant palette using only natives?
1
0

I must admit that I've gone full-bore on specifying native shade and understory trees across...

I'm from Cleveland, Ohio, and generally speaking, brown lawns are not acceptable. It's weird, but in the Midwest, we watered our lawns in the summer to keep them from going dormant. But in the DC area, brown lawns in the summer heat are the norm. Between the established trees and the slope, this North Kensington, Maryland, home's lawn is dry as toast. It wouldn't be too hard to keep a small lawn area like this one green during the growing season. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

I'm from Cleveland, Ohio, and generally speaking, brown lawns are not acceptable.

It's weird, but...

This gets the job done. Architects and Landscape Architects prevent the built environment from looking like this. Kiss one today.
0
0

This gets the job done. Architects and Landscape Architects prevent the built environment from looking...

The Malverne House This Long Island, New York, home was one of my first residential projects when I started my firm in 2008. The client was a retired police officer who did all of the construction, except for the roof and electrical on the house and the landscape, himself. The project involved a complete gut job of the interior, new siding, and a new garage space beneath the house. So a risky excavation was needed to provide access to the garage. The excavation creates a situation where the drainage design and installation have to be spot on, or you could easily flood the new space. My design has remained sound for a long time. Sorry, all I have is a Google image of the finished job. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

The Malverne House

This Long Island, New York, home was one of my first residential...

I don't make it up to Damascus, Maryland, very often, but I wonder how this tree is doing. It was installed under the low limb of an evergreen, which knocked it sideways. Luckily, it wasn't my project; I was hired to do the post-construction inspection. Landscape contractors who do this kind of work give the industry a bad name.
1
0

I don't make it up to Damascus, Maryland, very often, but I wonder how this...

I've been using a lot of groundcover roses, as well as shrub types, throughout my career. They're tolerant of salt and neglect; the deer aren't eating them yet, and they crank out loads of color for so long. In commercial applications, they're a great barrier plant. Normal people are not going to walk through a thicket of thorns. Much respect to the modern-day rose varieties. They're not the fussy, little princesses of the garden that they used to be. These 'Pink Carpet' Roses are thriving at my client's home in a coastal environment with sandy soils and harsh storms. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

I've been using a lot of groundcover roses, as well as shrub types, throughout my...

For years, as I walked this stretch, I never noticed the ugly powerlines and the butchered street trees. It was because I was always so busy admiring the Star Magnolias on the right. Even when they weren't in bloom, they broke up the building's scale. But now, someone has sheared the Yews into blocks, the Azaleas into blobs, and totally mangled the Star Magnolias. It's a shame that this landscape look has become the standard. I'd bet money that the people maintaining the plants couldn't tell you the name of a single shrub. It doesn't matter because every shrub will get the same treatment.
1
2

For years, as I walked this stretch, I never noticed the ugly powerlines and the...

I love this view looking down the Potomac River to the Kennedy Center. The burger I had for lunch was delicious, too. Sequoia DC, Georgetown, Washington, DC
1
0

I love this view looking down the Potomac River to the Kennedy Center. The burger...

Noyack is a sleepy little hamlet in the Hamptons of Long Island, New York. The client joked about their neighborhood being more down-to-earth than the rest of the Hamptons. He said, "We live in the 'hood of the Hamptons". I designed the driveway, all the hardscape, and the plantings around 2004. It's one of my favorite projects because the client said, "We've seen your work, and we know you'll do a great job." And they let me do everything I wanted to do. Of course, I worked extra hard on the project to exceed their expectations. It was a weird property because you pass the backyard and pool as you enter. The strange orientation is because of setbacks, topography, and soil structure. When the trees are in leaf, you don't notice you're driving past the backyard. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

Noyack is a sleepy little hamlet in the Hamptons of Long Island, New York. The...

I'm Guilty! I confess that I'm guilty of specifying the prettier, more showy varieties of Magnolias. It has always been Janes, Stars, Saucers, and Southerns out front, and then I'd stick a native Sweetbay Magnolia in the background for fragrance. No, they're not 'OMG', but they're nice. And there's nothing like walking in an urban environment and getting that sweet scent lofting through the air. They're sneaky, and you have to look hard to find where the smell is coming from. It's nice to see the County planting them in the ROWs under power lines. Woodside Park, Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland
0
0

I'm Guilty!

I confess that I'm guilty of specifying the prettier, more showy varieties of...

As soon as you cross the Bay Bridge and arrive at the Maryland Eastern Shore, you know it’s a different kind of place. Although we’re minutes away from the Chesapeake Bay in the DC area, you don’t see crab pots and other fishing gear palletized in the landscape.
0
0

As soon as you cross the Bay Bridge and arrive at the Maryland Eastern Shore,...

One reason I often visit a site during the design process is to see it in different seasons. When you see a site in the winter, you have an idea of what it's like when the trees are foliated, but you're not totally sure. After visiting the site last week, I now know that my landscape design will provide adequate screening once it matures. My goal was to provide my clients with a sense of privacy without creating the typical green wall of evergreens along the back fence. Silver Spring, Maryland Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

One reason I often visit a site during the design process is to see it...

One of the first things I learned as a landscape architecture student was never to create ambush points for bad guys. Yet we see dangerous hardscape and planting design like this one all over the place. This is a path to a county garage in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The steps, garage, evergreen tree, and six-foot-tall shrubs being so close to the walking path create a deadly area that can only be viewed from where I took this photo. As a landscape architect with extensive experience in urban environments, I always get side-eye when I critique another site designer's future ambush corridors on paper. I'm comfortable being labeled nitpicky when it comes to safety; an LA is supposed to dig deeper.
1
0

One of the first things I learned as a landscape architecture student was never to...

This was a missed opportunity; I would have killed to have this project. This had the potential to be a great project for the firm that designed it. It's such a unique site, serving as the terminus of an urban bikeway that cuts through an upscale apartment building with a skyway. The coolness factor is off the charts on this one. I really like what was done with the hardscape, but the plantings are where the project falls apart. What I predicted would happen a year or so ago is happening now. The Boxwood shrubs are suffering from being planted too close together and from not being the best plant for a walkway with heavy dog traffic. I've preached this my entire career. The plants are just as important as the hardscape and the building. And unlike the built elements, the plantings are living things with their own needs and don't work with what impatient humans desire. I'm not going to point any fingers, but I'm going to bet that a local landscape architect or designer didn't do the plantings. Just because you can arrange circles and hatch areas in AutoCAD to produce plans that get approved by planning department reviewers doesn't mean you can create a landscape project that improves over time. It will cost around $200,000 to redo the plantings for a brand-new project. Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland
1
0

This was a missed opportunity; I would have killed to have this project. This had...

This was a tennis court renovation for Suffolk County Community College in Selden, Long Island, New York. The existing courts needed to be demolished, the area regraded, and drainage structures installed and rebuilt. We have lots of experience in grading and drainage design. Contact us for your next project! Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

This was a tennis court renovation for Suffolk County Community College in Selden, Long Island,...

Sometimes I feel like people don't care about landscapes. This sad scene is in front of a hotel.
2
0

Sometimes I feel like people don't care about landscapes. This sad scene is in front...

Stepping down a full step immediately upon exiting your front door is a detail that I never cared for. My client wanted to put a stone veneer over their old concrete stoop. I proposed that we raise the landing on the stoop 6-7" so that they have a more flush relationship with the finished floor elevation, since they are doing the cosmetic improvement. So now there will be a group of three steps (risers) instead of two, with one more full step to enter the home. The top of the landing will be slightly lower than the threshold to prevent wind-driven rain from getting under the door. The walking surfaces will gently slope away from the house to maintain positive drainage. Of course, the big Azaleas flanking the entrance will be transplanted elsewhere. Silver Spring, Maryland Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

Stepping down a full step immediately upon exiting your front door is a detail that...

I was leaving my client's house when this beauty caught my eye. This Camellia was putting on a show on a cool March afternoon. I don't specify many Camellias because we are at the northern extreme for the plant, but I think I'm going to start working them in more on my projects when I can find a protected location for them. I call for mostly native plant species on my projects, but if a plant isn't invasive and is strikingly beautiful, why not bring it into a landscape? Silver Spring, Maryland Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

I was leaving my client's house when this beauty caught my eye. This Camellia was...

These utility boxes were screened for years with 6' tall evergreens until they were removed a few years ago. Now we have a sea of brown mulch, patchy grass, and green monsters. Typically, municipalities require these boxes and parking lots to be screened to obtain site plan approval. The chances that someone from the County will require the property owner to replace the screening are slim, even though the approved site plan requires it. There are also lots of empty street tree planting pits in the area. No one is enforcing the street tree requirements except for on new construction projects. Municipalities create landscape manuals to set standards, but they don't enforce the requirements they claim to set. Just imagine how nice our city streetscapes would be if landscape standards were maintained. Downtown Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland
1
0

These utility boxes were screened for years with 6' tall evergreens until they were removed...

1
0

One thing I’ve always loved about the DC area is the emphasis on the urban...

The Baltimore/DC area has some of the most gorgeous American Hollies I've ever seen. This one in Downtown Silver Spring has been limbed up and is surrounded by concrete, but it's still nice.
2
0

The Baltimore/DC area has some of the most gorgeous American Hollies I've ever seen. This...

Conyer's Farm is an ultra-exclusive, gated community in Greenwich, Connecticut, where the uber-wealthy live securely and privately on large, densely wooded lots with easy access to NYC. The client was an NBA superstar who played for the Knicks. I never got to meet him or his wife in the two years that I worked on the project. The client bought one of the last lots available in the community, and the site was extremely difficult to build on. Because of the steep terrain, old-growth trees, and the building setback from Converse Lake, there was only a small area on the ten-acre site to build on. That area was about half an acre, and a third of it was a rock outcrop. Because of the amount and hardness of the stone, they had to drill, blast, and move stone for an entire month before they had a large enough area to build the house and landscape on. The area in the grading and drainage plan where the contour lines are almost touching (lower, left side) is where the stone was blasted out. Two large drainage structures were required to clean all stormwater discharge from our site. A lot of engineering expertise was required to build this project. My job was to make all of that freshly blasted rock and engineering invisible. Due to tight security, I wasn't able to return to the site to take photos, but aerial imagery shows the site as naturalized. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

Conyer's Farm is an ultra-exclusive, gated community in Greenwich, Connecticut, where the uber-wealthy live securely...

This Catalpa Tree was cut down by the County a few years ago. It was alive, but in decline. I'm amazed at how it has grown back from its rotted core. I still have a close spot to collect Catalpa Worms when I want to use them for fishing. Smaller understory trees like Red Bud and Sweetbay Magnolias are wisely being planted under the overhead power line. They'll have to keep cutting down this Catalpa, I guess. Silver Spring, Maryland
1
0

This Catalpa Tree was cut down by the County a few years ago. It was...

My preferred fence material is clear Cedar, but if the budget doesn't allow it, pressure-treated lumber will do. Vinyl/PVC fences are fine if you have an estate and long runs of border to cover, but it's the last material I want to use where it will be viewed up close and touched. The durability of PVC is well established, but when I walk into a garden, I'd rather not open a plastic gate or sit on a molded-plastic bench. I always recommend to my clients that they do their landscape project in phases if they have to, so they can get quality materials. Not the most expensive materials, but long-lasting ones that tie into the home's architecture. Ideally, you want materials that get better looking as they age. I feel that concrete, stone, and certain types of wood weather in a way that lends a sense of permanence to a landscape that plastic doesn't. The vinyl siding on the house is not gaining any character as it ages, but the clay brick and wood next to it will. Prince George's County, Maryland Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
0
0

My preferred fence material is clear Cedar, but if the budget doesn't allow it, pressure-treated...

These Panicled Hydrangeas are putting on a show. I love the simplicity of this planting design. Four or five plant types, that's it. The teak bench is gracefully and naturally weathering to a pleasing gray finish. You don't need a lot going on to have a beautiful garden. Brookside Gardens, Silver Spring, Maryland
2
0

These Panicled Hydrangeas are putting on a show. I love the simplicity of this planting...

Azaleas never cease to amaze me, no matter how many springs I live to see. They lie back like wallflowers for most of the year, then in the spring, they're in your face like they own the garden. It's because they do. These Azaleas will be cut back and transplanted into a nice, fertile planting mix as part of the new landscape design. Most people are trashing these plants now because they are old-fashioned, so I make sure I rescue as many of the queens as I can. Silver Spring, Maryland
1
0

Azaleas never cease to amaze me, no matter how many springs I live to see....

Entrance to the formal residential garden. Sketched in Morpholio Trace. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

Entrance to the formal residential garden. Sketched in Morpholio Trace.

Proudly serving DC, MD, and...

This pair of PJM Rhododendrons gets no love. They manage to survive on a steady diet of cigarette butts and trash. Most people think of Rhododendrons as queens of the suburban garden, but PJMs can hold their own in harsh, urban environments as well.
1
0

This pair of PJM Rhododendrons gets no love. They manage to survive on a steady...

Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) was marketed in the eighties as the best replacement for the native American Elms that once lined so many of our city streets. It was supposed to be a tough tree with a form and leaf shape similar to the American Elm. Sadly, municipalities, planners, and developers repeated the same mistake, literally replacing thousands of American Elms with Zelkovas. Now decades later, most of the Zelkovas I see planted as street trees are in decline. If they have plenty of space to spread their roots, they do fine, but in the typical tree-planting pit, they suffer. This tree appears to have a large root girdling it, and the main leader is dead. It was probably planted in the early nineties; we should be getting full benefit from its shade, but instead, it will be replaced, and the same process will start all over again. We should do better. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) was marketed in the eighties as the best replacement for the...

I'm noticing more and more healthy, mature Dogwoods (Cornus florida) in the DC area. Anthracnose is a fungal pathogen that has depleted Dogwood populations in the eastern US. This threat has put the native understory tree on my 'do not plant' list for most of my career. The State of Maryland Extension Service reports that the disease is less common than in the past. I will be putting native Dogwood back on my standard plant palette. There's no plant I can think of that gives the illusion of white petals flowing through space like a blooming Dogwood in the spring against a dark backdrop. This gorgeous specimen is growing in one of my clients' backyards in Howard County, Maryland. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

I'm noticing more and more healthy, mature Dogwoods (Cornus florida) in the DC area. Anthracnose...

One of the first things a landscape architecture student learns when preparing a grading and drainage plan is that the grade (land) should drain perpendicular away from a house/structure. In other words, water should never flow towards or along a wall. There are places along the foundation where we have both conditions. This old house should have had a retaining wall built to address the grade; builders may have cut corners on pre-WWII homes. My job is to deliver a rear terrace/patio area that flows and doesn't feel odd or clunky. Luckily, I have a deep backyard to deal with the awkward topography. Plus, I have to help the client deal with a smorgasbord of invasive groundcovers (Vinca minor is so pretty). I live for challenging landscape designs. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

One of the first things a landscape architecture student learns when preparing a grading and...

I haven't been on site for about six months since the foundations were poured. I receive regular construction progress reports, so I expect to be needed on site for construction administration in the next month or so. There are hundreds of trees to protect and to plant in the fall. Clare Court II Apartments, Baltimore, MD Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
2
0

I haven't been on site for about six months since the foundations were poured. I...

After three decades as a landscape architect, my plant palette is totally different. The only plant I would use on this traffic median concept design is Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia). Approximately 95% of the plants I use are natives now. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

After three decades as a landscape architect, my plant palette is totally different. The only...

Being under the canopy of flowering cherries provides a different energy than seeing them from a distance. Town Center, Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland
1
0

Being under the canopy of flowering cherries provides a different energy than seeing them from...

A quick, simple section/elevation sketch is a great communication tool. Sometimes people have difficulty reading a plan, but a sketch like this one can make things clearer. Proudly serving DC, MD, and VA Call: 301-920-0424 landarch1.com
1
0

A quick, simple section/elevation sketch is a great communication tool. Sometimes people have difficulty reading...

I've been working on a project not far from this bamboo-infested property. It bothers me every time I drive by it because the area has lots of native shrubs, like Inkberry Holly and Chokeberry, growing under the tree canopy. As you can see in the image, nothing grows amongst or under the dense growth of the bamboo. What's even worse is that this stand is growing along a creek bed that no one is maintaining, so it's spreading quickly. Ellicott City, Maryland
1
0

I've been working on a project not far from this bamboo-infested property. It bothers me...

Scroll to Top