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Custom Sustainable Landscape Design in New Hartford, CT
Let's design the perfect sustainable landscape for your New Hartford home. Excellence Masonry and Contracting works with you to create a custom plan with native plants and smart drainage solutions.
A sustainable landscape is a low-input system designed to manage resources intelligently. This involves practical strategies like grouping plants with similar water needs together (hydrozoning) to make irrigation more efficient. We often incorporate rain gardens or bioswales—specialized garden areas designed to collect, hold, and filter stormwater runoff from your roof or driveway, reducing erosion and recharging groundwater. By selecting resilient native plants and improving the soil's capacity to hold water with organic matter, we create a beautiful landscape that requires less mowing, watering, and chemical inputs, saving you time and money.
Why Choose Us?
There are many construction, landscaping, outdoor living, and design companies to choose from- here is what makes us different.
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Our Approach is Thorough and Integrated – As a design-build firm, we eliminate the gap between planning and execution, ensuring every project or service is assessed and delivered with maximum efficiency and zero oversights.
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The Team We Have is Experienced and Robust – Backed by a 25-year family legacy and a crew with up to 50 years of expertise, our team of long-term employees and trusted partners provides a level of craftsmanship that only comes from decades in the field.
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Industry-Leading Warranties and a Client for Life Guarantee – We provide warranties that far exceed state minimums. Our "Client for Life" commitment means we intend to stand by you, and our work, well beyond one project or its warranty. Our goal is to build a relationship, and become a trusted resource for you, year after year. We remain open to address issues, answer questions, assist with maintenance, or repairs, no matter what. Our business is relationship based, not transactional.
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Transparency and Consistent Communication – We keep you in control through complete education and daily updates. From the first call to the final walkthrough, we ensure all costs, options, and timelines are fully transparent.
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Commitment to Professional Responsibility and Top-Quality – We take full ownership of project or service management so you don't have to. Our focus is on delivering the highest feasible standard within your budget, supported by premium partners and a high-performance process.
Our Process
Of course, every project, service and every situation is different, and so is our approach. Below is a general and simplified outline of our process. We can also bid and build to your preexisting plan or design.
1.
Discovery/Consultation
We discuss your goals for creating a low-impact, ecologically resilient property. We assess your site’s native biodiversity and watershed impact, identifying opportunities for native plant integration and permeable masonry. You’ll receive rough pricing and preliminary considerations for a self-sustaining landscape layout.
2.
Design / Planning
This is where we value-engineer the ecosystem of your property. We design rain gardens or permeable pathways to manage runoff and select native species that thrive with minimal chemical inputs or irrigation. We establish a construction plan and project pricing that prioritizes long-term resilience and environmental stewardship.
3.
Construction / Service
Our team brings the sustainable design to life by focusing on soil health and proper plant placement. We utilize low-impact machinery and organic mulching to minimize site disruption. Expect a transparent, efficient experience as we install high-performance, eco-friendly systems that respect your property’s natural character.
What is sustainable landscaping?
Sustainable landscaping is a modern approach to gardening that aims to be beautiful while conserving resources and reducing negative environmental impact. It focuses on using native plants, managing stormwater on-site, reducing chemical use, and creating habitats for local wildlife.
FAQ's
Why are native plants important in a sustainable landscape?
Native plants have evolved in our local Connecticut climate, so they are naturally adapted to our soil, rainfall patterns, and temperatures. This means they require less water, fertilizer, and pest control to thrive, and they provide essential food and habitat for local pollinators like bees and butterflies.
What is a rain garden and how does it help?
A rain garden is a specially designed garden bed placed in a low-lying area to collect rainwater runoff from roofs, driveways, or lawns. It's filled with water-loving native plants that help filter pollutants and allow the water to slowly soak into the ground, reducing stormwater runoff and recharging groundwater.
How do permeable pavers contribute to a sustainable landscape?
Unlike traditional solid surfaces, permeable pavers have special joints filled with stone that allow rainwater to pass through them and soak into the ground below. This helps reduce stormwater runoff, prevents erosion, and helps replenish the natural groundwater table.
Is a sustainable landscape difficult to maintain?
On the contrary, a primary goal of sustainable landscaping is to reduce long-term maintenance. By choosing the right native plants for the right location and eliminating large, thirsty lawns, you can significantly reduce the time and resources spent on watering, mowing, and fertilizing.
4.
Walk-Thru, Clean-Up & Maintain
We perform a final site review to confirm all drainage and native beds are functioning as designed. We’ll walk you through the specialized maintenance information—focusing on long-term stewardship rather than high-input care—confirming the project meets your ecological and aesthetic goals.
Testimonials
Why are native plants important in a sustainable landscape?
Native plants have evolved in our local Connecticut climate, so they are naturally adapted to our soil, rainfall patterns, and temperatures. This means they require less water, fertilizer, and pest control to thrive, and they provide essential food and habitat for local pollinators like bees and butterflies.
Is a sustainable landscape difficult to maintain?
On the contrary, a primary goal of sustainable landscaping is to reduce long-term maintenance. By choosing the right native plants for the right location and eliminating large, thirsty lawns, you can significantly reduce the time and resources spent on watering, mowing, and fertilizing.
What is a rain garden and how does it help?
A rain garden is a specially designed garden bed placed in a low-lying area to collect rainwater runoff from roofs, driveways, or lawns. It's filled with water-loving native plants that help filter pollutants and allow the water to slowly soak into the ground, reducing stormwater runoff and recharging groundwater.
How do permeable pavers contribute to a sustainable landscape?
Unlike traditional solid surfaces, permeable pavers have special joints filled with stone that allow rainwater to pass through them and soak into the ground below. This helps reduce stormwater runoff, prevents erosion, and helps replenish the natural groundwater table.
What is sustainable landscaping?
Sustainable landscaping is a modern approach to gardening that aims to be beautiful while conserving resources and reducing negative environmental impact. It focuses on using native plants, managing stormwater on-site, reducing chemical use, and creating habitats for local wildlife.