Cottage Garden Restoration Work
Conway, MA
Landscaping
To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”
– Ghandi
Hilltown Tree & Garden provides landscape design, installation, and consultation throughout Western Massachusetts, the Hilltowns, and the Pioneer Valley. Certified horticulturist Jim McSweeney works with each client to create a site-specific plan based on the property, the client’s goals, and long-term maintenance priorities.
Projects may include native plantings, perennial and pollinator gardens, ornamental or fruit trees, wildflower meadows, and Goshen stone paths or patios. Our work is grounded in sustainable, low-maintenance design and can coordinate with our certified arborist tree care and perennial garden maintenance services.
Our Process Step-by-Step:
The following will take you through the design / installation process.
This first meeting normally takes between 1-2 hours. The consultation has three main components:
- Jim McSweeny, Hilltown Tree & Garden’s owner and operator, spends this time doing a preliminary site analysis with the client. They look at the soil, sun/shade issues, topography, microclimates, drainage, etc. Site Inventory Checklist
- After these have been assess, a discussion is had on what the client wants. Is low maintenance the highest priority? Or is it attracting wildlife to the gardens? What are the long and short-term goals? They will then receive conceptual ideas and professional recommendations.
- Lastly, they talk numbers. What would be the estimated cost to design and install the envisioned landscape?
For most consultations, there is a $250 charge. If hired for the installation, this fee is then credited back.
A well thought out design can result in future cost savings because it will eliminate otherwise unforeseen installation issues surrounding soil, sun/shade, topography, micro-climates or drainage.
Most designs require a non-scaled sketch that will illustrate the conceptual landscape plan or garden envisioned by Jim. But depending on the scope and complexity of the project a scaled blueprint may be required. Along with this a design will normally include: a soil test, plant & material list, timeline, terms & conditions, construction specifications and a cost breakdown with a fixed price to do clearly established work.
All of this is normally achieved through multiple site visits, which build on what was learned in the initial consultation. There are normally 2-3 meetings (or phone appointments) with the client during this process. It allows them to be a part of the process, which results in the finished design exceeding expectations.
A well thought out design will result in future cost savings because it will eliminate otherwise unforeseen issues that could arise during the course of the installation.
- The fee for the design is a fixed price that is stated at the time of consultation. Designs normally cost between $500-$1000, but prices do vary.
- Smaller projects often forgo a number of the above steps.
Hilltown Tree And Garden provides a wide range of installation services that are carried out with over 100 years of accumulated landscape construction experience. They take pleasure in their craftsmanship and it shows in their work. They are committed to offering competitive rates and superior construction.
Now it is time to get dirty. Jim and the crew install the plants, soil, stone or whatever is going into the earth. The area is cleaned up and the installation is completed.
- Cost for installation vary widely and can run from as little as $1,000 to over $50,000.
Read Sample Design & Contract
See Jim’s upcoming workshops on landscape design.
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