Landscape Design Services in Southeastern PA

What Sets Blue Tree's Design Process Apart

Most landscape companies either hand you a plan and disappear, or skip design and start digging. Blue Tree does neither. A degreed designer owns your project from the first site visit through installation, so the plan that gets drawn is the plan that gets built, by the same team. That designer studies your soil, drainage, sun, grade, and how you actually live outside, then designs the planting, hardscape, lighting, and drainage as one coordinated plan. Blue Tree has run this process across Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties since 1983, with in-house permitting and 3D renderings that let you see the finished property before anything is built.

Written by Stephen Roehm, a Blue Tree landscape designer, and reviewed by John Mattiola, a Blue Tree landscape designer.

Established

In-House

Permitting and Engineering

70 to 90

Employees

Our Landscape Design Process, Step by Step

From the first site visit to the final walkthrough, one designer manages your project. Here is how a Blue Tree landscape comes together. For a closer look at the first conversation, read what to expect during a landscape design consultation.

Step 1: Free On-Site Consultation

A Blue Tree designer, not a salesperson, walks your property and reads slope, soil, drainage, sun and shade, sight lines, and access. Then we talk through how you want to use the yard, what you want to solve, and the budget you are working with. The visit is free and there is no same-day pressure. Timeline: 1 visit, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Step 2: Concept and Site Analysis

Your designer turns the site notes into a concept: how the space should flow, where patios, beds, lawn, and focal points belong, and how to handle grade and drainage. The big decisions get made on paper here, before they get expensive to change. Concept timing depends on property complexity, site information, selected deliverables, required approvals, and current design workload.

Step 3: 3D Renderings and Design Review

You review 3D renderings of the finished property, with your house and lot in frame, and refine materials, plant choices, and layout on screen. Revisions happen here, while changes are still a few clicks instead of a rebuild. The design schedule depends on property complexity, selected deliverables, revision rounds, required approvals, and current design workload.

Step 4: Materials, Estimate, and Scheduling

Once the design is right, your designer prices it as one itemized proposal covering planting, hardscape, lighting, and drainage, then prepares the project for scheduling. You see where every dollar goes before you sign. Construction timing depends on approvals, material availability, season, site conditions, and current crew scheduling.

Step 5: Installation by the Same Team

The crew that builds your landscape works from the plan your designer drew, and that designer stays involved through installation and the final walkthrough. Ongoing care is available through Premier Outdoor Services. Timeline: varies by scope.

What a Blue Tree Landscape Plan Includes

A complete plan is more than a plant list. Every Blue Tree design coordinates these layers so the finished landscape works as one property, not a set of disconnected projects.

A beautiful garden with pink and white hydrangeas and lush green shrubs lines a stone retaining wall in front of a stone house in bright, sunny weather.

Planting Design

Bed shapes, plant species and sizes, and a season-by-season bloom plan matched to your soil and light.

Explore Planting

Spacious backyard patio with orange chairs, a dining table, a white gazebo, and a pergola, surrounded by gardens and greenery under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Hardscape Layout

Patios, walkways, walls, and steps positioned with the planting and grade, so materials and drainage work together.

Explore Hardscape Design

A well-maintained yard with a stone French drain lined with rocks and pebbles runs alongside a house, bordered by neatly trimmed grass, small plants, and lush greenery in the background.

Grading and Drainage

A plan to move water away from the house and hardscapes, the difference between a landscape that lasts and one that washes out.

Explore Landscape Services

A stone house with tall windows is warmly lit at night, with outdoor lights illuminating the walls and a large tree in the foreground, casting shadows on the lawn.

Landscape Lighting

Path, accent, and uplighting designed into the plan so the property stays safe and usable after dark.

Explore Landscape Lighting

Drip Irrigation

Low-volume drip and zoning planned for plant establishment and long-term health.

Explore Drip Irrigation

A landscaped backyard with a stone patio, curved edge, garden bed featuring green shrubs, ornamental grass, and red flowers, next to a white gazebo and open grassy field in the background.

3D Renderings

A virtual walk-through of the finished property, so you approve the design before anything is built.

See Our Work

Designed for Southeastern Pennsylvania's Soil, Slope, and Seasons

A design that ignores the site fails in the ground. Southeastern Pennsylvania runs USDA hardiness zones 6b and 7a, with clay-heavy soils that hold water, rock close to the surface on many lots, deer pressure that eliminates many ornamental choices, and freeze-thaw cycles that move poorly built hardscape. Township rules on impervious surface, grading, and drainage vary by municipality across our region. Plant selection for these conditions leans toward native and adapted species that handle both summer drought stress and wet winters: Eastern redbud, river birch, and serviceberry for canopy; black-eyed Susan, coneflower, and native asters for seasonal color; switchgrass, little bluestem, and Pennsylvania sedge for low-maintenance texture. Where deer pressure is high, Blue Tree designs around known resistances rather than guessing at unproven selections. The aesthetic vocabulary most common in this region moves from formal colonial and Federal styles in older neighborhoods of Chester and Delaware Counties to naturalistic and new American cottage styles in Montgomery County suburbs, with clients increasingly requesting rain gardens and bioswale edges that manage stormwater from impervious surfaces while adding planting interest. Blue Tree handles permitting in-house and has refined this process over 43 years across Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties, so the plan that looks good on screen holds up in the yard.

A curved stone walkway bordered by dark bricks winds through landscaped gardens with green shrubs, ornamental grasses, mulch, and solar path lights, leading to a patio area in a spacious yard.

From Plan to Finished Property, One Team

Landscape Installation. The same team that designs your landscape builds it, working from your approved plan. Explore landscaping.

Hardscape Construction. Patios, walls, and walkways built into the design, not bolted on later. Explore hardscapes.

Ongoing Care. Planting, lawn, and bed maintenance handled by the same company through Premier Outdoor Services.

A landscaped area with green shrubs, large stone boulders, and a curved concrete pathway beside a beige stucco house with a window and decorative wall art. Blue sky with clouds is visible in the background.

Curated Transformations

Browse recent landscape projects from across Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties.

Everything Your Outdoor
Space Needs. One Team.

From the pool to the patio to the plants that frame it all. We handle the full picture so nothing falls through the cracks.

A luxurious backyard pool features stone walls with multiple cascading waterfalls, built-in lights, fire bowls, and surrounding lush greenery and flowers, creating an elegant and relaxing outdoor space.

Custom Pools & Water Features

Resort-style pools, spas, waterfalls, and grottos, designed for your property, not from a catalog

Explore Pools

Stone outdoor kitchen with built-in grill built by Blue Tree

Patios, Walls & Outdoor Kitchens

Structures built to last generations by craftsmen who take pride in the details

Explore Hardscapes

A well-maintained front yard features neatly trimmed grass, vibrant flower beds, shrubs, and small trees in front of a stone house, all bathed in warm sunlight.

Landscape Design & Planting

Native plants, seasonal color, and designs that thrive in Southeastern PA's climate

Explore Landscapes

A green fertilizer spreader sits on a neatly mowed lawn in front of a suburban house, surrounded by well-kept bushes and colorful flowers on a sunny day.

Lawn Programs

Science-backed fertilization, weed control, and aeration for the lawn your neighbors will notice

Explore Healthy Yards

A large backyard with a lit swimming pool, lounge chairs, and landscaping at dusk. Trees and a house with glowing windows are visible under a darkening sky.

Landscape Lighting

Professionally designed LED systems that add safety, security, and ambiance after dark

Explore Landscape Lighting

A large, well-manicured green lawn in front of a stone house with landscaped flower beds, bushes, and small trees, surrounded by tall trees with autumn foliage.

Year-Round Care

Seasonal cleanups, pool service, and ongoing care that keeps everything looking its best

Explore Premier Services

Common Questions

The initial consultation with Blue Tree Outdoor Living is free, lasts 1 to 2 hours, and covers a full site walk, sun and shade mapping, soil type assessment, and a preliminary plant and material direction. That consultation cost is folded into your project when you proceed. If you want a design-only deliverable without a committed installation, Blue Tree offers design-only engagements starting at $500 to $2,500 depending on property size and scope. The design package includes a scaled planting plan, a phased installation schedule, and a zone 6b to 7a plant list calibrated for your specific site conditions. Optional 3D rendering is available on request. The goal of the consultation is to give you enough information to make a confident decision, not to close a sale on the same day.

A Blue Tree Outdoor Living landscape design package is shaped around the property and approved scope. It may include a scaled planting plan, phased installation notes, a site-appropriate plant list, maintenance guidance, and optional 3D rendering. The number of revision rounds and delivery schedule depend on the property's complexity, required approvals, selected deliverables, and current design workload. Blue Tree confirms those details in the proposal before design work begins.

The full landscape design and installation schedule depends on the property's size, access, site conditions, approved scope, required municipal or HOA reviews, seasonal installation windows, material and plant availability, and current crew scheduling. Permit requirements and review times vary by municipality and project. Blue Tree confirms the applicable approval path during site evaluation and provides a current schedule after the scope is defined.

Pennsylvania's Landscape Architects' Registration Law regulates the title and practice of landscape architecture. The law expressly allows landscape contractors to prepare planting plans and incidental items, while work outside that scope may require a registered landscape architect, engineer, or other licensed professional depending on the project and local requirements. For a residential landscape project, look for relevant education, local plant and soil knowledge, a documented design process, and experience coordinating installation. John Mattiola holds a Penn State degree in Landscape Contracting. Blue Tree Outdoor Living has been in business for 43 years and currently serves Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties. Blue Tree identifies project-specific permitting or licensed-professional needs during site evaluation.

The best planting window depends on what is being installed. Penn State Extension recommends early March through early May for bare-root tree seedlings and identifies spring, early summer, and fall as suitable establishment periods for native perennials. Container-grown trees and shrubs also depend on stock type, site conditions, soil moisture, and follow-up care. Blue Tree evaluates those factors and current weather before scheduling. Installations that face hot or dry conditions need a reliable watering plan. Your proposal confirms the recommended window for the selected plant material and property.

Phasing is not automatically better than completing a landscape at once. It can make sense when budget, access, seasonal planting windows, or construction sequencing makes a single build impractical. When a project is phased, Blue Tree plans the full property first and defines each phase so drainage, grades, hardscape, utilities, and planting still connect to one coordinated design. Some projects are better completed in one construction sequence, while others benefit from separate phases. The recommended approach depends on scope, site conditions, approvals, plant availability, and your priorities.

The Landscape Design Process in Southeastern Pennsylvania

What Sets Blue Tree's Design Process Apart

Our Landscape Design Process, Step by Step