Native plants are the backbone of a landscape that thrives instead of just surviving. Blue Tree designs and installs native plantings tuned to Southeastern Pennsylvania's soil, climate, and wildlife, so your yard fills in faster, needs less water and spray, and supports the pollinators and birds that belong here. For 43 years, our degreed designers have matched the right native to the right spot across the region.
Anyone can put a few natives in a bed. Designing a native landscape that actually works is harder, and it is what Blue Tree does. A degreed designer reads your site, sun, soil, moisture, slope, and deer pressure, then chooses natives and proven adapted species that fit those exact conditions and the look you want. The result is a landscape that establishes quickly, holds its structure through the seasons, and needs far less water, fertilizer, and pesticide than a conventional planting. Blue Tree has designed native landscapes across Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties since 1983, and the same team that designs the planting installs and can maintain it.
Written by John Mattiola, a Blue Tree landscape designer with a Penn State degree in landscape contracting, and reviewed by senior designer Stephen Roehm.
Garden Design and Planting. Blend natives with ornamentals for a fuller, year-round planting. Explore garden design.
Drip Irrigation. Low-volume watering that gets natives through their first summers, then largely steps back. Explore drip irrigation.
Ongoing Bed Care. Seasonal mulching, editing, and maintenance handled by the same team through Premier Outdoor Services.
Native plants are adapted to Southeastern Pennsylvania's soil, climate, and wildlife, so they establish faster and need far less water, fertilizer, and pesticide than conventional plantings once established. They also support local pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects. Blue Tree designs native landscapes that deliver those benefits while still looking intentional and finished, not weedy.
Not necessarily. Native plant material costs about the same as comparable ornamentals, and a well-designed native landscape usually costs less to maintain over time because it needs less water, fertilizer, and spray. Most Blue Tree native projects range from about $5,000 for a focused bed to $40,000 or more for a full-property native plan, as of 2026. Every project starts with a free consultation and an itemized proposal.
Only if they are designed that way. Blue Tree can design native plantings anywhere on the spectrum, from crisp, formal native beds to a relaxed pollinator meadow. The structure, edging, and plant placement are what make a native landscape read as designed rather than overgrown, and that is exactly what a degreed designer plans for.
Strong performers for our region include coneflower, bee balm, switchgrass and little bluestem, oakleaf hydrangea, itea, winterberry, viburnum, and woodland natives like ferns and phlox for shade. The right choice depends on your sun, soil, moisture, and deer pressure, which is why Blue Tree matches species to your exact site rather than a generic list.
Some are, and some are not. Deer pressure is heavy across much of Southeastern Pennsylvania, so Blue Tree leans on natives and adapted species deer tend to avoid, like certain grasses, ferns, and aromatic perennials, in high-pressure areas. No plant is fully deer-proof, but the right native palette dramatically reduces browsing damage.
Yes. Native plantings need the most attention in the first season while they establish, and Blue Tree provides a watering guide plus a one-year plant replacement warranty. Ongoing seasonal care, editing, and mulching are available through Premier Outdoor Services, handled by the same team that designed and installed the planting.
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