Does Skippack Township require permits for pools, patios, or outdoor structures?

Yes. Skippack Township issues building permits for in-ground pools, decks, sheds, fences, and most permanent hardscape installations. Pool permit applications typically include a site plan, setback dimensions, fencing specifications, and electrical details, and processing times run four to eight weeks depending on the season. Fence permits are separate from pool permits. Blue Tree handles the permit application process for every project it designs and builds, and the team is familiar with the Skippack Township inspectors and what they require at each stage.

What plants perform well on Skippack Township lots, and what should homeowners avoid?

Skippack Township sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a. On the sunny Cecil upland soils, native plantings like switchgrass, little bluestem, black-eyed Susan, and coneflower establish quickly and tolerate the shallow topsoil. In shadier valley spots on Worsham clay, astilbe, hosta, ferns, and oakleaf hydrangea outperform turf, and Japanese maples and river birch do well near low areas. Avoid Bradford pear entirely. Spotted Lanternfly management is a real concern, so tree of heaven should be removed, and the landscape designers specify deer-resistant selections as a default for Skippack properties.

How long has Blue Tree served Skippack Township and the surrounding area?

Blue Tree Outdoor Living has been headquartered in Skippack Township for decades and in business for 43 years since its founding in Norristown in 1983. The design center moved to 4494 Skippack Pike, Schwenksville in 2008 and has operated from this same address since. The team has completed pool builds, major hardscape projects, and long-term Healthy Yards programs on nearly every road in the township, including properties along Evansburg Road, Heckler Road, Salfordville Road, and the Skippack Village corridor.

What areas does Blue Tree serve around Skippack?

Blue Tree is based in Skippack and builds throughout the township and the surrounding region, including nearby communities such as Collegeville, Trappe, Harleysville, Lederach, Schwenksville, Lansdale, and North Wales. Beyond Skippack, Blue Tree serves homeowners across seven counties: Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties.

Landscaping & Outdoor Living in Skippack, PA

Why Skippack Homeowners Have Trusted Blue Tree Since 1983

Our story started in 1983, and our headquarters has been on Skippack Pike since 2008. Skippack is not just a place we work, it is our home. What began as a small residential landscape operation has grown into a full-service design-build firm with 70 to 90 team members, six degree-holding designers with a combined 100-plus years of experience, and a production calendar that spans pools, patios, landscapes, turf care, and year-round maintenance.

Our headquarters sits at 4494 Skippack Pike, in the heart of the community we serve. For Skippack homeowners, that means the team designing and building your project is based minutes away, not an hour out. We file permits with Skippack Township, we know the clay soils and the Skippack Creek watershed drainage patterns, and we understand exactly what it takes to build well on properties throughout the township.

What matters most to us is the relationship. We are building pools and patios for the children of clients we worked with 25 years ago, many of them right here in our own town. Our designers develop friendships with homeowners that last long after the project is complete. As Jeff, our founder, was told early on: "All you have in life is your reputation." That advice has guided every decision we have made for more than four decades, and it is why Skippack homeowners continue to trust Blue Tree with their most important outdoor projects.

A paved stone walkway curves beside a landscaped garden with shrubs and flowers, leading to a patio area near a white house and a black metal fence. Outdoor seating and a grill are visible under a covered patio.

Every Outdoor Living Service You Need
One Company, One Point of Contact

Blue Tree is not just a landscaping company. We are a full-service residential design-build firm that handles every element of your outdoor space, from concept to completion to ongoing care. That means one designer, one team, and one company for the entire project.

Clean rectilinear geometric gunite pool with sharp coping and blue water

Custom Pool Construction

Blue Tree Outdoor Living is one of the only full-service design-build firms based on Skippack Pike in Schwenksville that handles custom pool construction in-house, from design and permitting through excavation, plumbing, plaster, and decking. We have been building inground pools for 15 years using premium Jandy equipment, and our approach is different: we do not just build the pool and leave. We design the entire backyard environment, including the pool, patio, landscaping, lighting, and drainage, as one integrated project. That is what turnkey means at Blue Tree.

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Layered ornamental planting bed design with mixed shrubs, perennials, and stone edging

Landscape Design & Installation

Our landscape design and installation services are led by degree-holding designers who create custom plans using CAD software and 3D renderings. We source approximately 90 percent of our plant material from local growers, design for four-season interest and long-term performance, and back every planting with a one-year warranty. Whether you need a foundation planting refresh, a native garden installation, or a complete property transformation, our design team builds the plan around your vision, lifestyle, and budget.

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Multi-pattern paver patio with seat wall and planted borders at a Pennsylvania home

Hardscape Design & Installation

From paver patios and outdoor kitchens to retaining walls, fire pits, and walkways, our hardscape design and installation services transform your property with durable, low-maintenance materials. All work complies with Skippack Township building codes. Our designers integrate hardscape elements with the surrounding landscape and pool environment to create a cohesive outdoor living space, not a collection of disconnected projects.

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Blue Tree technician treating a healthy green lawn in Southeastern PA

Healthy Yards
Programs

Our Healthy Yards turf care programs address the specific challenges of maintaining a lawn in Skippack: clay soils, Zone 6b/7a temperature swings, seasonal weed pressure, and creek-watershed drainage issues. Services include fertilization, aeration, overseeding, weed control, mosquito and tick treatments, and drainage solutions. Mark, our turf care manager with 20 years of experience, oversees every program personally.

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Landscape lighting illuminating a home and yard by Blue Tree Outdoor Living

Premier Outdoor Services

Blue Tree's Premier Outdoor Services maintenance services keep your entire outdoor investment looking and performing its best year-round. Pool opening and closing, paver restoration, bed maintenance, seasonal clean-ups, pruning, mulching, and more, all managed through a single point of contact.

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Communities We Serve In and Around Skippack

From our Skippack Pike design center, we serve homeowners throughout Skippack Township and the surrounding communities. Whether you are in the historic village, out toward Cedars and Creamery, or on a wooded lot near Evansburg, our team knows your neighborhood, your soil, and the township requirements that affect your project.

Skippack Village & Township

Skippack Village · Cedars · Creamery · Lower Skippack

Toward Collegeville & Trappe

Collegeville · Trappe · Evansburg · Rahns

Toward Worcester & Center Point

Worcester · Center Point · Fairview Village

Toward Harleysville & Lederach

Harleysville · Lederach · Mainland · Salford

Toward Schwenksville & the Perkiomen

Schwenksville · Graterford · Collegeville

Toward Lansdale & North Wales

Lansdale · North Wales · Kulpsville · Towamencin

Designed for Skippack's Climate, Soil, and Character

Skippack Township is one of the few remaining semi-rural townships in Montgomery County, with large minimum lot sizes in many zoning districts and a mix of historic farmstead conversions and newer estate subdivisions along Skippack Pike and the township's rural road network. Many properties converted from agricultural use contain filled areas over former outbuildings or drainage swales, and Blue Tree investigates site conditions before designing bases for pools and hardscape on these lots. The Skippack Creek corridor introduces floodplain setback considerations on lower-lying properties; pools near the creek require a floodplain elevation certificate before permits are issued. Cecil series clay loam on the higher ground gives way to hydric soils in low spots near the creek, which drives two different drainage approaches depending on where a property sits on the landscape. Skippack Township administers its own building and zoning permits, with review requirements for pools, retaining walls, and grading that exceed the threshold amounts. Given the proximity to Skippack Pike and the company's own design center and offices in nearby Schwenksville, the Blue Tree team has active long-term relationships throughout Skippack Township going back to the company's founding in 1983.

Soil around Skippack is predominantly clay, with rockier ground on the higher terrain toward Collegeville and Worcester. Clay retains moisture and creates drainage challenges, while rock complicates excavation for pools and footings. Both have to be addressed during installation, not discovered after the fact. Soil amendment is part of nearly every planting project we complete here, and proper drainage design is built into every hardscape and pool plan, especially near the Skippack Creek watershed.

We also design around realities that Skippack homeowners know well: deer pressure is significant on the wooded and semi-rural lots, freeze-thaw cycles heave shallow-rooted plants and shift improperly based pavers, and Skippack Township has its own permitting requirements for pools, structures, impervious surfaces, and stormwater management. Because we are based here, we have filed those permits and solved those drainage problems on properties all over the township. That local knowledge is something no out-of-town contractor can match.

A spacious backyard patio with stone pavers, outdoor dining table and chairs under a large umbrella, a white gazebo, landscaped plants, and green trees in the background.

13 to 14 Years. That's the average tenure of a Blue Tree employee. In an industry where turnover is measured in months, our people stay for decades. They stay because the culture is built on respect, collaboration, and the kind of work they're proud to put their name on.

What Our Clients Say

Curated Transformations

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

Serving Skippack and the Surrounding Area

Blue Tree is based on Skippack Pike in Schwenksville and builds throughout the township and the surrounding region. We also serve homeowners across Montgomery County and into Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties.

Outdoor living in Gwynedd Valley

Outdoor living in Wayne

Outdoor living in Lafayette Hill

The Pennsylvania State Capitol building, a nod to Blue Tree's Southeastern Pennsylvania roots

Common Questions

Blue Tree Outdoor Living offers the full range of outdoor services to Skippack Township homeowners from our design center at 4494 Skippack Pike, literally minutes away. Services include custom pool design and construction, natural stone and paver hardscape, landscape design and installation, Healthy Yards lawn care and turf programs, irrigation systems, outdoor lighting, and Premier Outdoor Services for ongoing maintenance. Because our headquarters sits right here on Skippack Pike, Skippack Township is one of our highest-priority service areas. You will find our crews working on Evansburg Road, Heckler Road, and throughout the rural corridors of the township on any given week. Request a Free Consultation to get started.

Skippack Township properties divide sharply by elevation. Ridge lots along the Cecil sandy loam uplands drain well but often have thin topsoil over rock, which demands careful bed preparation before any planting takes root. Valley properties near the Perkiomen Creek and Skippack Creek corridors sit on Worsham series clay, a seasonally wet soil that stays saturated through April and compresses under hardscape loads if not properly addressed with drainage infrastructure. Large mature oak and maple canopies on half-acre to two-acre lots create heavy shade that limits turf options and increases moss competition. We also see significant deer pressure in the wooded transition zones between farms and residential properties. Our teams account for all of these site-specific variables in every Skippack design.

Yes. Skippack Township issues building permits for in-ground pools, decks, sheds, fences, and most permanent hardscape installations. The township permit office is located at 1南 Township Line Road, Skippack. Pool permit applications typically include a site plan, setback dimensions from property lines and structures, fencing specifications, and electrical details. Processing times run four to eight weeks depending on the season. Fence permits are separate from pool permits. Blue Tree handles the permit application process for all projects we design and build, and our team is familiar with the Skippack Township inspectors and what they require at each stage. We factor permit timelines into every project schedule from the first consultation.

Skippack Township sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a, which gives homeowners solid year-round planting options. On the sunny Cecil upland soils, native plantings like switchgrass, little bluestem, black-eyed Susan, and coneflower establish quickly and tolerate the shallow topsoil. In shadier valley spots on Worsham clay, astilbe, hosta, ferns, and oakleaf hydrangea outperform turf. Japanese maples and river birch do well near low areas. Avoid Bradford pear entirely. Spotted Lanternfly management is a real concern throughout the township; tree of heaven is the primary host and should be removed from any property where we find it. Deer browse is a significant limiting factor in the wooded areas near Evansburg State Park. Our landscape designers specify deer-resistant selections as a default for Skippack properties.

Blue Tree Outdoor Living has operated from its Skippack Pike design center in Schwenksville for decades, and has been in business for 43 years since our founding in Norristown in 1983. We moved our design center to 4494 Skippack Pike, Schwenksville in 2008 and have operated from this same address since. Skippack Township is not a service area we drive to. It is the community our team lives and works in every day. We have completed pool builds, major hardscape projects, and long-term Healthy Yards programs on nearly every road in the township, including properties along Evansburg Road, Heckler Road, Salfordville Road, and in the Skippack Village corridor. Zip codes 19474 and 19473 are our home ground.

The simplest answer is that Blue Tree is your neighbor. Our design center is on Skippack Pike, our crews are in the township most days of the week, and our team has 13 to 14 year average employee tenure, which means the people who scope your project have seen hundreds of Skippack properties in every season. Chad Ochnich holds ICPI certification from the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute, the hardscape industry's gold standard. Our pool team has 15 years of pool construction experience. We maintain preferred contractor relationships with Belgard, Techo-Bloc, Unilock, and the leading pool equipment brands. For a Skippack homeowner, there is no firm that knows this soil, this climate, or this community better. Request a Free Consultation at our Skippack Pike design center.

Pools, Landscapes, and Hardscapes in Skippack, PA

Why Skippack Homeowners Have Trusted Blue Tree Since 1983