What areas does Blue Tree serve for outdoor living projects in and around Philadelphia County?

Blue Tree Outdoor Living serves homeowners across seven counties: Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Berks, and Philadelphia Counties. Within Philadelphia, the team works throughout the city's residential neighborhoods, including Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls, Germantown, Andorra, and the Far Northeast and Northeast riverfront communities. The company has built across the Philadelphia region since 1983 and works from its headquarters at 4494 Skippack Pike in Schwenksville, a short drive from the city neighborhoods it serves.

Landscaping & Outdoor Living in Philadelphia, PA

Why Philadelphia Homeowners Have Trusted Blue Tree Since 1983

Our story started in 1983, and for more than four decades we have designed and built outdoor spaces across the Philadelphia region, including the city's larger-lot residential neighborhoods. 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 Schwenksville headquarters on Skippack Pike sits a short drive from the Philadelphia neighborhoods we serve, from Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy to Roxborough, East Falls, and the Far Northeast. We do not commute from an hour away to work on your property. We file permits with the city, we know which plants thrive in Philadelphia's clay and fill soils and mature tree canopy, and we understand the access, historic district, and lot-size challenges of building in the city.

What matters most to us is the relationship. We are building patios and gardens for the children of clients we worked with 25 years ago. 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 Philadelphia 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 a full-service design-build firm serving Philadelphia 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 where city lots have the room, 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.

Explore Custom Pool Construction

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.

Explore Landscape Design & Installation

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

Hardscape Design & Installation

From paver patios and courtyard hardscapes 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 Philadelphia building codes and historic district requirements. Our designers integrate hardscape elements with the surrounding landscape to create a cohesive outdoor living space, not a collection of disconnected projects.

See Hardscape Design & Installation

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 Philadelphia: clay and fill soils, mature shade, Zone 7a and 7b heat, seasonal weed pressure, and 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.

Explore Healthy Yards Lawn Care

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.

Explore Premier Outdoor Services

Communities We Serve Across Philadelphia

From our Schwenksville headquarters on Skippack Pike, we serve homeowners across Philadelphia's residential neighborhoods. Whether you own a historic stone home in Chestnut Hill, a twin in Mount Airy, or a single on a larger lot in the Far Northeast, our team knows your terrain, your soil, and the city permitting and historic district requirements that affect your project.

Chestnut Hill & Mount Airy

Chestnut Hill · West Mount Airy · East Mount Airy · Cresheim Valley

Roxborough & Manayunk

Roxborough · Upper Roxborough · Manayunk · Wissahickon

East Falls & Germantown

East Falls · Germantown · Allens Lane · Nicetown

Andorra & Northwest Edge

Andorra · Ridge Park · Blue Bell Hill · Shawmont

Far Northeast

Somerton · Bustleton · Fox Chase · Rhawnhurst · Pine Valley

Northeast Riverfront

Torresdale · Holmesburg · Academy Gardens · Parkwood

Designed for Philadelphia's Climate, Soil, and Character

Building a pool, patio, or outdoor kitchen in Philadelphia requires permits from the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) for the building and pool work, and a Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) variance if the project cannot meet the dimensional requirements of the city's zoning code. Many rowhouse backyards in Philadelphia fall below the city's minimum lot area for pool installation, making a ZBA variance a routine part of the process for in-ground pools. Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) bills properties for stormwater based on impervious surface area, so adding a patio or pool deck increases the property's ongoing stormwater charge. Lead soil testing is recommended before installing planting beds in older Philadelphia neighborhoods, where historical paint, industrial activity, and former fill can leave elevated lead concentrations in surface soil. The urban heat island effect adds one to two effective USDA hardiness zones of growing heat, which means Philadelphia gardeners can push zone 8 plant selections that would not survive in the cooler rural stretches of Southeastern PA. Summer lawn heat stress, however, is also more intense in the city. Blue Tree designs and builds for Philadelphia's specific conditions, from Chestnut Hill's established estate grounds to residential yards throughout the Northeast and Roxborough.

Soil across Philadelphia is a mix of clay and decades of urban fill, often under a mature tree canopy in the older residential neighborhoods. Fill and compacted ground create drainage challenges, and established roots and shade add complexity to new plantings. These realities have to be addressed during installation, not discovered after the fact. Soil amendment and drainage design are built into nearly every project we complete in the city.

We also design around realities that Philadelphia homeowners know well: lots are tighter and access is often limited, the historic districts of Chestnut Hill and other neighborhoods carry strict design and permitting standards, and many projects are renovations of mature, established landscapes rather than blank slates. After more than four decades of building across the region, we have filed permits, solved drainage and access problems, and worked within the constraints of city properties. That institutional knowledge is something no newcomer can replicate.

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 Neighborhoods Across Philadelphia

Blue Tree designs and builds throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding region. We also serve homeowners in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, and Berks Counties.

Gwynedd Valley

Wayne

Lafayette Hill

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

Common Questions

Philadelphia outdoor projects vary widely by neighborhood character. A rear courtyard garden for a Chestnut Hill or Mt. Airy property typically runs $12,000 to $28,000 depending on hardscape, planting, and lighting scope. NE Philadelphia row home backyard and side yard transformations run $6,000 to $14,000. Pool construction for a Northwest Philadelphia estate property ranges from $75,000 to $165,000 including surrounding hardscape and equipment. Philadelphia L&I permit fees and processing time are a real cost factor: pool permits, deck permits, and structural fence permits all require L&I review, and properties in historic districts require additional Historical Commission review that can add six to twelve weeks. Your free consultation includes a site assessment and a permit-pathway overview specific to your block and zoning district.

Philadelphia projects have longer permit lead times than suburban counties. Philadelphia L&I processes pool and structure permits in four to ten weeks depending on current review queue. Historic district properties in Chestnut Hill, Germantown, and Roxborough face an additional layer of review through the Philadelphia Historical Commission, which meets on a fixed schedule and can add six to twelve weeks before any ground is broken. Once permits are in hand, installation moves efficiently: a courtyard garden in NW Philadelphia typically takes one to two weeks on site, a pool surround three to five weeks. One practical advantage Philadelphia has over suburban counties is a longer growing season. The urban heat island keeps soil temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit several weeks earlier in spring and later into fall than the inland Southeastern PA counties, so planting windows extend from early March through late November in most city neighborhoods.

Compact Philadelphia properties benefit from bluestone or Techo-Bloc pavers in smaller module sizes that scale correctly to narrow rowhouse rear yards, typically 12 to 20 feet wide. Cast Lighting and FX Luminaire LED fixtures are the right choice for city properties where ambient light levels are higher and accent lighting must work harder to create ambiance. For plantings, Philadelphia's zone 7a to 7b urban heat island means a broader plant palette than suburban counties: crape myrtles, fatsia, and southern magnolias overwinter successfully in Center City and South Philly microclimates that would kill the same plants in Doylestown. A common mistake is planting for zone 7a when a rowhouse courtyard effectively behaves as zone 7b due to heat retention from surrounding masonry walls. Blue Tree selects plant material based on the specific microclimate of each site, not the county average.

Philadelphia has several regulations and programs that do not exist in suburban counties. The Philadelphia Water Department's Green City Clean Waters program actively promotes bioswales, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces to manage stormwater in the combined sewer system. Blue Tree designs permeable hardscape using ASTM C936 compliant pavers from Belgard and Unilock that qualify for stormwater credit under PWD's residential programs, which can reduce stormwater billing for eligible properties. Properties in historic districts including Chestnut Hill, Germantown, and parts of Roxborough require Philadelphia Historical Commission approval for changes to exterior character, including fences, paving, and structures visible from the street. Philadelphia L&I requires permits for pools, decks over 200 square feet, and fences over 6 feet in most zoning categories. Spotted Lanternfly is present throughout Philadelphia County and all site materials must comply with PA quarantine requirements.

Philadelphia's urban heat island creates a maintenance calendar that runs roughly two to four weeks ahead of suburban counties in both directions. Spring pre-emergent applications start in early to mid-March when soil temps in city neighborhoods hit 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Summer management in Philadelphia is more intensive than suburban areas because heat-stressed turf and ornamentals in zone 7b face conditions at the edge of their tolerance ranges from mid-July through late August. Our PA-licensed pesticide applicators manage Japanese beetle grubs, chinch bugs, and fungal pressure including dollar spot and pythium blight on a city-specific schedule. Rain gardens and bioswale plantings installed under PWD Green City programs require dedicated seasonal maintenance to stay functional. Northwest Philadelphia neighborhoods with mature tree canopy need fall leaf management from October through December. Annual maintenance programs for Philadelphia properties typically run $2,200 to $4,800.

Blue Tree Outdoor Living has 43 years of experience in Southeastern PA including the full range of Philadelphia property types, from NW Philadelphia estate grounds to NE Philadelphia residential backyards to Chestnut Hill institutional landscapes. Our 13 to 14 year average employee tenure means project managers who have navigated Philadelphia L&I permits, Philadelphia Water Department stormwater programs, and Philadelphia Historical Commission reviews on real projects, not just in theory. Justin Acal, our Senior Pool and Landscape Designer, brings direct experience with the spatial constraints and microclimate considerations of urban pool and courtyard projects. Our pool construction track record of 15 years includes projects in Philadelphia where lot access and equipment staging require creative logistics. We are also one of very few Southeastern PA contractors offering a full menu from pool construction through licensed turf care under one team.

Pools, Landscapes, and Hardscapes in Philadelphia County, PA

Why Philadelphia Homeowners Have Trusted Blue Tree Since 1983