Landscaping in Cottage Grove, MN
Patios, walls and planting for Washington County yards.
Two kinds of yard, two kinds of problem
Cottage Grove splits fairly neatly. There are the newer developments, where the yard arrived as graded clay, a strip of sod and three shrubs against the foundation. And there are the older neighborhoods, where the planting went in decades ago and has long since outgrown the space it was given.
The new yards need everything built. The older ones usually need something taken out before anything goes in. Both are ordinary work for us, but they are not the same job, and a plan that treats them the same tends to disappoint.
Clay, water and where it ends up
Much of Cottage Grove sits on heavy soil that holds water rather than taking it. That is why a bed that looked fine in May turns sour by August, and why patios settle unevenly if the base was not built for it.
So the boring part comes first. We look at where water arrives, where it sits and where it can be sent, and we fix that before spending money on the visible part. Grading, drain tile and a properly built base are what decide whether a patio still looks right in ten years.
Starting from a builder-grade yard
If your house came with a blank rectangle of sod, the useful first step is usually a plan rather than a purchase. A scaled design settles where the patio goes, how you get to it, what screens the neighbors and what the beds will look like once the plants are grown rather than on the day they go in.
From there the work can happen in one go or in stages. Either way, the parts are laid out to fit together instead of being added one at a time and hoping.
What we do in Cottage Grove
From a full design to a single overgrown bed that needs clearing out.
Cottage Grove questions
Do you serve Cottage Grove, MN?
Yes. Cottage Grove is in our east metro service area, worked from our Afton location alongside Woodbury, Lake Elmo, Afton and Stillwater.
My yard holds water. Can that be fixed?
Usually. Heavy clay is common here, and the answer is normally some combination of regrading, drain tile and choosing plants that tolerate the conditions rather than fighting them. It is worth sorting out before any planting goes in.
We just built. Where should we start?
With a plan. A scaled design settles the patio, the walkways, the screening and the beds as one layout, so the work can then be built in stages without the parts contradicting each other.
Can you rip out an overgrown bed and start again?
Yes. Clearing overgrowth, removing tired or oversized plantings, re-edging and re-mulching, and hauling the debris away is routine work for us.
Tell us about your property
Send us the details and we will get back to you.
(952) 324-0481 · office@evergreenlawnmn.com
Getting to the back yard
A lot of Cottage Grove lots have a narrow side yard with a fence down one side, and that decides more about a patio project than the patio does. Where the machine can reach, where material gets stockpiled, and how the lawn recovers afterwards are all worth settling early rather than discovering on the first morning.
On a tight lot it sometimes changes the design. Better to know that while it is still a drawing.