Landscaping in Hampton Township

Hampton Township is settled, well-treed North Hills suburbia, and like McCandless most of our work here is renovation rather than new installation.

The canopy is the defining feature. It is the best thing about these properties and the hardest constraint on them — shade that thins a lawn out over a few seasons, root competition that makes bed preparation a different job, and an autumn leaf load that will kill turf if it sits through winter.

Rear gardens tend to slope. The level terrace or patio most people want is something that has to be built into the hill, which puts the retaining wall at the centre of the project rather than at its edge.

The planting that came with these houses has usually outgrown its spacing by a considerable margin, so a Hampton renovation often starts with removal before anything new goes in.