Services
Everything we build and keep up
You can hire one of these or all six. Each starts with the same first visit and the same written estimate.
Raised beds built to your reach
Beds at seated, standing or table height, set on a firm base and filled with soil and compost.
How we size a bedCedar or composite, your choice
A wide edge you can rest on or sit on
Soil and compost delivered and filled by the crew
Firm, wide paths and resting spots
A way from the back door to the beds that a walker or a wheelchair crosses without a bump.
Compacted stone, pavers or a poured pad
At least 36 inches wide, 60 where a chair turns
A bench or a seat at the end of the path
Low-care planting
Plants chosen for Minnesota winters and a short list of chores.
Perennials, grasses and shrubs that return each year
Mulch to keep weeding small
A plain care sheet with the plants' names
Watering you can reach
Water at every bed without carrying a can or dragging a hose.
Drip lines on a timer
A spigot at hand height
Spring start-up and fall drain-down
Less lawn to mow
A smaller lawn is a calmer yard. We shrink the part you no longer want to mow.
Ground cover, low beds or a path in its place
Edging that keeps the new line clean
A mowing strip if you want to keep some grass
Seasonal visits
The same crew, a few visits a year, on a calendar everyone can read.
See the yearSpring cut-back and bed set-up
A midsummer tidy
Fall clean-up and water drain-down
Pricing
How we work out the price
No price list here, because no two reaches are the same. This is what decides the number, and when you see it in writing.
What decides the price
Three things move the number most: how many beds and how big, how hard the crew has to work to reach the spot, and what everything is made of.
How many beds, and how big
Access: gates, steps, slopes and the carry from the street
Materials: cedar or composite, stone or pavers
The time of year the work lands
What the estimate includes, and what it doesn't
The written estimate lists each bed, path and planting with its measurements, the materials, the work days and the clean-up. It leaves out tree removal, new electrical or plumbing, and any city permit your project needs. If one of those comes up, the estimate says so.
What happens at the visit
The first visit runs about an hour. We sit and stand where you garden, measure the spot, take photos and ask what is hard right now. Family can join by phone. The written estimate follows by email or by mail, whichever you choose.
How and when you pay
A deposit holds the work days, a second payment comes when the beds are built, and the balance is due after we walk the garden with you. If you want the bill to go to a son or daughter, tell us and we send it there. We take checks and cards.
If the job changes
Suppose a bed needs to move or a path should be wider once we are on site. We write the change and its cost on one page, and you approve it before we do it.
Materials and who buys them
We choose and buy the lumber, soil, stone and plants after you have picked the heights and the look. You choose between cedar and composite, and we bring samples to the visit.
Season by season
A year in a Minneapolis garden
The work follows the weather, so the visits are few and you know when each one comes.
March to May
The ground thaws, we cut back last year's growth, open the water lines and set up the beds. Planting waits until the hard frosts are past.
Cut back perennials and grasses
Open the drip lines and check the timer
Top up the beds with fresh soil and compost
Plant in mid-May or after the last hard frost
June to August
Summer is the easy season: a tidy visit in midsummer, a check of the drip lines, and a trim for anything that has flopped over a path.
One midsummer tidy visit
Drip line and timer check
Staking and trimming where needed
Help with the harvest on request
September to October
We clear what has finished, lift the leaves off beds and paths, and drain the water lines before the first hard freeze.
Fall clean-up of beds and paths
Drain and cap the water lines
Plant spring bulbs
Mulch the beds for winter
November to February
The garden sleeps and we plan. Winter is a calm time to measure, draw and book spring work, so beds go in as soon as the ground thaws.
Planning visits by appointment
Drawings and written estimates
Spring build dates are booked in order
Questions answered by phone all winter
Let's look at your garden together
A first visit runs about an hour, and a son or daughter can join by phone.