Featured Landscape Designer

Sudbury Landscape Design Services is lead by Landscape Designer Tony Bernstein. Well known for his clean, creative landscape designs in the Boston area, Tony provides a 3 step planning process to help guide clients through the complex landscape design process. SLDA's talented team of creative landscape professionals brings your vision to life. Tony insists that the finished product represent beauty and functionality in a way that reflects your family's personalities and the personality of the land itself.

If you're in the Boston, Massachusetts region, check out SLDA.biz and see the amazing design work they have accomplished.

Landscape Materials & Features

Natural Stone
Brick Pavers
Stone Pavers
Stamped Concrete
Flagstone
Landscape Lighting
Waterfalls
Rocks
Swimming Pools
Ponds
Walkways
Decks
Porches
Garden Fountains
Patios

Climate and Landscaping

The United States Department of Agriculture has created a national mapping of climate zones as a reference for anyone in the agricultural industry including professional landscape designers and architects. The US Hardiness Zone Rating applies a rating value to all plants in terms of their tolerance to cold in all areas of the country. The USDA Hardiness Map (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html) divides North America into 11 different hardiness zones. Other factors that will determine whether a plant or flower is suitable are moisture and elevation therefore a horticulturist and landscape designer need to be aware of the zone rating of the garden location they working on and which plants will live in them. The USDA Hardiness Map even breaks it down into zip codes for easy reference for garden plant selection. If you're in a major urban area, your hardiness zone rating could be as much one full unit higher than the surrounding rural areas.

AHS Heat Zone Map

The American Horticultural Society has developed a heat map called the AHS Heat Zone map (http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/05_heat_map.pdf) which displays the temperature characteristics for the area of the United States. Researchers have found that plants suffer damage when exposed to heat above 86 degrees therefore the heat map shows which areas have excessive heat that kills plant life. The ratings show how many "heat days" a particular region has and this can guide selection of plants that may be able to withstanding extreme temperatures. The amount of moisture/water and elevation will also factor into plant heat tolerance, however the chart is a good guide for many gardeners and landscape designers who are discussing which types of plants could be successfully grown in their region and what landscaping features are needed to help withstand extremely hot and dry conditions.