After two years of living in our new home, my husband and I are finally getting around to making some changes to our landscape.  The property was one of the core reasons we bought our house; it has amazing, mature trees and shrubs.  I’m talking 80 foot Cedars, Pines, a Grey Birc

Much of Massachusetts has suffered from extreme drought this year.  By the end of August  70% of the state was experiencing drought, and more than half of the cities and towns in the state had some type of water ban, limiting water used for “nonessential outdoor watering”.

Hydrangeas play a central role in the late summer garden.  Those woody shrubs that look bare in early spring leaf out and produce fabulous blooms from mid summer through the fall.  And, as temperatures cool and blooms fade, they take on a whole new muted color palette.  Perfect for cu

We are so excited to be nominated for HGTV’s ‘Ultimate Outdoor Awards’ contest!  The contest features gardens and landscapes across six categories.  You can view and vote for your favorite garden here.  Our project, “Pastoral Garden at Cedar Home” is in t

We are thrilled to receive the Best of Houzz 2016 award for Design for our Wellesley patio project. And, for the fourth year in a row we were awarded Best of Houzz for Service.  Thank you to all of our wonderful clients for taking the time to write such great reviews.  

Now that winter is here, and there are no more showy flowers or fall foliage, you can really start to see other ornamental aspects of plants.  You can appreciate how woody and evergreen trees and shrubs provide form and texture throughout the winter.  If you look a bit more closely, y

My husband and I spent last weekend in Asheville, NC on a brief “baby moon” (we’re expecting a little one in January!)  It was a gorgeous time of year to be in the Blue Ridge Mountains, perfect weather and clear skies! On Saturday we spent the day touring the Biltmor

Autumn seems a bit late to arrive this year.  Temperatures have been warm, and we’ve only started to see a bit of fall color (at least north of Boston). If fall is your favorite season (it’s definitely mine) and you’re thinking of planting this time of year (which is

For the last year I’ve been working on this wonderful project in Brookline.  The design, featured in my July Newsletter, creates a useable front yard sitting and garden space for a multi-generational family.  As the sunniest space on the property we created a patio and raised pl

Nilsen Landscape Design’s Wellesley Project was recently featured in a Houzz article about Cape Cod style architecture and design. “This Boston example faithfully follows the Cape Cod style and adds dormers to complete its look. You’ll notice that some examples in this sto