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

Last week I was in Concord photographing a project that I had recently finished.  Since I was in the area, I decided to stop by the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln on my way back to the office.  I wrote a post back in 2012 about a visit to this sculpture park, and its b

This season I’ve designed a number of different landscape walls.  When considering a wall, don’t forget about lighting!  It is a critical component to the plan and a great way to highlight the natural beauty of stone work.  There are a few different types of light fixtures

It is Friday before Memorial Day weekend, and instead of packing the day with meetings, I treated myself to a field trip to Van Berkum Nursery in Southern New Hampshire.  This nursery is specific to perennials and is noted for having a wide variety of plants to choose from.  I took my