The patio is finished. The walkway is laid. The retaining wall is holding the grade. And the property looks like a construction project that forgot to invite nature back.

Plantings are what complete the picture. They soften the edges of the hardscape. They screen the views that need screening. They create the seasonal color that gives the landscape a different character in April than it does in October. And they produce the layered, textured, living quality that separates a designed landscape from a built one.