About
What We Do
The places where we live and work can provide us with beauty and inspiration as well as function and utility. Starting with the needs and desires of property owners, we work with the site’s characteristics to create unique landscapes that are both beautiful and meet the day-to-day needs of the owners. Beginning with site assessment and design, through construction, installation, and ongoing maintenance, we can help solve your landscaping problems, whether the setting is a suburban neighborhood, corporate campus, private school, park, or public access facility.
The “soup-to-nuts” range of services we offer gives us an advantage over most other landscaping companies. We handle all aspects of land management, ensuring our services are coordinated, integrated, and efficient. This “one-stop shopping” makes our customers’ lives easier, as they don’t have to coordinate many different service providers. Additionally, we can also save them money because we can often accomplish multiple tasks during a single visit. Lawn care, shrub and tree care, new construction, mulching, irrigation, clean-up—we do it all!
We believe in partnerships, not only with our customers, but with our staff and employees, our suppliers, and with the other professional associates we work with. This collaborative approach offers distinct benefits for everyone involved. We are committed to working closely with our customers to solve their landscape problems and are fully invested in the success of every project we undertake.
The same spirit of innovation that characterized the company’s beginnings continues today. Eastern Design and Landscape Contractors Inc. stays current with industry developments and, along with its sister company, Groundscapes Express, Inc., has become a leader in developing and implementing cutting-edge landscaping practices. One of the most notable of these is the use of compost and compost-based materials.
Realizing the limitations of traditional methods for controlling erosion and stormwater damage, John sought out and consulted with a West Coast company that had pioneered the use of a truck-mounted blower machine to efficiently blow wood bark mulch to properties on a large scale. Groundscapes Express was the first company in New England to utilize this type of powered blower truck to apply compost as a soil amendment, and later, to incorporate compost-based mulch blends into stormwater management applications.
Once the efficacy of compost had been demonstrated for this use, John developed and patented the Filtermitt™, a biodegradable, hessian tube to hold the compost-mulch mix, which provides more options for using these materials. Groundscapes Express was founded to specialize in these services.
Groundscapes Express supports many of Eastern Design and Landscape Contractors Inc. projects by providing compost to topdress and build lawns, control erosion on slopes, mulch planting beds, and build soils for different applications.
Read more about these technologies on the Groundscapes website: www.groundscapesexpress.com.
Sustainability
It’s somewhat ironic that the landscaping and horticulture professions, which deal closely and directly with the natural environment, have often employed practices and materials that can harm our natural resources and even cause health issues. Non-native, invasive plants used in landscaping have escaped into natural areas, spreading rapidly and displacing native plants. Synthetic fertilizers can be washed off lawns and into lakes and streams, triggering a damaging chain of events in aquatic systems. The heavy use of certain types of lawn pesticides has caused health problems for homeowners and their pets.
Environmental responsibility permeates the work we do and the way we run our business. We utilize many practices and materials that not only protect the environment but are also highly effective. For example, we use only fertilizers made from naturally derived materials. We emphasize the use of plants that require minimal care and maintenance. The consideration of water resources is always a key part of any design we develop, and we strive to maximize the use of locally produced materials.
As mentioned above, our sister company, Groundscapes Express, focuses on compost and mulch services for our clients. These compost materials are made from locally generated materials such as food waste, fall leaves, and tree trimmings. Diverting these materials from landfills and reusing them for building soils and mulching makes good environmental and economic sense.
We also recycle as much of the material generated in the course of our business as possible, including plastic pots, office paper, and demolition materials from site renovations. In the colder months, our office is heated with an efficient, wood-fired boiler. In the descriptions of our services, you can find further information about some of the many ways that our business is based on environmental responsibility.
Safety
The safety and well-being of our employees, customers, and the general public are among our highest priorities. We strive to do our work in the safest ways possible to avoid injuries to our employees and anyone in proximity to the work site, as well as to prevent any damage to clients’ property. We are committed to complying with the policies and recommendations of various regulatory agencies, and we take safety precautions on every job site. Vehicles, machinery, and equipment are continually maintained and checked regularly for any safety issues. Employees receive OSHA and other safety training and refresher updates as new safety practices are brought to our attention.