Tag: Landscaping in the Lakes Region

Follow Along As Stephens Landscaping Professionals Creates a Stunning Lake Winnipesaukee Landscape

Winter has arrived but there’s no slowing down at Stephens Landscaping Professionals. Although the green season is behind us, we stay active during the colder months with a variety of services and projects, including plowing and snow removal, excavation and sitework, driveway installations, carpentry jobs, and landscape construction projects. One of our major landscape builds this winter is the South Point Project.

Located on Lake Winnipesaukee’s scenic Long Island, the South Point Project will feature an expansive bluestone patio complete with a fire boulder, in-ground spa, and reclaimed stone seating. We’ll also be adding a bluestone driveway, lake-friendly vegetation, and extensive outdoor lighting to accentuate the space during evening hours.

The Process: How to Design and Develop a Lakes Region Landscape

The South Point property is a collaborative effort that has brought together the collective talents and specialties of several businesses and vendors to create a beautiful home for our client. The landscape design was conceptualized by Boston-based Michael D’Angelo Landscape Architecture, while the home is a new build by Jason Drouin Custom Homes of Meredith, New Hampshire. SLP Project Manager Taylor Sperry is overseeing the landscape’s construction.

Sitework for this lakeside landscape began in July of 2023, and flatwork, including the patio, driveway, and walkways, will be completed in the spring. SLP has begun phase one of the planting, and will finish phase two before Memorial Day, so that the outdoor space will be ready to enjoy this summer.

Building a Raised Stone Patio

One of the main features of the South Point landscape is a sizable raised bluestone patio. The patio stones are full color, natural cleft bluestone provided by Stone Curators of Massachusetts. The masonry team at Stephens Landscaping Professionals hand-set the stones to highlight the unique color shading in this stone collection.

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Bluestone is a sedimentary sandstone that is softer than granite, making it easier to manipulate and incorporate into custom designs. It’s also durable and can handle the freeze-thaw cycles present in the New Hampshire Lakes Region. This, combined with its versatility and extensive style options, makes it a popular choice for patios, walkways, driveways, and other stone features in our area.

Sustainable Landscaping in New Hampshire

Creating an environmentally-friendly landscape is an essential goal with every project that we work on at Stephens Landscaping Professionals. This not only protects Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding eco-system, but ensures your waterfront property meets the permitting requirements that are in place in the Lakes Region.

Here are three key ways we are making The South Point project an eco-friendly landscape:

Permeable Patios and Walkways – The lakeside patio we built for the South Point Project is permeable, allowing stormwater and snow melt to filter through the pavers and be redirected to proper drainage systems. This also keeps slippery ice from building up on your patio, and protects the stone from moisture damage.

Lake-Friendly Drainage and Grading – An eco-friendly landscape starts from the ground up with careful planning and sitework. We specialize in effective grading and drainage systems that will improve the longevity of your landscape and prevent runoff from polluting the lake.

Sustainable Plants – To protect the shoreline, we’ll be planting vegetation that supports local pollinators and mitigates erosion, such as native blueberry bushes.

Ripe blueberries hang from a blueberry bush with green leaves.

Water features are a great choice for adding visual interest to an outdoor space, and their benefits extend well beyond the aesthetic. Below are our top 5 reasons to consider adding a pond, waterfall or other water feature to your landscape, as well as some popular designs we’re seeing.

1. Invite Relaxation & Stress Relief

Research has found that watching and listening to flowing water helps to relieve stress and create a feeling of calm. The soothing sounds of water in features such as fountains or streams promote peace and relaxation in an environment. Running and splashing water also creates a white noise effect, which can minimize other everyday environmental sounds (like traffic and neighbors) that may be less pleasing.

2. Promote Natural Cooling & Improve Air Quality

Many water features will create a cooling effect in the area around them by adding moisture to the air. Water also helps purify and improve air quality by creating negative ions in the air. Negative ions naturally pull toxins, pollen, and dust from the air. During hot summer days, you’ll enjoy sitting near your water feature, enjoying the cooler temps and pleasant atmosphere.

3. Add Beauty & Style

The addition of a water feature can add a striking focal point to your landscape. It can bring natural, tranquil beauty to an area that had been previously unused and extend your sense of style to the outdoor space. Tie an overall vision of your landscape together by incorporating design details or elements that you’ve used in other places; using the same tiles in a fountain that you’ve used in your walkways or patios, for example.

4. Increase Property Value

A beautiful and well-maintained water feature adds visual interest and charm for potential homebuyers and can increase the value of your property by extending living and entertainment spaces.

5. Attract Wildlife

The addition of a water feature to your landscape will attract wildlife almost immediately. Birds and insects of all kinds will be drawn to the water feature. While this can provide a bit of fun and entertainment for you and your family, attracting pollinators will also help your gardens grow healthy and birds will help keep the lawn soil aerated. Even your pets will love being able to trot over and sip water whenever they get heated being outside on hot days.

Types of Water Features

Once you’ve made the decision to add a water feature to your landscape, you’ll need to choose which type to install. Since there are many choices available, selecting one (or a couple) comes down to the size of your property, the outdoor space you have available, and what aesthetic you hope to achieve. Here are a few of the most popular water features we’ve seen and installed.

Ponds and Water Gardens
Ponds have been a classic landscaping choice for years and add a soothing touch of nature to your outdoor living space. Your pond may be a clean and clear body of water and be used as a reflecting pool. A waterfall can be added to generate soothing sounds of splashing water. Some ponds also have added interest like water lilies and other aquatic greenery, or colorful koi fish.

Streams and Waterfalls
Streams can meander through a large part of your property making it look as close to a natural stream as possible. Space permitting, you could add a waterfall as part of your stream if you have a section of property that has a nice pitch or slope. A waterfall can be created with either natural or manufactured stones and can be designed to break up into different pools or flow down a series of steps. The design is based on the size of your property and depth of your imagination.

Fountains
If you’re looking to add a stunning focal point to your landscape, fountains are the way to go. Much like the centers of European city squares, fountains are always the eye-catching center of attention. Fountains can be as simple or as ornate as you’d like them to be. They can be lower to the ground or tiered high and can have a sitting area made around the pool below them. You can even start a wishing-well tradition. Fountains can also be built recessed into walls, to add just the right rustic touch to a patio space. Most fountains run on recycled water, so the impact on the environment and your water bill is minimized.

At Stephens Landscaping, we have a lot of experience in installing and maintaining water features and would love to help you design and install a water feature of your own. Please call us at 603.707.0630 or contact us to start planning your project today!