01
Flowering Perennials
A variety of flowering perennials feature heavily in the planting, providing full season interest in the way of color, habit, form, and size.
Cicero once said
“If you have a garden and a library,
you have everything you need.”
We think he was right.
Our Studio
An independentgarden & landscapedesign practice
Swenberg Design is an independent garden and landscape design practice, with a focus on creating beautiful, natural, and liveable outdoor spaces in the Tri-State Area, Hudson Valley, Poconos, and Catskills.
We design custom landscapes that work in harmony with their natural surroundings and thrive in the unique conditions and challenges of the area, including: soil, moisture, drought, disease, pests, wind, heat, and cold.
"We design beautiful, natural, and liveable outdoor spaces."
— SWENBERG DESIGN
Our Services
We provide three
main services.
01
Consultation
Full landscape assessment of a homeowner’s property and practical counsel for DIY gardeners who would like to design and install their own garden.
02
Instruction
Practical guidance and instruction for anyone looking to expand their gardening skills.
03
Design
Full planning, drawings, sourcing and installation consultation for custom gardens & landscapes.
Please contact us below for any questions or to discuss a potential project.
Our Process
How we can
work better
together.
01
Inquiry & Intake
Each project starts with a simple phone call to learn more about what you are looking for and see if we could be the right solution. During that call, we talk about your current landscape, key areas you’d like to transform or fortify, features you might like, and known challenges.
From there, we send out a questionnaire that will help you think more about the critical components of your project and inform us about the practical and inspirational aspects of your unique site.
02
Site Visit
After you’ve had a chance to review and think about the questionnaire, an in-person meeting is scheduled at your property that serves two purposes:
Information & Chemistry: It allows us to meet face to face and review your answers to the questionnaire (even if you don’t have all the answers) – so we know what information we have and what we need to learn or decide. And just as critically, this in-person interaction serves as a chemistry check for both of us – do we click and can we work together.
Consultation: We’ll then walk the property together, discussing initial impressions, looking at challenging aspects such as light, moisture, soil conditions, assessing the condition of existing trees and shrubs, identifying aggressive invasives that should be removed, and sharing ideas that come up over the course of our discussion.
Because this step is so involved, we charge a nominal fee to cover our time as well as any travel costs incurred.
03
Proposal Development
Using all the information gathered thus far, we create a detailed, fixed price proposal that describes the site, and documents key challenges, lays out the steps, timing, deliverables, and costs associated with the project, and states the terms and qualifiers for moving forward.
04
Design Work
Upon execution of the proposal and initial payment, we kick off a 3 part design process.
Idea Session
We will assemble and share a PDF containing initial recommendations for existing landscapes, additional plant options, and design examples. We will then walk through the PDF and discuss likes, dislikes, and tradeoffs for various plant selections and design elements.
Initial Sketch
We will deliver an overhead sketch showing an overall plan and documentation of recommended improvements to existing landscape (e.g. pruning, removal of shrubs or trees; changes in grading; improvement of existing hardscaping), new plant selection and placement, and other suggested landscape elements (e.g. additional hardscaping, drainage, lighting, etc).
Final Design
Using an initial overhead sketch and any additional feedback, we will produce layered, overhead CAD files in PDF format showing overall landscape design, a grid layout and key measurements, specific plant selection and placement, a PDF format library of plants selected that includes pictures and key characteristics, specifications for hardscaping and garden structures, and specific plant counts with sizing and spacing assumptions. This information will provide you with everything needed for contractors to bid on the installation should you decide to manage the install yourself.
05
Vetting, Sourcing & Consultation
As an additional option, and working on an hourly basis, we can help identify, vet, and source contractors for each component of the project. We can also collaborate with contractors on consultative basis to ensure landscape designs are installed to spec.
Our Showcase
The Hidden Garden
on Bully Hill
Set against a stiff westerly wind in the high rolling hills of Sullivan County, NY, The Hidden Garden On Bully Hill is a living, blooming showcase of all we do best. Discover more below and on our Instagram page.
02
Pathways
Meandering, mowed pathways take visitors throughout the garden to present unique views and discoveries while providing access to all parts of the property for long walks, mountain biking, or picnicking in a quiet corner.
03
Grasses
Grasses used in block and matrix plantings provide texture and enhance both layering and contrast in the planting while dancing on the breeze and bringing the garden to life.
04
Hardscaping
Loose gravel and dry stacked rock walls create borders between plantings and provide contrast to ordered, rectangular pavers and patio spaces throughout the property.
05
Trees & Shrubs
Trees and shrubs are planted in staggered, concentric hedges to serve as privacy screens, create unique sight lines, unveil discoveries in the landscape, and enhance both the spring and fall interest of the planting through flowering and changes in leaf color.
06
Borders
Low, mixed borders of flowering perennials, grasses, and shrubs soften the hedges and allow for extended site lines across different areas of the garden.
07
Prairie Plantings
Extended swaths of prairie plantings cover the outside edges of the garden to create a transition to the field where bees, butterflies, and other pollinators thrive.
08
Wildscaping
In several areas throughout the 10 acre property, naturally occurring plants have been selectively encouraged to take over, intermingled between transplants and intentional seeding of perennials and grasses from the garden.
09
Vistas
Several areas of the garden have been designed to frame and reveal narrow visual openings into different parts of the landscape. These vistas have been designed to be seen from certain vantage points such as doorways, windows, and patios.
10
Views
Long range, breathtaking views of the adjacent hills and valleys surround the garden on three sides. Pathways, hedges, patios, and perennial plantings have been designed to complement and feature these views as both backdrop and destination within the garden.
11
Contrast
With the garden sitting in the midst of hayfields and trees that provide a relatively uniform canvas of green, contrasting colors within the garden help create differentiation and visual interest relative to its surroundings.
12
Layering
The layering of plants with different textures, heights, habits, colors, and forms helps to create a sense of depth and transition within the landscape.
13
Spring Interest
Flowering trees and shrubs feature heavily in creating spring interest as the garden is just waking up. Magnolias, service berries, dogwoods, crabapples, viburnum, lilac, and spirea are all planted at varying intervals throughout the garden and across the broader landscape.
14
Fall Interest
Fall interest has also been a key consideration in plant selection and garden design — whether that be the change in leaf color of trees and shrubs or the form and color of spent perennials and grasses.