In a place as storied and stately as Old Westbury or Oyster Bay, your landscape deserves more than a few boxwoods and a lawn. It deserves intention, rhythm, and presence. The kind of planting design that makes the architecture of your home feel even more distinguished. That welcomes you like a friend and whispers, stay awhile. When done well, plantings in Old Westbury and Oyster Bay, NY don’t just soften a property, but complete it.
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Planting Design That Complements Architecture and Lifestyle
You don’t want something cookie-cutter and you shouldn’t settle for it. The layout of your landscape should feel like an extension of the home, a natural evolution of how you live. Every planting bed should have a purpose, and every bloom should feel like it belongs. In a place like Old Westbury or Oyster Bay, where properties are rich with history and modern artistry alike, the planting design should do more than fill space—it should elevate it.
We approach planting design as a living, breathing collaboration between your home, your habits, and the land itself. Whether you’re tucked away on a wooded estate or sitting at the crest of a sunlit slope, your landscape should tell a story, one that reflects your style, honors the property’s natural character, and enhances every outdoor experience.
Structured Plantings for Formal Homes
Traditional homes with stately façades and classical proportions call for elegant symmetry and strong structure. In these landscapes, we rely on layered evergreens, boxwood hedging, and refined planting beds that frame entryways with timeless precision. Upright hollies, flowering shrubs with controlled form, and carefully spaced perennials bring softness without sacrificing order. When we install these elements, we consider the full architectural silhouette of your home—windows, rooflines, porticos—to create a balanced composition that feels intentional year-round.
Bold Arrangements for Modern Architecture
Sleek lines and minimalist materials require plantings that know when to speak up—and when to step back. For modern homes, we turn to sculptural forms: ornamental grasses, low-spreading evergreens, and specimen trees that provide vertical interest without excess volume. Every texture and silhouette is hand-selected to enhance the angles and finishes of the home. A linear bed of feather reed grass beside a natural stone retaining wall, or a solitary Japanese maple spotlighted in a crushed gravel bed—these are the details that bridge architecture and nature without diluting the boldness of either.
Lush Planting Beds for Coastal-Inspired Designs
For Shingle Style and other coastal-inspired homes found throughout Oyster Bay and Old Westbury, we embrace layered, color-rich plantings that feel relaxed yet refined. Hydrangeas in shades of white and blue become essential players, echoed by grasses that move with the breeze and flowering perennials that evolve with the seasons. These landscapes don’t demand rigid symmetry—they come to life with movement and rhythm, often echoing the palette of the water and sky. Installed along patios, outdoor kitchens, or pool terraces, these plantings build an immersive environment that draws you in from every angle.
Privacy and Plantings With Purpose
A well-designed landscape serves you in ways you may not even notice—until you do. That’s the difference between ordinary and exceptional. Our team installs layered plantings that offer privacy from neighboring properties, frame sightlines toward focal points like the outdoor fireplace or pavilion, and create natural transitions between outdoor living areas. Want to soften the view of the fence without closing off light? We’ll introduce staggered layers of evergreens, ornamental trees, and upright grasses that give texture and coverage without becoming too dense. Need screening around the inground pool? We’ll build in softness and structure, keeping things light, inviting, and elegant.
Entertaining and Seasonal Color
When you’re hosting under the pavilion or relaxing beside the natural stone patio, the landscape should feel alive—never static. That’s where seasonal color and dynamic bloom schedules make all the difference. We curate planting beds that shift through spring, summer, and fall with intentional timing: daffodils and hellebores to wake up early, salvia and coneflower to carry the midseason, and ornamental grasses and sedum to finish strong. This orchestration brings dimension and excitement to every outdoor moment, whether you’re entertaining or simply enjoying the rhythm of your own space.
Subtle Transitions and Flow
One of the most important, yet often overlooked, elements of planting design is flow. How do you move from the front entry to the backyard pavilion? From the patio to the pool? From the driveway to the walkways? We install plantings that guide you through these transitions, making every step feel seamless and grounded. That might mean repeated textures in different zones, curved beds that echo the natural topography, or subtle changes in color to indicate arrival or transition. These are the kinds of touches that make your landscape feel custom, cohesive, and utterly livable.
How We Layout Plants for Landscaping
There’s a science to it, yes, but also an artistry. The layout of your plantings can either feel scattered and unfinished or curated and calming. The difference comes down to how each layer is composed and how every element works together with your home and your lifestyle. A well-designed planting layout doesn’t just look good—it feels right from every angle and makes your property more enjoyable to live in, day after day.
We always begin with structure. Anchors like mature shrubs, specimen trees, and tall ornamental grasses give the layout its shape. These features offer scale and permanence, grounding the planting beds and setting the stage for everything else. When installed near your front entry, they create a sense of arrival. Around the patio or pavilion, they offer privacy and softness without blocking views. In winter, these plantings provide the framework that keeps the landscape visually intact even without blooms.
From there, we layer in mid-height plantings that add color, motion, and mood. Think viburnum, spirea, or hydrangea for bold flowering moments, paired with perennials that deliver texture and repeat color through the warmer months. We often install foliage-driven varieties that don’t rely on blooms alone, because in a luxury landscape, every detail matters, even when it's subtle.
The final layer brings intimacy: soft ground-level textures like sedum, creeping thyme, and low-growing lavender. These selections fill negative space, hug natural stone walkways, and add a sensory experience as you move through the landscape. You might notice their fragrance on warm afternoons or see them catch the light in unexpected ways. And yes, we sometimes introduce seasonal annuals with intentionality—not just for color, but to complement the overall design story.
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What to Plant Next to Each Other
Pairings matter. You want contrast, not chaos. And in luxury planting design, that’s where subtleties shine. Every selection, every combination, should feel deliberate—like it was always meant to live in that exact spot on your property.
Foliage is the unsung hero of high-end landscapes. Color is fleeting, but leaf texture and tone stick around. We often pair deep green foliage with silvery blues to create contrast that reads as both natural and elegant. Glossy leaves, like those of camellias or cherry laurel, catch the light, while matte textures offer a grounded, calming effect. Place them side by side, and the result is a kind of visual push and pull that brings the entire planting bed to life.
Texture matters just as much as color. Upright sedges alongside soft, weeping liriope. Broad-leafed hostas paired with delicate ferns. When we install these contrasts in mind, the landscape becomes an experience; one that invites you to walk slower, notice more, and spend a little longer outside.
Seasonality is another driver. A garden that peaks once a year misses too much. Instead, we pair early bloomers like hellebores and peonies with summer performers such as coneflowers, Russian sage, or agastache. Fall brings its own drama with ornamental grasses, sedum, and foliage that turns amber and burgundy just in time for sweater weather. It’s a planting design that moves with the calendar—and with you.
Even root structures play a role. Shallow-rooted perennials like astilbe or daylilies sit comfortably alongside deeper-rooted shrubs such as viburnum or ninebark, reducing competition and allowing every planting to thrive. This behind-the-scenes harmony shows up in healthier blooms, more vibrant foliage, and fewer surprises season after season.
Should Perennials Be Planted in Groups?
In a luxury landscape, grouped perennials create movement, depth, and emotion. When you see a sweep of Russian sage catching the light or a drift of coneflowers nodding in the breeze, it doesn’t just register as color—it feels like something. And that’s the goal. A single perennial might make a statement, but a well-designed grouping tells a story.
We use groups of perennials to establish rhythm in the planting layout. That rhythm carries your eye naturally from one space to the next, making each area feel connected yet distinct. It’s part of what makes the landscape feel curated, not chaotic. When we place 15 black-eyed Susans near the edge of a natural stone patio, it’s not about quantity—it’s about presence. These bold choices help anchor outdoor living spaces and offer structure without relying solely on shrubs or trees.
Grouping also helps you play with texture and seasonality. We often layer early bloomers like hellebores in tight clusters for soft, low color in spring. By mid-summer, you’ll see massed salvia, nepeta, and yarrow—each planted in staggered formations for that relaxed, layered feel. Come fall, we bring in ornamental grasses, rudbeckia, and asters, grouped strategically so that the late-season landscape has just as much energy as it did in May.
Odd-number groupings are the sweet spot. Three, five, or seven of the same perennial, spaced with care and arranged just off-center, gives that organic, unforced feel you see in the most iconic landscapes. We also repeat those groupings throughout the design in subtle ways. This repetition builds cohesion, pulling the entire landscape together without making it feel rigid or repetitive.
The Best Way to Arrange Shrubs
Shrubs are your silent heroes. They do the heavy lifting—providing structure, depth, privacy, and year-round visual interest without shouting for attention. But like any design element, they only shine when they’re used with precision and purpose. Installed thoughtfully, shrubs become the backbone of a landscape, guiding the entire layout and setting the tone for how you experience each space.
Around a front porch, they can frame the entry and lead the eye toward architectural details like columns, windows, and natural stone walkways. Near an outdoor kitchen or dining terrace, they can create privacy without closing you in. Around a pool deck, they can help soften fencing or hard surface features while maintaining sightlines and airflow.
In layered planting beds, we arrange shrubs by height and form to build dimension. Taller varieties like viburnum or oakleaf hydrangea act as vertical anchors at the back or center of the bed. Their seasonal foliage shifts throughout the year, offering visual drama without overwhelming the space. Mid-height selections in the middle layer, adding texture and bloom interest. Rounded evergreens such as boxwood or inkberry holly sit comfortably at the front, offering year-round softness and refined definition.
In more contemporary settings, we take a more architectural approach. Columnar shrubs like ‘Sky Pencil’ holly or upright juniper mimic clean lines and echo the geometry of modern homes. We install them to accent key features like retaining walls, patios, or water-adjacent zones, where their silhouette adds both contrast and elegance.
Balance is essential. You never want one oversized shrub sitting alone, as it can feel heavy and disconnected. Instead, we group shrubs in odd numbers or complementary pairs, allowing enough space for their natural shape to develop without crowding. This spacing not only supports healthy growth but lets light and shadow move through the bed, enhancing the entire composition.
Color also guides our selections. Evergreen shrubs provide consistency and anchor the space through all four seasons. Flowering shrubs like hydrangea, abelia, or sweetspire deliver seasonal color and scent, while variegated options such as ‘Goshiki’ osmanthus or dappled willow brighten shaded corners or transition zones. We often combine deciduous and evergreen shrubs to maintain structure even in the dormant months, as in our climate, seasonal interest is essential.
We also consider texture: fine-leaved shrubs next to bold foliage, glossy leaves alongside matte. These contrasts keep the eye moving and the space feeling dynamic. The right combination can make even the simplest corner feel rich and layered.
The Best Way to Plant Ground Cover
Ground cover is often underestimated—but in luxury planting design, it’s a quiet force that ties everything together. It’s not just a filler or a last-minute addition. It’s a foundational layer that brings softness, cohesion, and subtle sophistication to the landscape. Done well, it can turn a rigid transition into a graceful moment and a blank slope into a lush, textured focal point.
The best way to install ground cover is with intent and patience. We install ground cover to bridge gaps between structural features and plantings, wrap the base of specimen trees, edge natural stone walkways, and define the negative space that gives your landscape room to breathe. It’s that gentle visual pause between louder moments that elevates the entire composition.
In our region, Zone 7a, we’re fortunate to work with ground covers that thrive in a wide range of conditions. For full sun, low-growing sedum varieties bring texture and saturation, especially near patios, pool surrounds, or open planting beds. Creeping thyme is another favorite—tough, aromatic, and perfect between natural stone joints where it adds color and scent underfoot. For shade, we turn to options like pachysandra, ajuga, or sweet woodruff. These selections form dense mats of foliage that suppress weeds and highlight nearby shrubs or perennials with subtle contrast.
But what matters just as much as what you install is how you install it. Spacing is everything. We install with the long view in mind, allowing each ground cover to expand naturally rather than forcing coverage too quickly. Overcrowding can lead to poor airflow, shallow roots, and competition with neighboring plantings. A ground cover that’s given space to mature looks fuller, healthier, and more curated.
We also pay attention to context. Ground cover near a front walkway might need a more formal, polished look. In a more relaxed backyard setting, we may go looser and more layered, letting it cascade gently over the edges of a boulder wall or sprawl beneath the canopy of an ornamental tree.
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