LOCATION: Carlisle, Mass.
COMPANY: A Blade of Grass
With a project as broad as this, the best way to succeed is to embrace the chaos. From pools to patios, gardens to greenhouses and everything in between, this roughly 30-acre residential property just about has it all.
Heather Lashbrook Jones, co-owner and director of marketing at A Blade of Grass, says it started with the wetlands that cover the property; removing dead trees, invasive plants and excess overgrowth. Out with the old, and in with a fresh layer of native vegetation, all while staying approved by the Carlisle Conservation Commission.
“There’s so much going on there. I don’t even know where to start,” Jones says. “It’s really pretty, and it (now) looks like it should — not this overgrown mass of bittersweet and all going up the trees.”
Jones says maintaining a balance between a country aesthetic and a modern design that still feels close to Boston was important for the project, and the property has plenty of farm-like characteristics and animals to fulfill that homey vibe.
Gardening, for example, was a necessity for the client, and a handful of planting beds, a greenhouse, an orchard and large vegetable gardens all yield produce for the family’s chef to use in meals. And while the property usually sees roughly 12 employees doing biweekly maintenance, the gardens still receive weekly attention.
A Blade of Grass won two gold awards from the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program for this project.
