As a landscape designer, John Kohut is driven by style.
An intuitive visionary, he blends the art and science of landscape design to transform ordinary outdoor spaces into elevated experiences. “I am adamant about details,” he said. “I listen to every tiny suggestion or concern.”
While landscaping may conjure images of perfectly pruned plantings and lush, level lawns, the industry also encompasses subspecialties that maximize both curb appeal and comfort. The patio that you envy next door? Landscaping. The plantings along the stone wall? Landscaping. The koi pond, one block over?
Landscape design is subdivided into two components: hardscapes: stonework, pavers, retaining walls, to name a few, and softscapes: the horticultural or natural component.
It was all hands on deck for his most recent estate design in Kinnelon. There were permits to attain, rocks to blast, and the transport of 500 boulders involved. In his world? That’s just business as usual. The big reveal leads the viewer to a natural stone embankment complemented by strategically placed greenery, seasonal flora, and an inviting pool surrounded by smooth, level stonework.
While Kohut brings the vision, he works with the homeowner to refine it. “Usually, my design concept lines up with the homeowner’s,” he said.
Landscape aesthetics add instant value to the home and can up the ante in an otherwise competitive real estate market. Next-level features such as outdoor hearths and waterfalls also provide alternative entertainment space that can be used year-round.
According to the New Jersey Nursery and Landscaping Association, landscape beautification
is equally as easy on the wallet as it is on the eyes. Strategically placed trees can reduce heating and cooling costs by $250, and a single tree can absorb 26 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
Even in a seasonal climate like New Jersey, landscaping is a year-round operation that requires more than garden-variety tools for long-term maintenance. Heading further into the fall, Kohut is at least one season–and leaf–ahead.
“This is a full-time endeavor,” he said. “There’s plantings from March all the way through December, and then I do heavy design work in February.”
On a more personal note, Kohut is a self-professed plant aficionado and can recite 6,400 species from memory. “When I go into a nursery, I’m like that kid in a candy store,” he said.
He brings that kind of energy to the job, and it reverberates through to his customers and crews–there are twelve for the subspecialties.
He credits his artistic eye to a gift from above. “I really don’t have an ego, for real,” he said. “I’m just a landscaper from Boonton.”
Plant passions aside, Kohut’s initial aspiration was architecture. “Once I started taking the classes, it was definitely not what I wanted to do,” he said. Landscape design, however, was more his speed.
His late father was in the business, and the Kohut name has been in circulation for half a century. John keeps the legacy going, and the simple addition of “and son” does just that.
In his sparse but spare time, he enjoys spending time with his many pets, including a cat, a rabbit, and a pot-bellied pig. He always has room for more, in his heart and his home.
In the meantime, there are mums that need tending to.
Learn more: https://www.kohutlandscapingllc.com/