With so many homeowners now considering their residences as personal oases, the call to action for 2021 is how to best continue revamping or to completely redo outdoor residential spaces.
"Everyone's thinking about their yards as a whole, and taking stock of what they have and new ways to utilize the space. This is where we come in!" says Hillary Fabe, who heads design for Cider Mill Landscapes, a custom landscape design build firm whose teams provide a variety of solutions, including planting design, horticultural services, custom masonry, hardscaping, landscape lighting, water features and outdoor living areas.
"We work closely with all of our clients to fulfill their outdoor needs," says Cider Mill owner Bob McCusker. "Our team takes a lot of pride in our work, and guarantees satisfaction. We built our business on customer service, and we work closely with our clients from the meticulous design process through the finished product."
As a mostly residential-oriented company, Cider Mill Landscapes was founded by Bob in Garnet Valley during 2007 to provide customized landscape design and construction including stonework, planting, irrigation systems, fencing and walls. With an established customer base in Chester and Delaware counties, the Cider Mill team expanded operations into more neighborhoods along the Philadelphia Main Line -- specifically, Wallingford, Nether Providence, Swarthmore, Media, Berwyn and Villanova.
While the Cider Mill crew this year helped customers improve their pool areas, fix their yards or create fire pits, Hillary says customers also added fun activities, such as horseshoe pits and bocce ball setups, to their outdoor spaces.
The Cider Mill team implemented more decks, outdoor TVs and retaining walls, as well as expanded patios for extra seating and entertaining. Bob likes to call it art scaping. "This year, we installed more privacy screening elements and arbors, and with deer-resistant plant varieties," he says.
Hillary says they added what she calls "green walls" to create coziness in yards by closing off certain portions, using landscaping as screens to mimic outdoor rooms.
"It was a huge year for creating vegetable beds, victory gardens, and sustainable ways to grow food." she adds. "There's a growing DIY movement occurring, with more people trying their hand at home gardens. So we built raised beds and installed deer fencing for them and gave them a space to experiment on their own."
Precautions taken by the Cider Mill team during the COVID-19 pandemic included following Centers of Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, masks, gloves, not sharing tools among themselves, transporting themselves only one or two in the same vehicles to jobs and disinfecting their vehicles frequently.
"Every customer has a different comfort level, so we cater to that. We're doing virtual consultations, and some customers still want to meet us on-site. Sometimes, we're outside talking to them on the phone while they're inside," says Bob.
He adds that they try to address issues before going to customers' properties, and they're using emails and FaceTime quite a bit for communications.
Some 2021 landscaping trends predicted include: making interesting entryways or natural passageways to yards; creating impressive relaxation areas; using vintage items to craft stories for gardens; planting selections for pollinators; and growing herbs and food.
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