Create Your Dream Outdoor Space

Transform your outdoor spaces with professional landscape design and hardscape installation from Rscapes. Serving Howard County and surrounding Maryland communities for over a decade, we create custom outdoor environments that combine aesthetic appeal with practical function—from foundation plantings and garden design to patios, walkways, retaining walls, and outdoor living features.

Landscape Design & Installation Services

Custom Landscape Design

Every Rscapes landscape begins with understanding your property and your vision. We assess site conditions—sun exposure, soil characteristics, drainage patterns, existing features—and develop designs that work with your land rather than against it.

Our design approach emphasizes:

Native Plant Selection: Maryland's native plants thrive in local conditions without excessive intervention. We incorporate species suited to your specific microclimate, reducing maintenance while creating sustainable landscapes that support local ecology.

Practical Beauty: Attractive landscapes must also function well. Designs account for sight lines, traffic patterns, maintenance access, and how spaces will actually be used by your household.

Long-Term Thinking: Plants grow and conditions change. Our designs anticipate maturation, ensuring landscapes look appropriate at installation and improve over time rather than becoming overgrown or awkward.

What Landscape Installation Includes

Site Preparation: Clearing, grading, and soil amendment as needed to create proper conditions for new plantings.

Plant Installation: Trees, shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and groundcovers installed according to design specifications with attention to proper planting depth, spacing, and orientation.

Bed Construction: Defined planting beds with appropriate edging, prepared soil, and mulch for moisture retention and weed suppression.

Finishing Details: Final grading, mulch application, and cleanup that leave your property ready to enjoy.

Types of Landscape Projects

Foundation Plantings: Enhance your home's curb appeal with professionally designed plantings that complement architecture and create welcoming entries.

Garden Beds: From cottage-style mixed borders to formal structured plantings, garden beds add color, texture, and seasonal interest throughout your property.

Privacy Screening: Strategic plantings create natural screens blocking unwanted views, reducing noise, and establishing private outdoor rooms.

Tree Installation: Shade trees, ornamental specimens, and evergreen screens provide structure, seasonal interest, and functional benefits.

Complete Landscape Renovations: Comprehensive redesigns replace outdated or overgrown landscapes with fresh plantings suited to current conditions and preferences.

Hardscape Installation Services

Patio Construction

Patios extend your living space outdoors, creating areas for dining, entertaining, relaxing, and enjoying your property. We install patios in various materials and configurations suited to your property's style and your intended use.

Design Considerations:

• Size and shape appropriate for your household's needs
• Material selection matching property aesthetics
• Integration with surrounding landscape
• Proper base preparation for long-term stability
• Drainage management to prevent water problems

Walkway Installation

Walkways provide practical circulation while contributing to landscape aesthetics. From simple stepping stone paths to formal constructed walks, we install routes that guide movement through your property logically and attractively.

Walkway Applications:

• Front entry approaches
• Garden paths
• Connections between outdoor spaces
• Side yard access routes
• Functional paths to outbuildings or features

Retaining Walls

Retaining walls manage grade changes, create level planting areas, and add visual structure to landscapes. On Maryland's often-sloped terrain, retaining walls frequently solve functional problems while enhancing property aesthetics.

Retaining Wall Functions:

• Creating level terraces on slopes
• Preventing erosion and soil movement
• Defining planting bed edges
• Managing water flow and drainage
• Adding visual interest and structure

Fire Features

Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces create gathering focal points that extend outdoor season use into cooler months. We install fire features integrated with surrounding hardscape and landscape elements.

Outdoor Kitchens

Outdoor kitchen installations bring food preparation and cooking outside, enhancing entertainment capability and outdoor living enjoyment. Designs range from simple grill surrounds to comprehensive cooking stations.

Additional Hardscape Elements

Steps and Staircases: Safe, attractive circulation on grade changes.

Seat Walls: Built-in seating integrated with patios and gathering areas.

Borders and Edging: Defined transitions between landscape zones.

The Design-Installation Process

Initial Consultation

We meet to discuss your vision, assess your property, and understand your priorities and constraints. This conversation establishes the foundation for design development and ensures we're aligned on objectives.

Site Analysis

Thorough property assessment examines:

• Existing conditions and features worth preserving
• Sun and shade patterns throughout the day
• Drainage patterns and water management needs
• Soil conditions affecting plant selection
• Views to enhance or screen
• Access considerations for installation

Design Development

Based on consultation and analysis, we develop a project plan addressing your goals. For complex projects, this may include conceptual drawings showing layout, plant placement, and hardscape configuration. Simpler projects may proceed with verbal planning and material selections.

Material Selection

We discuss options for both plant material and hardscape materials, explaining characteristics, appearance, maintenance requirements, and cost implications of different choices.

Professional Installation

Our crews execute the design with attention to craftsmanship at every stage:

• Proper site preparation and base work
• Careful plant handling and installation
• Precise hardscape construction
• Clean, professional finishing
• Thorough cleanup upon completion

Follow-Up Support

We ensure you understand how to care for new installations and remain available for questions or concerns after project completion. Many clients continue with maintenance services to protect their investment.

Why Choose Rscapes for Landscape & Hardscape

Design Expertise: We create landscapes that work—attractive, functional, sustainable designs based on your property's actual conditions.

Installation Quality: Over a decade of experience translates into skilled execution and attention to details that matter for long-term performance.

Native Plant Knowledge: Understanding what thrives in Maryland conditions means plant selections that succeed without excessive intervention.

Comprehensive Capability: From design through installation and ongoing maintenance, one company handles everything with consistent quality.

500+ Completed Projects: Our portfolio across Howard County demonstrates capability across diverse property types and project scopes.

What Affects Project Cost

Landscape and hardscape project costs depend on several factors:

Project Scope: Comprehensive transformations involve more than targeted improvements.

Property Conditions: Difficult access, challenging terrain, or extensive site preparation increase project requirements.

Plant Selection: Specimen trees and larger plant material cost more than smaller stock, though they provide immediate impact.

Hardscape Materials: Material choices significantly affect hardscape costs—from economical options to premium selections.

Design Complexity: Intricate designs with multiple elements require more labor than straightforward layouts.

We provide detailed proposals clarifying scope and pricing before work begins, ensuring you understand what you're getting and what it costs.

Related Services

Landscape and hardscape projects often connect with other services:

• Drainage Solutions: Address water management before or during landscape installation
• Fencing: Define property boundaries and create privacy
• Spring/Fall Cleanups: Maintain new landscapes through seasonal transitions
• Excavation & Site Prep: Clear and prepare sites for landscape development
• Commercial Maintenance: Ongoing care for commercial landscape installations

Service Area

Rscapes provides landscape and hardscape services throughout Howard County and surrounding areas:

• Highland, MD
• Clarksville, MD
• Fulton, MD
• Glenelg, MD
• Ellicott City, MD
• Woodbine, MD
• Sykesville, MD
• Mt. Airy, MD

Ready to Enhance Your Property?

Take the first step toward transforming your outdoor space. Our team is ready to discuss your project and provide a detailed, no-obligation estimate. With over a decade of experience serving Howard County, we have the expertise to bring your landscape vision to life.