Thought I’d share a few pictures of landscaping we installed, to give some ideas of what can happen with the landscaping at your home. Woody’s Custom Landscaping has been serving the Pacific Northwest for over twenty years with award winning landscape construction work and services. The photographs hopefully will help in figuring out just what may be appropriate for your landscaping in Portland Oregon.
We do all phases of hardscapes such as:
1. Construction of all types of ICPI certified patios including: pavers, flagstone and brick.
2. Implement construction and design build of all different landscape projects from small to large.
3. Install automatic irrigation and new sod lawns.
4. Install NCMA certified retaining walls.
5. Offer full services for ideas and installation of plants.
6. Install garden lighting of all types including incandescent low voltage and led lighting.
7. Construct any type of water feature or pond.

The photo below shows a unusual water feature and mixed holland paver patio with a cultured stone faced seat wall.

The next photograph shows an award winning project with a cultures stone faced retaining wall and front yard landscaping.

Low voltage led lighting uses 75% less energy than typical incandescent low voltage lighting.

Last, but not to be missed is this wonderful natural setting Koi pond.

We are a landscape contractor who works with our clients to fulfill all your landscaping inspirations. woodyscustomlandscaping.com

There are many and I mean many who say they are landscape contractors. What I think you will find is that the many dwindles down to a select few who do what I call, “Landscape Construction”.
What is Landscape Construction? It is more than installation of sod lawns, irrigation systems, planting and bark, but Landscape Construction does include them. Landscape Construction is the building of patios, outdoor rooms, pathways, pergolas, outdoor kitchens and almost anything that encompasses hardscaping. Most landscapers can install a lawn and irrigation system, but how many can truly construct a flagstone patio or an outdoor kitchen with skill and professionalism. To become well versed at landscape construction it usually takes years of experience. Certifications are a great way to get a feel if the landscape contractor and his people are qualified. Awards for actual residential landscape construction projects is another way to qualify a contractor. References of actual construction projects is another must have as a consumer. For 20 years Woody’s Custom Landscaping has been hard at work in the Vancouver area. We are qualified, certified, received many awards and always furnish references along with each estimate we give. We may be a little more expensive than the maintenance guy, but we are professionals and proud of it.

Outdoor living areas can be a simple patio to a full pledged outdoor room equipped with BBQ, refrigerator, TV, stereo and just about anything you can imagine, including the kitchen sink. It is becoming so popular that many landscapers are making sure it is something they can offer their clients. Landscaping has far surpassed the days of a concrete patio and some grass, that serves as your outdoor experience. Almost every one I see for estimates wants a larger patio at the least. Most enjoy entertaining, regularly cooking and serving late spring and summer meals outside.
The way I try to approach my estimates is to try to figure out what exactly do my clients want from their outside experience. Are they outside in their yard every opportunity they can make available? Do they entertain small or large groups once a month or more? Do they want to commune with nature or compete with the Joneses? All are legitimate goals and I feel must be addressed. My job is to make sure every client gets what they want and a little more. Of course, in the end a budget is a must. Why go through the expense of a design, if it can never be achieved because the design is over budget? It is very hard for contractors and designers to get out clients to offer up a realistic budget. It is however, a necessity. Many compromises can be made on the implementation of a landscape estimate if a budget is part of the discussion. Outdoor lifestyles call for outdoor living areas. Is the patio flagstone, pavers, or stamped concrete? Each one is different in price. Is the fire pit natural gas, propane, wood burning, cultured stone faced. or segmental wall units? the choice makes a big difference in cost.
Pick you landscape designer or contractor carefully and make sure they will work in your budget. Make sure they have references, and of course are licensed and bonded.
Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. has served the Portland Vancouver Metro area for over twenty years of quality award winning certified service.

Not all interlocking concrete paver patios need be looking the same. It is fairly easy to add quite a bit of pizazz to the semi ordinary paver patio. don’t get me wrong I think interlocking concrete pavers are an exceptional product and they serve a wonderful purpose for patios and walkways for much of the population. Sometimes larger patios need points of interest to take away from the repeat patterns that most paver work has. Sometimes this can be done with a soldier course around the perimeters and a mixed holland pattern that does not have much repeat patterns when it is laid.
The bigger the patio the more you may want to consider some point of interest. In the case below we installed a water feature in the middle of the patio constructed in Vancouver WA.

Maybe a circle kit can be installed in the patio. In the photo below we installed a compass point in flagstone inside a circle kit of the mixed holland patio constructed in Ridgefield WA.

The next photo shows how a large circular patio can have graphics installed or mosaics in this case. This was the entry way to William Clark Park in Washougal WA.

If you are considering using any kind of pavers in your landscaping, I can promise you that most of any who work on your home from this company are certified and are proud of the many awards they have won for our company.

Our niche at Woody’s Custom Landscaping has been hardscaping for over 15 years. We do not sub our work out. We are totally qualified to install all your hardscape needs. If a paver patio is on your list of wants? We have certified installers to make that happen. If a hardscape design is a want? We can suggest many landscape designers to fit you needs. If a masonry patio or seat wall is something you want? Our staff is ready and qualified to help with seasoned professionals.
With over 30 different awards for our hardscape and softscape work on residential projects, it’s obvious quality is what we install.
Why worry about who your choosing to install your hardscaping? Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. has been installing the best for years.

When choosing a landscape contractor in the Portland Metro area and any where for that matter, you must ask yourself a few questions as a home owner. Is the contractor licensed in Oregon or your state as a landscaping company? Do they have liability insurance? How about Workers Compensation, if any workers are hurt on the job. Do you care if they hire illegal aliens? Those are the first questions you should find the answers to.
Next you must check the references they supply you. Would they hire the contractor back? Were they on time every day? Did they install a quality job. Did they do the work themselves or sub contract portions out to third party contractors. Did they keep the project in budget? Were they courteous and polite? Did they clean up every day. Did they finish the job in a timely manner? These are all questions that should be asked before starting any contract work.

At Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. we invite any one of our potential clients to check our list of references. Go to our website at www.woodyscustomlandscaping.com and see the many references that our clients have filled out. We have won over 17 state awards for our residential landscape construction and are proud of our achievements as a landscape contractor in Portland Oregon.
Most of all our employees are certified ICPI for paver installations. The same is true for retaining walls, in which they are certified NCMA. We also have 2 employees who are landscape industry certified through PLANET.
For quality hardscape and softscape professionals contact Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. We have served your area for over 20 years with quality driven service.

For years now, Woody’s Custom Landscaping has made sure that a large percentage and in some applications all of our employees are certified in some way or another. Virtually all of our employees are certified ICPI which is for paver installation. Most are certified NCMA, which is for retaining wall construction. We have two who are certified through PLANET, which the title is, “Landscape Industry Certified”. They are certified in all aspects of landscaping. We even have a Erosion Control Sediment Lead employee.
I feel as president of the company that these certifications are vital to ensure qualified personnel are working on your landscaping.
If it’s a simple sod lawn or a elaborate design build, Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. will be there for those who care who’s installing their landscaping.

Serving Vancouver WA, Camas WA, Ridgefield WA, Washougal WA, Hockingson WA, Kelso WA, Longview WA, Brush Prairie WA, Amboy WA, Yacolt WA.

If you go outside and feel like you are going to fall over the embankment. Or if outside in the back yard wishing you could make your yard a little bigger, but that hill is 10′ away from your patio door. Then you probably should consider a retaining wall. A retaining wall can help you get that desired flat spot for entertaining.
Over the years I have seen more and more lots in Portland and Vancouver, that are on hill sides and some of them very steep. Many of these homes need retaining walls. How else is that flat spot for the kids, dog, or most importantly you, going to happen.

A few points to consider:
1. Never go over 4′ unless you get a approved engineered plan.
2. Always install drainage behind your retaining wall.
3. Your walls strength is based on the foundation it is installed upon.
4. Make sure if you are using a landscape contractor and they are certified NCMA.
5. Get references from your landscape contractor.

Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. offers fully guaranteed, certified NCMA, installation of our retaining walls. We build CMU, SRW, boulder, brick, cultured stone and rock walls in Portland Oregon and Vancouver Washington with dedication to quality and longevity. 360-687-1882
Landscape construction is what we do.

Landscape Construction is a little different than just landscaping. Usually when the term landscape construction is used it implies the word hardscaping. What is hardscaping?
Hardscaping means, ” The installation of non-plant features in the landscape. These include features such as: walls, walks, driveways, curbs, patios, pools, water features, boulder placement, low voltage lighting, boulder placement, tennis courts, etc”.

There are many landscapers out there in the world, but hardscapers should have a higher degree of skill and knowlege. A landscape company that also installs “hardscaping”, usually have certified employees and have years of experience. Not just any one can install visable pleasing and properly constructed retaining walls, paver patios, landscape masonry, sports courts, etc.

At Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc., we have most of our employees certified in retaining wall and paver construction. All of our employees are skilled in various aspects of landscape masonry. We have won over 17 WALP awards for custom residential work, which highlighted our hardscaping abilities. We are very proud of our customer oriented service in the Portland /Vancouver metro area.
Don’t have just any one install your hardscapes. Get a professional.

For a quality residential landscape contractor, look no further.

Reduce, reuse, recycle are what many in businesses are attempting to do in greening up America and the world. We are in the day and age where the 3 R’s are very important in our business dealings. How does the landscaping industry stack up with others attempting to do that very thing?

Here in Clark County Washington, there are many recycling plants that take our green waste such as, pruning debris, lawn clippings, excess soil, sod, sand and concrete. We pay to get rid of the waste and in return buy back three way soil mix, compost, and crushed rock we have previously recycled as green waste. The landscape industry has diligently been recycling for many years. This helps to reduce the amount of landfill and enables us to use recycled products. Soil, concrete and green waste was for many for years nothing more than something to fill up land fills. They are now vital to our needs as landscapers. Soil mix is used to insure that landscapes have the proper soil preparation. Compost is used as a top dress of plantings and soil preparation. Crushed rock serves as our base for pavers, segmented retaining walls, gravel paths and as a base for road construction. Chips from larger branches are used for play grounds, informal paths and as mulch around trees and planter beds. The amount of material that is recycled by the landscape industry is huge. Just take a look at a local recycler and see for yourself what is brought in as waste and what is sold back to us products we use every day.

How does the landscape industry reduce waste and pollution in house? Most of us only order the exact amount of material we need. When we over order it would end up hitting our pocket book and then we waste time and money to dispose of the material. This helps to lessen the amount of material we put in land fills. When maintenance people fertilize and spray for pathogens or pests they rarely use more chemicals than are necessary. They calibrate exactly the amount of chemicals needed and apply to specifications. Any more chemical usage adds to pollution, is wasteful and very costly. Integrated Pest Management Systems have been in place for many years and help to insure that we use the least possible amount of chemical with the best result. The argument can be made that homeowners in fact are the major contributors to over usage of chemicals in their gardens. Most homeowners have the mind set that if a little works well then more works even better. This is not the case with professional Green Industry Companies.
There is a new program in Oregon that landscape companies are now enabled to become environmentally certified. DeSantis Landscapes has been the states first commercial ecological landscape contractor awarded this certification. The Portland Regional Pollution prevention outreach Team made up of eight Portland-area agencies, recognize landscape design, installation, and maintenance contractors that “reach the highest standards in minimizing environmental impact. DeSantis said environmental certification will become more commonplace as landscape companies around the country look for ways to lesson their impact. Even though most of us are not certified environmentally at this time, we have programs we are trying to implement. Many landscape companies offer carpooling. Bio diesel is being used more for our trucks and tractors. Many of us design projects that require less maintenance and are environmentally friendly.

What can landscapers do to help our clients reduce energy and water use? Water features are very expensive to operate on a monthly basis. The energy use can be very high. There are pumps that use much less electricity and are about half the cost monthly of older types and produce the same volume of water. Another new innovation is satellite base irrigation controllers. They keep accurate records of weather in the exact area and actually run your irrigation only when needed.. This saves 20-50% of the amount of irrigation water that is normally used by presetting to come on 3 times a week, versus watering when water is needed according to the satellite. These kinds of controllers can also reduce runoff up to 70%. This technology is spreading very fast and will be widely adapted in a few short years.
Professional Green Industry Landscape Contractors recycle, reduce and reuse on a daily basis. Many of us are aware how important this is to make the earth more environmentally friendly, and are quickly implementing new programs and ideas that help our world be just a little bit greener and pollution free. We are the True Green Industry.