Woody's Custom Landscaping » Landscaping

Front Yard Landscaping Idea

woodys — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:43:05 +0000

Number of View: 138

On this landscaping project we were trying to solve a huge drainage issue. Water was going into the crawlspace because a mound of soil was blocking a natural down hill course in the front yard landscaping. To add to the issue we had to remove some 14′ Hinoki Cypress that were both covering the front of the house as well as helping block the natural drainage course of rain water. Our solution to the drainage issue was to install dry creek that would allow the rain water to follow a natural course and drain away from the home itself. Every thing worked well and our clients can now see their home again.

We find that in time and in this case the trees all had 15 years of growth. Many of them had grown way beyond their cute stage when planted. Don’t ask me why they put a mound that trapped water and allowed it to find it’s way in the crawl space, but I have seen stranger landscaping issues.
Our landscape estimates are free, quick and accurate. Call today to see how we may serve you.
We have been landscaping the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years with exceptional landscape services.

Landscaping Is Made In America And Local Based.

woodys — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:48:31 +0000

Number of View: 95

Not much is made in the United States these days. We can also say, not much at all is made or produced for the consumer on a local level. You can look where a product was made that you purchase and note either China has made it or some other country. Landscaping however, is one trade that uses local products and is made on site. Most of the products used in landscaping, not only come from our individual states but are locally made.

These next photos were made from over 95% local landscaping products.

Take for example paver patios and flagstone patios. Pavers are made locally here in Washington and Oregon and much of our flagstone is quarried in Oregon and Washington
The majority of our plant stock that we use in landscaping is grown in either Oregon or Washington. A select few may come up from California. As a interesting side-note, did you know that Oregon is the nursery capital of the US?

What about the materials we use for soil preparation like compost,soil mix and bark? All are made locally in the Vancouver and Portland areas.
Gravel, drain rock, sand and crushed rock are also all produced locally in the Vancouver WA and Portland areas.
Our grass seed and sod we install on a daily basis are also all grown locally.
Pressure treated wood is produced in Washougal WA.
The only product I can think of that is not made locally would be irrigation components. They are mostly made in Mexico. At least it comes from the same continent.
So when you call for a landscape estimate in Oregon or Washington, you can feel very confident that most of your landscaping materials will have it’s components that are made local.
That can’t be said in most industries.
Woody’s Custom Landscaping has been serving the Pacific Northwest for over twenty years with local product and local landscaping services.

Majestic Beauty In The Landscape

woodys — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:04:54 +0000
Number of View: 101
Scrolling through down loads of photos that my face book friends submit, I was struck by this focal point in the landscape made in the UK. I found it extraordinarily beautiful. There were no formal plantings, flagstone or paver patios, or an area to even sit and meditate on the feature. In fact, if you notice that much of the body is indigenous weeds. The head of the mud maiden seems to be a large clump of Iris. I wonder if the flowers are yellow, blue or purple? If they are yellow I guess our maiden is a blond.

The only sculpted form I see in the whole landscaped area is with the creating the head. The rest of the area has nothing more than soil which has been artfully crafted to resemble the shoulder and arm.
What came to mind is that there are so many different ways to make your landscaping beautiful. Most of us don’t have a large enough piece of ground to pull off something like the mud maiden, but majestic beauty in the landscape comes in small packages as well as big.
The mud maiden shows me that in this case of a woodsy area, a truly beautiful landscape does not have to have structured plantings, patios, retaining walls, water features, just a well thought out focal point that truly is majestic.
We have been serving the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years with award winning landscape services.

What’s Your New Years Resolution??

woodys — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:36:35 +0000
Number of View: 171
Most commonly, a New Years resolution runs something like this. I what to lose X amount of pounds, or you may want to exercise more. They are probably the most popular New Years resolutions I can think of. Well I have a answer to both. How about a new landscaping that includes a outdoor room. If you did your own landscape maintenance on your new landscaping, I think you would see that weight come off and of course you would be exercising at least once a week doing the maintenance and gardening. There are also some other benefits to having a landscape installed for your New Years resolution.

You now would have a beautiful area to enjoy with your family and friends, a place to go to to unwind after work, and landscaping increases the value of your home by up to 14%. You see a simple landscape done as your New Years resolution helps you loose weight, helps you exercise more, works as a beautiful place to unwind with, works as a gathering place for family and friends and increases the value of your home.
So make your New Years resolution today and decide to install a enjoyable new landscape for your backyard.
We have been landscaping the Vancouver WA, Camas WA and Ridgefield WA areas for over twenty years of award winning landscape services.

Is It Time To Change Your Existing Landscaping??

woodys — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:09:31 +0000
Number of View: 167
First off a good landscape tends to want to evolve. Maybe the kids are now in their teens and do not want or use that huge playground structure that got put in when they were tots. Maybe, since the kids are now in their teens, that playhouse in the back forty may be used for other things instead of playing house and is now a potential for unwanted activities. For most of us these are easy changes. What tends to happen most often is the lawn is too large and it’s time for more planting beds or a replacement to a new smaller lawn area. As we grow older we may want to actually enjoy the outside more. This usually leads for demands of larger entertaining areas, including a larger patio area or a covered patio area. It could be that cooking outside has become more than a 4th of July occurrence, and a larger outdoor kitchen area is dreamed about.
More often than not a once landscaped yard just gets worn out. The shrubs are too big, or the backyard landscaping is much more shady then 10 years ago and nothing grows well. Most of our landscape needs change over the years and a landscape that was installed 10 years ago may not suit your landscaping needs today.

The best way to start the process of a new landscape is with a reputable landscape designer or landscape architect. Most good landscape designers or architects will supply a nice set of plans for your future landscape changes. Great landscape designers should supply you also with a budget for your new look. Nothing is worse for us as landscape contractors, than seeing a client with a fantastic set of landscape plans, but no idea of what it may cost. Let’s face it, every one has a budget that they have to work from. Make sure that you are working with a landscape designer or landscape architect that can supply a working budget. If the initial cost from the landscape plan is too high with your landscape budget, materials can be changed, plant sizes can be reduced, or maybe just reducing the size of some of the hardscaping will put you within budget. Many times I experience that my potential client just did not know that the fantastic landscape plan they have is way over their head monetarily.

The next step after getting a workable landscape plan is to find a qualified landscape contractor. Make sure you are choosing a landscape contractor that is licensed, insured and bonded with your state. This is the minimum requirement. Then get a list of current landscape references from the landscape contractor and make sure you call them. Make sure that the landscaper you may choose, can in fact do the work as per the landscape plans. If the landscaper wants to change the plans, either they have a huge ego or they are not sure of what they are doing. If I may add, please don’t fall for the lowest landscaping estimates. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

We have been landscaping in the Vancouver Washington area for over twenty years, with many residential landscape awards and exceptional landscape services. Choose the best and forget the rest.

Proper Landscape Drainage Saves Your Home And Landscaping

woodys — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:02:41 +0000
Number of View: 169
Landscape drainage is one of those items that many looking to have some landscaping done, do not consider enough. When I was a landscape contractor in California, just about 10% of each and every landscaping job, was something to do with landscape drainage. Here in western Washington, it seems the concern is much less on foundation problems and drowning trees, shrubs and plants because of pooling rain water and poorly functioning grading away from the house and landscaped areas. It is still surprising to me that western Washington gets about 500% more water at least than the Bay Area in California, but still the interest in getting a proper landscape drainage system installed is almost nonexistent. The only exception is if a landscape architect has done the landscape design. Then I tend to see drainage systems at least being proposed.
The following photo shows what can happen in your yard with improper drainage.

The landscape drainage system is an important and profitable part of any landscaping project that, if overlooked, can result in costly damage to a homeowner’s property, creating unsatisfied customers and fewer referrals.
Here’s what can happen if your yard does not consider drainage. Without proper drainage, excess irrigation and rainwater can cause damage to a homeowner’s property, which could be as minor as a yellow lawn spot or as extensive as a crack in the building’s foundation. Any change to a landscape inevitably changes the flow patterns of the excess irrigation and rainwater. The new flow patterns are difficult to predict, and it is even harder to predict how the new flow patterns will develop over long periods of time. This can lead to soil erosion and may create low spots or direct pathways to the building’s foundation. None of those items, I’m sure are on your want list.

One quick and easy solution is with area drains which would of taken the water away from the above photo. Below is an example of a area drain. the biggest thing to remember is that the rain water will have to go somewhere. What I have found in areas that are hard to drain are trench drains. They help in having a place to collect water and drain naturally into the existing soil, sight unseen.

With proper landscape drainage your landscaping could look like the photo below. Prior, this landscape was a shady and very wet area. The drainage problems were solved and now they have a yard that they can enjoy and be confident that their home is protected and their plants will thrive.

We have been solving landscape drainage issues in the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years. give us a call at

Step By Step Slide Show For Pond Building

woodys — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 17:19:49 +0000
Number of View: 171

A beautiful functioning and good looking pond requires some steps that must be followed and a good filtration system. All of our pond building projects have a skimmer and bio filter is the size allows us to. For this project we indeed had both a bio filter and skimmer. We installed two pumps, one for the skimmer and one for the bio filter. While all the photos don’t show every step of where all the soil excavation went to, it does give some idea of the steps to making ponds with a waterfall. Here’s how we install our typical ponds.
1. Excavate soil for the pond and waterfalls.
2. Install heavy felt barrier cloth.
3. Install liner. We like to install two liners, just to be sure.
4. Install boulders, rockery, piping, skimmer, and bio filter, pumps, etc.
5. Test out water feature and clean pond water.
6. Fill totally and watch to make sure water is flowing how we and the clients want it.
Enjoy the slide show of some of the steps of pond and waterfall building.

Find more photos like this on Garden-Share
Serving the Vancouver Wa area for over twenty years with award winning landscape services.

Landscaping Review Vancouver Washington

woodys — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:58:07 +0000
Number of View: 132

All I can say is thank you for giving a landscaping review 5 years later. I really can’t remember the job, but will take the credit, gladly. I love clients who remember who we are and what we strive for in our company.
It goes to show that as a potential client you must really check out references and don’t always go the lowest price. Quality does count. This will be a reference I will pin up on my office bulletin board.

Evan ‎ – Oct 29, 2011
Unfortunately, I did not know about Woody’s Custom Landscaping until after a disaster. I had hired someone through a referral from a local nursery. Halfway through the job I realized that this person did not have the expertise or experience to install walkways and patios in my back yard. He had shown me photos of jobs he claimed he’d done and I checked his references. I learned too late that the references were not authentic and the photos he showed me were not of jobs that he had done I lost $10000 — he skipped town — and I was faced with having to redo the entire job. Fortunately, a client told me about Woody’s. He came out right away, pulled out the mess that was made and started over. He was very professional, showed me a selection of materials from which to choose and started the job within a few days. It only took him and his crew a few days. The result was fantastic! Now, five years later my backyard still looks gorgeous, the designs he created — meandering walkways and two circular paver patios …make my back yard look much bigger. The pavers he installed have held up beautifully and the first question anyone asks who visits is “Who did this amazing back yard?” Of course I tell them my story and the happy ending. Woody is my hero — he really saved the day. Thanks! E.C., Vancouver,
Servicing the Clark County and Vancouver WA area with exceptional landscaping and hardscape services for over twenty years.

Can You Really Landscape In The Winter?

woodys — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:47:35 +0000
Number of View: 250

Lots of friends and potential clients always ask if we can landscape in the winter months? I always tell them, of course you can. In Southwest Washington the winter months may be wet, but most of the time temperatures are mild. In fact for some reason, many of our award winning projects are in the months of November through January. Last year in October and November we had 2 large residential projects both in the neighborhood of $50,000.00 each.

Right before the economy went south, we had one project that we worked on November through April. I will show some photos of that landscaping project so that you can see the many types of hardscape and landscape that easily can be done in the winter months. In fact the job was about 8 miles north up the Washougal River Road. About the only thing that stopped us was ice and over 2″ snow accumulations.

We installed a huge pond, flagstone patio, paver patios, a front entry koi pond, a 200′ cultured stone face retaining wall, low voltage lights, sod, planting and of course bark. To top it all off we won an award for residential construction on that project.
Don’t feel like you can’t get your landscape installed in the winter months. It is all possible with www.woodyscustomlandscaping.com

Serving the Vancouver WA area for over twenty years with award winning landscape services.

ROI On Your Landscaping

woodys — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:51:19 +0000
Number of View: 266
For the past few years, it seems, everyone is worried about return on investment on what ever they decide to dabble their money in. Many have pulled their money out of stocks, bonds and even their money market accounts. I can’t say I blame them much since we are either losing money or making .01% interest. This is a landscaping blog, so you now can figure out that I am going to try to show you the return on investment on landscaping your home.

Let’s imagine you are planning to sell your home. Landscaping can return as much as 14% for the amount you put into it. The studies are not any older that 2 years, but for sake of argument, let’s say you only get a 7% return on investment. Not bad in these times. In fact, a inviting front entry and patio space in the back yard landscaping just may sell your home very quickly. That is almost worth it’s weight in gold.
Taking a step further. Let’s assume that you plan to stay in your home. Why have cash laying around doing no good at all. I’m talking about the return on investment of you enjoying, using and relaxing in your own personel paradise. I can’t say what value that may have to you, but the credit card companies call it priceless. Imagine enjoying yourself off after work or on weekends in your own outdoor living area, complete with water features, patio spaces, fire pits, and maybe even a outdoor kitchen. That seems to me to be money well spent.

So get a return on your investment and invest in landscaping and get years of enjoyment.
We have been producing quality landscapes for over twenty years in the Vancouver WA area. Don’t let your sour return on investments in stocks, bonds and money market accounts get you down. Enjoy yourself with a new landscape constructed by Woodys’ Custom Landscaping, Inc.
Check out our landscape services at www.woodyscustomlandscaping.com