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.

Fire Pits seem to be all the rage this year at woodyscustomlandscaping.com this year. Some are traditional wood burning, but many are either natural gas or propane. Men tend to like, the more flame the better, while the women like the heat given from them. Please check out our many landscaping services we offer and our reviews.
There are many types of fire pits. Many are round and quite a few are either square or rectangle shaped. They can be built of manufactured concrete blocks, CU block wall with cultured stone face and flagstone faced retaining walls. Lately we been topping off the fire pits with colored glass in the natural gas and propane burning types. It is a pretty nice look, especially when the flames are going.
Below are some of the types of fire pits we have installed with a brief description on each.

The fire pit below was installed in Portland Oregon and runs on natural gas. Note the winged seating walls on either side. It is made from manufactured concrete blocks.

The next fire pit is wood burning and has a inside diameter of 6′ for the large wood burning party nights. It is made of CMU block and faced with cobble cultured stone. The paver patio is Old dominion. Battle Ground Washington

The next fire pit is a flagstone faced square pit powered by propane. The flagstone patio is made with Iron Mountain flagstone.  Battle Ground Washington

The next fire pit is natural gas powered and has some column rock seating. Vancouver Washington

This fire pit is a kit and is natural gas powered. Vancouver Washington

The next fire pit is natural wood burning and helps keep the party going late at night. Amboy Washington

This next fire pit is wood burning, but is brick faced. The paver patio is mixed holland and the retaining wall is natural rock faced. Vancouver Washington

Woody’s Custom Landscaping has been heating up the landscape industry in the Portland OR and Vancouver WA area for over twenty years.

At woodyscustomlandscaping.com we are proud of our landscaping services we offer. Please feel free to check out our reviews.
While this job is very large, I felt it can help with ideas for landscaping of all shapes and sizes. Not all jobs are of this scale, but the ideas and quality of work highlights our professionalism.
The first photo is of the front yard with a serpentine cultured stone faced retaining wall and lots of sod lawn we installed.

The second photo shows what a huge pond in your back yard can look like.

The third photo show the front entry with a flagstone walk and patio and another pond for koi.

The fourth photo highlights a small water fall area off the big water feature.

This next photo is the side yard with a large expanse of sod lawn, vegetable garden and a interlocking concrete paver pathway that connect you to the back yard.

The following photo is a close up of the vegetable garden. Most of the garden is with raised planter beds.

The next shot is before construction construction of the large pond.

Now you can see after construction and the finished product.

We got on the roof for the next photo. It gives a impression of the size of the pond and the large paver patio.

The next photograph is a shot taken through the Miscanthus in to the large waterfall which has 33,000 gallons per hour pouring over the waterfall.

Serving the Portland OR and Vancouver WA area with over twenty years of award winning service.

Over the years woodyscustomlandscaping.com has installed many landscaping projects. Most include some sort of hardscaing. Our landscaping services are known though out the region and we seek the satisfaction of our clients.
The photo shows an outdoor room for entertaining that we installed in Amboy Washington with interlocking concrete pavers and a combination retaining wall and seat wall. Amboy Washington

The photo below shows a finished product after some serious mess from other remodelers. Vancouver Washington

The next photo allows you to see the value of adding colors and textures in your landscape. (It doesn’t alway have to be plants.)

The next photo should get you wondering, what’s around the bend of the paver pathway. Vancouver Washington

This shows an example of a large paver patio incorporated into the landscape. Portland Oregon

The next shot shows a close up of a waterfall that we installed. Yacolt Washington

I love whimsical, and this turtle in the paver pathway is great. Battle Ground Washington

How about a secret garden where you can go to find solitude. Vancouver Washington

This next photo is on of my favorite ponds we have installed.

The last photograph is a meditation pond. Camas Washington

Check out our services and reviews. We have served the Vancouver WA and Portland OR area with professionalism for over twenty years.

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.

If you have a new home in Vancouver WA. or Portland OR. you probably are considering or have gotten a retaining wall installed. Most new homes seem to be built on hill sides. The level lots were sold many moons ago. Instead of slip sliding down the hill, take the staircase between the retaining walls.

It is some what discouraging to go outside and see that in fact you are now a cliff dweller. A retaining wall can help you get that desired level spot for entertaining, BBQ’s and just being able to go outside and not feel like you should of been born a bird.
Over the years I have seen more and more lots that are on hill sides and some of them very steep. Most of these homes need retaining walls. How else will your land not end up your neighbors or the street for that matter. The next photo shows how a hill side can be tamed to give you a secret garden. In this case the wall is a brick wall.

There are many types of retaining walls. The most common are segmented retaining walls. These are usually concrete units that fit into each other and most often interlock.
Most come in various colors, styles and textures.
The next photo is a cultured stone faced wall. It’s very hard to tell the difference from real stone once installed.
 

Please don’t build any retaining wall over 4′ tall unless it’s enginerred and permitted.
At Woody’s Custom Landscaping we have two thirds of our employees that are certified installers of retaining walls with NCMA a national organization.
A retaining wall installed properly will last a very long time.

We all have our typical New Years resolutions. Quit smoking. Exercise more. Eat healthier foods. The list can go on and on. If I may, I would like to suggest another resolution. Many of us are now watching our money more diligently than we ever have. Don’t spend without a good reason. Landscaping is a good reason and a solid New Years resolution.

Home owners are not moving as frequently and staying in their homes longer. If fact we have even come up with a new term this last year, “staycation”. Instead of going away on vacation people just stayed nearer to home or at home. I wrote a couple of blogs in 2009 about increasing back yard living space, so in fact home owners could have a staycation with family and friends. More than just having a nice landscaping to retreat to, it also does add value to your home. That’s also a great reason to consider adding a paver patio, outdoor kitchen or even a front or back yard landscape renovation to your New Years resolution.

Imagine this. No mud. Clean areas of fresh sod, Beautiful plantings. A new patio that is more than a 8by8 square. A retaining wall so you can get a little more level space to actually have a back yard to enjoy. Most of all some sense and balance to your back or front yard.
At Woody’s Custom Landscaping, Inc. we strive to ensure that your wishes become a reality. With our team of certified and award winning technicians you can rest assured that we will construct a quality landscaping.
Serving the Vancopuver WA area for over twenty years with award winning landscaping services.

Almost any new home in the Pacific Northwest needs some sort of retaining wall. It seems all the flat lots have been sold long ago and built on. Most new home owners have to come to grips, that in their landscaping a retaining wall of some sort will be neccesary. Below is a photo of a natural Camas stone wall which instead of dry installing we used mortar for the joints and as a backing to the rear of the wall. Our certified employees will make sure that every step along the way to your new retaining wall will be done with skill and a clean job site at the end of each day.

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Outdoor kitchens and entertainment areas are fast becoming a must have in many peoples homes. Imagine the convenience of entertaining outside in a spot made just for that purpose. Most clients had to shuffle the patio furniture , move the BBQ to the right spot to make room for entertaining. With a designated entertaining and cooking area, you just set up the tables, stock your refrigerator, start the BBQ, make some beverages and have fun.
We’ve included a landscaping photo and a landscape video, so that you can view a few ideas. The photo below is a installation of and outdoor kitchen and cooking area. It shows the outdoor kitchen, a paver patio, and a entertaining area we constructed.

This video shows a fantastic entertainment area with some cool stone seat walls and a stone faced fire feature.

For a quality residential landscape contractor look no further. Our landscaping services are exceptional.