Drost Landscape

Who's ready for a before-and-after? Here are some looks at the change from spring-to-fall on one of the landscapes our team cares for.⁠ ⁠ We're big fans of stepping back to appreciate a transformation, whether it's watching a new landscape come to life, rehabilitating an old one, or seeing how it progresses through the seasons. On this site, flowers play a huge role, bringing color and interest everywhere you go. A combination of annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs work together from spring into fall to create a space that is exciting and vibrant.

Earlier this month, we received news that two of our landscapes had been chosen among the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) award winners. These landscapes have also won awards from the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA), and we're honored to be recognized for our excellence in craftsmanship by both of these organizations. We couldn't do this amazing work without a dedicated and talented team, so all of the congratulations go to them.

A good landscape has the power to transform a space--and transport you to a place that feels far away from the hustle culture of the day. If you're looking for a private retreat to come home to, here are the features we recommend:⁠ ⁠ - Thoughtful plantings: When the goal is relaxation, plants are extra important. Using plants as privacy screens or sound barriers is a great way to create your own little hideaway, and there's a lot to be said for the power of flowers to promote a sense of calm.⁠ - Water feature: Water features create an outdoor experience that appeals to multiple senses. Both the sights and sounds of moving water can be incredibly soothing, helping you unwind after a long day.⁠ - Lighting: As day turns into evening, and evening turns to night, a landscape transforms. Proper lighting ensures you get the most out of your space, no matter the time.⁠ ⁠- Bonus: A spa! For the ultimate in rest and relaxation, a spa or hot tub is a must. Pair it with landscape lighting, and you've got the perfect place to let the cares of the day melt away.⁠ ⁠ Creating your own personal place of peace and quiet requires attention to detail and solid experience. Thankfully, our team has both, and we're ready to help you create a space you can't wait to come home to. Contact us today to get started on your own backyard retreat. https://lnkd.in/ga9EEDCt

This elevated deck overlooking the lake took a lot of engineering to get off the ground. Using black flagstone on a wood structure, layers of strength had to be incorporated to support the weight of it. Helicals, CMU blocks, and a silca grid system are among the unsung heroes of a structure like this, proving that there's always more to something than meets the eye! To make this an all-seasons space, both mesh and vinyl automatic screens can be used to keep out pests or inclement weather. A small cooking area features a grill, countertops, and searing burners, while a seating area makes the space comfortable and inviting. Overhead, infrared heat ensures that guests can gather at the table no matter the weather, and a TV that vanishes into the ceiling provides the entertainment. Bifold doors turn this into an extension of the home, bringing the comfort of indoor living outside. Did you know our hardscaping and masonry teams work year-round as weather allows to create spaces like this? We'd love to help you get started on next summer's fun sooner. Contact our team today to see what we can do for you.

Ready for another tiny landscape tour? This time, we're exploring an award-winning landscape our team designed and built over seven years ago. We've been caring for it ever since, and it definitely shows! With multiple fire features, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, an impressive water feature, and a truly enormous pool, this landscape is perfect for outdoor entertaining. This landscape also capitalizes on the beautiful views of Lake Michigan, giving you a front-row seat to watch the water no matter where you find yourself. If you've been thinking about upgrading your outdoor living space, now is the time to get started. Our team works through the winter to create landscapes like this one, so contact us today to see what we can do for you. https://lnkd.in/ga9EEDCt Video by Vanessa Matelski

What's the recipe for a space that makes family gatherings even better? 🤔 We love a good get-together with family and friends. Birthday parties, barbeques, and any backyard bash are our jam. So, of course, we're always looking for ways to make them better--particularly from a landscaping point of view. Here are some of our favorite landscaping elements to create a space the family can't wait to hang out in: - Patio space: It's kind of hard to have a family gathering if there's no place to gather, and a patio solves that problem by giving you the space you need. How you use it is up to you! - Fire pit: There's just something about a backyard bonfire that draws people in. Maybe it's the marshmallows, or maybe it's just the innate knowledge that memories are made here--whatever the reason, a fire pit is an excellent addition to any family function. - Outdoor kitchen: Hosting an outdoor party with the food inside is kind of a bummer, if we're all being honest. The trips back and forth take up time you could be spending with your family. Creating a space where you can prepare and cook a meal outside ensures you're still part of the action. - Bonus: A pool! Okay, what kid wouldn't love a landscape with a pool? And, come to think of it, pools are a pretty big hit with adults, too! A pool instantly turns a backyard into everyone's favorite place to be. Here at Drost, we're in the business of finding ways your landscape can make space for what you need. If you're looking to create space for more fun next summer, our team is ready to help. We work throughout the winter so that you can start making lifelong family memories all summer long, so contact us today to get started!

Little slices of a landscape--what details tell you this is all on the same site? Let us know in a comment below what common threads you find! On every project, creating a cohesive look and feeling across the entire space is important. Without it, a landscape can come across as disjointed or chaotic--and, hey, that's a vibe, but maybe not the vibe you want when you come home after a long day at work. We create a sense of continuity on a landscape through intentional plant and hardscape choices. Using the same plants, or those with similar characteristics, throughout a landscape helps tie a space together, and on this site you see it through the use of white and purple flowers, as well as repeated textures in the foliage. For hardscaping, color tones and shape play a big role in creating a cohesive look. On this site, we leaned towards shades of blue-gray in the patio stonework, which echoes the stone used on walls throughout the property, as well as on the house itself.

Did you know yesterday was International Youth Day? Here are some snapshots of just a few of the young people we've been fortunate enough to work with this season. Over the last few years, we've been expanding our efforts to reach out to high school and college students through school visits and hosting field trips at our office. The result has been an influx of teenagers and young adults who have joined Team Drost, and for many of them, this is their first ever job! We won't hide it from you--working with these kids comes with it's challenges. But...working with adults comes with it's challenges, too, doesn't it? And we're never ones to shy away from a challenge. Rather, we see this as an incredible opportunity to help these young individuals learn and grow, and for us to learn and grow, too. For some of these kids, this is a fun summer job--but for others, this could very well be the start of a fruitful career in the green industry. After all, Bob Drost fell in love with landscaping at 14, and here we all are now! Every industry relies on the next generation to carry it into the future, and this is especially important in the green industry. Each day, we're caring for a piece of the place we all call home. The new ideas and perspectives of this generation are going to shape not just the way we work, but the planet we work on--and what an incredible opportunity it is to introduce teens and young adults to this kind of work, helping them learn the skills they need to succeed! Some of our students have already finished up for the season, while others are only here for a little while longer. We're grateful for all we've learned from working with them and wish them success in the upcoming school year!

Then and now--a seven-year transformation 📸 Our team designed and built this landscape over seven years ago, and we've been maintaining it ever since. Recently, we got to revisit it and get some updated photos, and it was incredible to look at the first photos we captured in 2017 and compare them to what we see there now. Our Landscape Services Teams have been performing regular site visits to this property since its completion, and this consistent care is a large part of why this landscape continues to thrive. From weeding and mulching to fertilization and lawn care, our team does more so that all these homeowners have to do is enjoy their outdoor living space. Updated photos taken by Alex Childress.

Ready for a look behind the scenes at a landscape photoshoot with local photographer Alex Childress and landscape photographer Chris Major, CGIP? Our Media & Marketing Specialist, Vanessa Matelski, broke the metaphorical fourth wall on our latest blog post, taking you behind the scenes on her recent landscape photography adventures and sharing lessons she learned from the experience. She also included lots of photos from the days on site, and a little insight into why landscape photography is so important for a company like ours. You can read the blog and hear about all the fun here: https://lnkd.in/gyXPM_Kk Many thanks to our generous clients for giving us the use of their landscapes for our photography days, to our team for ensuring each landscape was ready for its closeup, and to our incredibly talented photographers for a fun and productive experience!