These Birmingham residents needed help with their recently renovated summer home. They called us to add shade (and flowers!) and to minimize the copious amount of sand finding its way into the home. The existing deck and patio all but invited sandy feet to enter the house and provided little relief from the sun. Our solutions provided the couple with a beautiful, more extensive shore-side patio, a fire bowl area, a shady spot for lounging, beds of colorful perennials for an ever-changing color palette, and a soft, grassy area to traverse before entering the home. Goodbye, sandy feet!

Located just 25 miles south of our Traverse City location in Benzie County, the property is on exceptionally clear and beautiful Crystal Lake. The site is on the south end of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Work along a Michigan shoreline requires the expertise of a Certified Natural Shoreline Professional. The CNSP program equips us with the tools to design better and to implement and maintain natural shoreline landscapes. This responsibility includes consideration of nearshore soils, plant communities, aquatic habitats, water law and permitting, and wave energy assessment. We must master the methods and techniques of designing natural shoreline landscaping and bioengineered erosion control on inland lakes to protect our lakeshore habitat.