Distinctive Landscaping

Wow. I read these other reviews and can’t believe it’s the same company. We had terrible customer service. New house, new lawn. Many calls and e-mails to get them to follow through on their promises. Never a response. Promised to pick up rocks out of the soil they put down. Never did it. I would never hire these people. Very disappointed.

Elizabeth and Charlie did a fantastic job with the hardscaping design for my new home last year. They very quickly got a sense of the casual look I wanted and tolerated my meddling gardener ways. They installed a stone walkway and wall, now the envy of my neighborhood, to highlight my peony collection, and planned a wonderful shade jungle in my back yard. Elizabeth encouraged me to keep a stone stairway in my backyard that I was tempted to cut to save money. She asked the crew looked hard to find large stones to control the cost. I’m so glad she talked me into it- it is actually my favorite feature. The work was done to a very high standard, on time, and at budget. The stone masons were friendly and as excited about the different rocks as I was. Can’t say enough good things about them!

We were seeking an imaginative landscape design for our newly constructed home that captured our love of wildflowers. A backyard habitat built for the butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Our site had challenges like a steep hillside and significant water runoff from the above elevation requiring diversion. The engineering and design challenges were more than met by Charlie, Miles, Christian and the hard-working crew. Attention to detail, high-quality materials, meticulous site clean up and stellar results. We continue to use Distinctive Landscaping for creating other points of interest and recently used their expertise to install a home vineyard.

I had a porch built on my house, but had no walkway from the steps to my driveway. From the start of looking at the site with Charlie and Elizabeth; to looking at pictures of walkways and stones at the shop and coming up with a final design; to working with Brian during the building process, I cannot say enough about my experience with Distinctive Landscaping! Elizabeth and Brian were quickly willing to navigate any hurdle, help me with drainage issues not connected to the walkway and build a gorgeous walk with stone steps that completes the porch in a naturally beautiful way! In fact, my stone walkway is now the envy of the neighborhood! I recommend DL wholeheartedly for a landscape building project!!

We have had Distinctive Landscaping transform our front and backyard. They did an excellent job, from the drawings to the actual implementation. They built us a beautiful deck and leveled the back yard and planted trees, shrubs, flowers in the backyard a well as front. My neighbors were happy watching the work unfold. Everyone was friendly and the quality of the plantings and all they selected and helped us with could not be better. I highly recommend Distinctive Landscaping if you are looking for high quality, timely, beautiful craftmanship! This is an excellent company, we trust them and could not be happier.

Distinctive landscaping is one of the best, most creative landscape design firms, with whom I have worked. They worked with us on a plan after first walking the area, and discussing our preferences and objectives. We worked collaboratively on the plan, revising and tweaking it until it met our goals and budget. They were very cooperative and told us what they thought even when we wanted something a bit different, which was very appreciated. After they implemented the plan, which was 80% of what they proposed,. It turned out to be transformational to our property. We LOVE the work. They are a talented group of folks.

Distinctive Landscaping designed and built a beautiful series of stone walls for us and designed and installed several garden areas on the site. Less than a year in, the design looks like it has been there for years. The gardens are loose and flowing in some places, and more organized and "architectural" in others. A side shade garden is a beautiful cool glade, and the sunny spots are rich with flowers, trees and shrubs that all feel native to our landscape. Charlie and Elizabeth worked with us to choose plants we love, but also took the lead with novel ideas in areas we were unsure about. They are a great team, and having their own installation crew means good communication and flexibility. We've used this firm on several projects and recommend them highly. You won't be disappointed if you hire Distinctive!

Distinctive Landscaping were truly professional and creative in the work they recently did on our property; from Charlie Proutt the owner, his daughter Elizabeth, his project manager Miles Weston, and his field crew of Brain, Roger and Shane . From the first visit Charlie and Elizabeth made in the early spring, voicing their vision for our property of open meadow, woods and a lot of ledge and rock, to the final seeding and mulching, he and his team were a pleasure to work with. A special note must be made of the creativity and ingenuity of the field crew in regards to their stone wall building. They made all our back-breaking work of harvesting the necessary rocks from our property this spring and summer worthwhile and so rewarding. Miles and Charlie gave us quality service by keeping us current on budget and additional changes we requested, as well as creatively incorporating our numerous transplants with so many new plants into the final design.

Distinctive Landscaping was great to work with in the design and construction of our stone patio project. We are extremely happy with the results, and highly recommend this company for landscaping projects.

As an former Landscape Architect with Distinctive Landscaping, I can honestly say that this company goes above and beyond for all of their clients. The design staff and crew are truly interested in creating a landscape that their client's love and fit their budget and lifestyle. From the simplest project all the way to the largest master plan that evolves over years, they treat every client with the same respect. Many members of the crew at Distinctive have been with the company for over 20 years or more. The unique and close relationship of the design staff and the crew enables their clients to receive an efficient and beautiful project in the end. And Distinctive Landscaping has one key partnership that most design build firms don't have in the northeast and that is their relationship with their sister company, Horsford Gardens and Nursery. Their clients have access to the best plants in NE and for an incredible value.

Distinctive Landscaping changed our lives! We had lived on the shores of Lake Champlain for a dozen years or so, and every spring we cut back brush, attempted a lawn, and planted our version of a perennial bed. In August we would leave for a week, only to return to an overgrown tangle of vines, brush, rocks and dust! Enter Charlie Proutt! He walked the property with us one afternoon, asking about our lifestyle and our visions for our homescape, and then sitting around our kitchen table, Charlie chatted with us and with our very involved 10-year-old son. When Charlie came back, he had amazing ideas that incorporated our thinking —and oh-so-much more! It was uncanny how he had sensed the subtleties of the land, the shapes and curvatures imposed by our mature trees, the lakeside, and the challenges of our steeply sloping land down to the lakeside cliff—as if our rough and rocky land had communicated directly to him. Preserving our stately shagbark hickory trees, cedars, oaks, and sugar maples, Distinctive Landscaping changed our dirt into soil, our scrub brush into verdant shrubs, our parched areas into lush oases, our heavily shaded areas into a mix of dancing green hues and textures, our steep slope into gradual, natural rock steps—all subtly lit at night to enjoy year-round. Charlie then brilliantly expanded our straight, narrow terrace into curved outdoor spaces for gazing at the lake, dining alfresco, playful children, and good conversation. It was nothing short of a miracle! Along the way, our dreamed-for perennial bed became an awe-inspiring arc of imaginative plantings, our haphazard home entrance sported a newly formed parking area, blue stone paths, and an amazing new driveway through our magical woodland. For the first time, we could enjoy all sides of our home in all four seasons! And still, twenty years later we arrive home after a busy day and breathe in the beauty, the welcoming sunshine and cool shadows of beckoning greenery, the lovely spaces to gather together with family and friends, or to sit quietly and renew ourselves. Yes, twenty years later it is still magical, and we will forever thank Charlie Proutt, Eileen Schilling, and the crew at Distinctive Landscaping for their vision, their work ethic, their artistry, and their expertise.