Landscaping
A team with real experience in both landscaping and construction
Most landscaping companies stop at plants and mulch. Our team’s experience spans both landscaping and hands-on construction work, which means when a project calls for a retaining wall to hold back a slope, a sitting wall built into a patio, or a covered structure that needs to carry real weight and shed real weather, we don’t sub it out. We build it ourselves, as part of one crew, on one timeline.
That background shapes how we approach every yard: not as a planting job, but as a small construction project that happens to end in something beautiful.
Our Mission Statement
At From The Ground Up, our mission is to design and build outdoor living spaces that provide our customers with the atmosphere to create everlasting memories with their family
What We Actually Build
Landscaping Design & Renovation
Patios
Flagstone patios, including patios paired with covered structures (Red Lion, PA) and patios with built-in sitting walls (Parkton, MD). The sitting wall isn’t an add-on ordered from a catalog; it’s built into the patio design itself, so the seating and the surface read as one structure instead of a patio with furniture bolted around the edge.
Composite decking
We’ve installed composite decks in Parkton, MD and Jefferson, PA, both on sections of yard that weren’t being used for anything before. If you’re tired of refinishing a wood deck every couple of summers, this is the fix.
Patio coverings
Built-in overhead structures that turn a patio into a space you can use in light rain or full sun, not just on the ten perfect-weather days a year.
Complete outdoor buildouts
Complete outdoor buildouts, for backyards that have good bones but no structure: no patio, no defined gathering space, nothing pulling the yard together. We handle the full sequence (grading, hardscape, plantings) as one project instead of three separate vendors.
Landscape design and renovation
Before anything gets built, we walk the property with you and figure out what the space actually needs to work, not just what would look good in a rendering. Because our crew also handles the construction side, the design we hand you is one we already know we can build exactly as drawn. No surprises when it hits the ground.
Planting and mulching
Once the hardscape is in, we fill in around it with trees, shrubs, and perennials chosen for how they’ll actually hold up in this region’s clay soil and freeze-thaw winters, not just how they look on the truck. Mulch goes in last to lock in moisture and give the whole bed a finished edge.
Our Landscaping Design and Build Process in New Freedom, PA
Full design with drawings and renderings
For complex projects — including multi-zone patios, retaining wall systems, and full outdoor buildouts — we develop detailed drawings and 3D renderings so you can see exactly what is going up before any material is ordered. Your estimate is tied directly to the approved design, so there are no surprises when the work begins.
A site sketch and written estimate
For most projects, a detailed site sketch and written scope is enough to get aligned on the plan. We stake out the layout, talk through material choices, and document everything clearly before you approve anything.
A property walkthrough and written estimate
When the project is well-defined and the site is straightforward, we walk the property with you, work out the details on site, and produce a written estimate you can review at your own pace.
From First Call to Final Walkthrough
1. Reach out.
Call, email, or fill out our contact form to get the conversation started.
2. Talk through your project with Sam.
Sam will get a clear picture of what you have in mind and walk you through our project planner so you can calibrate expectations on budget before Trey visits the site.
3. Meet Trey on site.
Trey inspects the grade, soil conditions, and drainage situation on your property, discusses your goals, and determines the right planning path for the scope of the project.
4. Review your design and estimate.
For larger projects, you receive a full design package with drawings, material specs, and a detailed estimate to review online or in person.
5. Approve and lock in your schedule.
A deposit invoice confirms your spot and lets us order the stone, pavers, block, or concrete needed for your project.
6. Crew leader site visit.
Your crew leader walks the property before work begins, plans equipment access and staging, and confirms the layout before the first shovel goes in the ground.
7. Construction updates throughout the project.
We check in at key milestones: once grade and drainage are set, once forms or footings are in place, and again when the finish work begins. You are never guessing at where things stand.
8. Final cleanup and structural walkthrough.
When the project is complete, we clean the site and walk the finished structure with you, explaining what was built and how it performs.
9. Care and maintenance guidance.
You will receive written guidance on joint sand maintenance for paver patios, drainage inspection, and any seasonal care your installed landscaping benefits from.
Areas We Serve
Based in Spring Grove, PA, we build patios, decks, and outdoor living spaces throughout Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland, including Red Lion, Parkton, and Jefferson.
Why Homeowners in This Area Work With Us
We know the ground we’re building on. Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland aren’t easy soil: heavy clay in a lot of spots, freeze-thaw cycles that heave poorly-set stone within a year or two. Flagstone and retaining structures that aren’t set correctly for this region crack, shift, or settle. Ours are built to hold.
One crew, start to finish. Because we come from construction, the same team that grades your yard also builds your sitting wall and sets your flagstone. Nothing gets handed off to a sub who wasn’t there for the original conversation about what you actually wanted.
We clean up after ourselves. It sounds small until it isn’t. Ask any homeowner who’s had a contractor leave gravel in the driveway for a week.
“I wish I could give them 10 stars cause they are amazing! Ken is a great guy and knows alot about ag, vegetation and landscaping. The crews are quick and professional and left my driveway cleaner then the way it was. I use them for all my landscaping needs, I just wish I would have used them sooner.”
—Jon Sotak
Let’s Talk About Your Yard
Whether you already know exactly what you want or you just know your backyard isn’t working for you yet, the next step is the same: a walkthrough with someone who’s actually going to build it, not just sell it. We’ll look at your space, talk through what’s realistic, and put together a plan built for how you’ll actually use it.