Residential landscaping in Biddeford, Maine.
Biddeford covers about 30 square miles of land and nearly as much water, and residential landscaping here ranges from a narrow front yard off Alfred Street to a shingled cottage lot at Biddeford Pool. What ties most of those properties together is age. Census estimates put the city's median year built at 1952, and only about 48 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, so a good share of landscape work is on rental and two- to four-unit buildings as well as single-family houses.
The city sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b on the 2023 map, with an average coldest night between minus 15 and minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That rules in a wide list of shrubs and perennials but still rules out plants sold for milder coastal zones farther south.
Soils that vary block by block
Downtown and the river flats are mapped as Scantic silt-clay, which stays wet into spring. Much of the higher ground is shallow Lyman loam over ledge, and there are pockets of Naumburg sand, a poorly drained outwash soil with a spring water table often within a foot of the surface. The planting plan, the depth of loam brought in, and where drainage goes all depend on which of those a yard is sitting on, so a site visit starts with a spade test rather than a catalogue.
Lawns, beds and cleanup on older lots
On lots that have been gardened for seventy years or more, the work is often renewal: overgrown foundation shrubs cut back or replaced, beds re-edged and mulched, a thin lawn hydroseeded after the soil is corrected. UMaine Extension recommends a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.2 for lawns, and older city soils frequently need lime to get there.
Cleanups are part of the same service. Biddeford residents can bring leaves, grass clippings and brush to the city's transfer station at 371 Hill Street, while contractor loads are charged by the yard, which is worth knowing when deciding whether debris is hauled or left for the owner.
Keeping soil out of Thatcher Brook and the Saco
Biddeford is a regulated stormwater community, and Thatcher Brook, which drains a large part of the western city to the Saco River just above the dam at Saco Falls, is on Maine's list of impaired waters. Under the state erosion law, anyone who exposes soil must keep it on site, whether or not a permit is needed, so bare ground on a landscape job is mulched or seeded promptly.
Design · Planting · Cleanups
How we handle landscaping
We design and install residential landscapes across Cumberland and Greater Portland: plantings, hydroseeding, cleanups and the hardscape that ties the property together. Weekly residential mowing is not what we sell — full landscape work is.
See the full landscaping service page or everything we do in Biddeford, Maine.
Landscaping in nearby towns
- Landscaping in Saco
- Landscaping in Scarborough
- Landscaping in Gorham
- Landscaping in Westbrook
- Landscaping in Cape Elizabeth
More services in Biddeford
- Hardscaping in Biddeford
- Retaining Walls in Biddeford
- Landscape Design in Biddeford
- Planting & Garden Beds in Biddeford
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Biddeford
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Biddeford
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Biddeford
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Biddeford
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Biddeford
- Septic Systems in Biddeford
- Tree & Shrub Services in Biddeford
- Tree Removal in Biddeford
Sources for the local facts on this page
- Census Reporter — Biddeford city, ACS 2020–2024
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023)
- USDA NRCS — Web Soil Survey (York County, Maine)
- USDA NRCS — Official Series Description, Naumburg
- UMaine Extension — Bulletin #2367, Establishing a Home Lawn in Maine
- City of Biddeford — Recycling/Transfer Station
- City of Biddeford — Thatcher Brook Watershed Management Plan (2015)
Free Estimates
Landscaping in Biddeford? Let's talk.
Tell us about your property and we will walk it with you — free estimates, straight answers, stonework guaranteed to hold its lines.
Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine