Landscape design in Gorham, Maine.
A full-property design in Gorham begins with a map rather than a plant list. The town is divided into zoning districts with very different lot sizes, it has a shoreland overlay along its rivers, streams and wetlands, and it has protected areas that most owners have never heard of until a project touches them.
Our design work puts plantings, hardscape, grading and drainage on one plan, drawn after we walk the site, and our own crews build it. For Gorham properties, the constraints the town has already mapped go into that plan from the first sketch.
What the town's maps already say about a lot
Gorham has three shoreland districts: Resource Protection, the Shoreland Overlay and Stream Protection. Within them the code limits cleared openings in the vegetated buffer to 250 square feet, allows a footpath up to six feet wide that does not open a cleared line of sight to the water, and caps total clearing for the house, driveway, lawn and septic area at 25 percent of the lot area inside the shoreland zone or 10,000 square feet, whichever is greater.
The 2016 Comprehensive Plan adds other layers: deer wintering areas just north and south of Gorham Village, inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat near the Stroudwater River and near Buck Street, and significant sand and gravel aquifers along the Standish line. None of these stops a residential landscape, but each one affects where a lawn can expand and where native cover is worth keeping.
Planning for how water leaves the property
The plan also records that Mosher Brook, across from the Gorham Industrial Park, was listed as impaired in 2010, and that other small Presumpscot tributaries may have water-quality problems. Those listings are a reminder that runoff from roofs, drives and bare soil ends up somewhere downstream.
In a design, that becomes grading that sends roof water toward planted areas instead of the street, patios with a deliberate pitch, and beds placed where they can take runoff. Because the town's erosion standards call for fitting development to the natural contour, the grading plan is drawn around the existing slope rather than flattening it and pushing water toward the neighbors.
A design also gets phased, especially on a newer Gorham lot where the budget goes further in stages. Hardscape and grading usually come first, then planting, then the lawn, seeded in the late-summer window UMaine Extension recommends.
Design · Planning · Full Installs
How we handle landscape design
We design landscapes that work as a whole — plantings, patios, walls, grading and drainage planned together before the first shovel breaks ground. Whether it is a full property redesign or a single outdoor living space, we walk the site, draw the plan and build it with our own crews.
See the full landscape design service page or everything we do in Gorham, Maine.
Landscape Design in nearby towns
- Landscape Design in Westbrook
- Landscape Design in Standish
- Landscape Design in Windham
- Landscape Design in Scarborough
- Landscape Design in Portland
More services in Gorham
- Hardscaping in Gorham
- Retaining Walls in Gorham
- Landscaping in Gorham
- Planting & Garden Beds in Gorham
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Gorham
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Gorham
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Gorham
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Gorham
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Gorham
- Septic Systems in Gorham
- Tree & Shrub Services in Gorham
- Tree Removal in Gorham
Free Estimates
Landscape Design in Gorham? 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