Planting and garden beds in Scarborough, Maine.

Scarborough falls in USDA hardiness zone 6a on the 2023 map, meaning average winter lows between minus 10 and minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit. That opens a wider plant palette than many towns further inland, but the town's geography adds its own filters: exposed coastal points such as Prouts Neck and Pine Point, sandy ground near the beaches, and wetter soils around the 3,200-acre marsh.

We build foundation plantings, perennial beds and shrub borders matched to each site and finished with clean-edged mulch, from a single entry bed to a full planted slope.

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Browntail moth and the seaside shrub list

Maine's agriculture department calls browntail moth a big problem in coastal Maine, and several shrubs that do well near salt water are among its food plants. The state lists oak, shadbush, apple, cherry, beach plum and rugosa rose as hosts. The caterpillars carry poisonous hairs that cause rashes and, in some people, breathing trouble.

For a bed beside a walkway, patio or play area, that argues for mixing in plants the caterpillars ignore and for siting any host shrubs where their winter webs can be spotted and clipped. The silvery webs form at branch tips in late August, and the caterpillars leave them in late April.

Rebuilding soil under newer homes

With a median home built in 1988 and about 30 percent of houses dating from 2000 or later, plenty of Scarborough beds sit on ground that was graded during construction. A bed that thrives there usually needs its soil rebuilt: compacted subsoil loosened, compost worked in, and a soil test before any fertilizer goes down.

On lots developed under site plan approval since January 2025, planting inside a wetland's 15-foot vegetated buffer is held to native species when the buffer is revegetated, and fertilizer is not permitted there at all. Beds planned for those yards stop at the buffer pins or switch to native shrubs and groundcovers inside them.

Street-side planting

Beds along the road edge run into the town's Tree Care Ordinance, which requires property owners to keep plants from blocking pedestrians or drivers' views. Low perennials and compact shrubs at driveway corners keep sightlines open.

When a bed includes a small ornamental tree, the Tree Care Advisory Board's list of desirable species, drawn from the town's site plan ordinance, is published for residents to use on private land. The ordinance's spacing table is a sensible guide as well, keeping small trees at least 10 feet from a building or driveway.

Plantings · Mulch · Garden Design

How we handle planting & garden beds

We build planting beds that look better every year — hardy perennials and shrubs matched to your site, finished with clean-edged mulch and stone accents. From single foundation beds to full hillside plantings.

See the full planting & garden beds service page or everything we do in Scarborough, Maine.

Planting & Garden Beds in nearby towns

More services in Scarborough

Sources for the local facts on this page

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Planting & Garden Beds in Scarborough? 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.

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Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine