Planting & garden beds in Standish, Maine.
Standish is a wooded town. The comprehensive plan counts about 70 percent of its land, some 30,000 acres, as capable of growing commercial timber, and white pine is the tree that shows up everywhere from Sebago's shore to the Steep Falls ridges. Beds here often sit under or beside tall pines, in acid soil, with shade for part of the day.
The 2023 USDA map puts Standish ZIP 04084 in zone 5b, with average winter lows of minus 15 to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That rules out a few coastal favorites and points toward hardy shrubs and perennials that do well in thin, acidic ground.
Beds on sand and beds on till
The comprehensive plan places the town's sand and gravel deposits around the lakes, with larger areas of gravelly till inland. Plantings near Sebago or Bonny Eagle Pond sit in fast-draining ground that dries out in August, so they get compost worked in and a mulch layer that holds moisture. Inland beds in till hold water longer and need the opposite: a raised bed or amended soil so roots are not sitting wet through spring.
The plan's map puts the town's prime farmland soils in the south end, above Bonny Eagle Pond between Spear Road and Route 25 and along Josie's Brook toward the Saco. Homes on that old farm ground tend to have deeper, easier soil for beds than a lake lot, and the plant list can include perennials that want richer ground.
Along a lake, beds are also a tool. Low shrubs and perennials planted across a slope slow the water that comes off a roof or driveway before it reaches the shore, which is what the lake needs from a planting plan.
Mulch, fertilizer and the lake
Loose bark mulch on a steep bank ends up in the lake after the first heavy rain. On shore lots the beds are edged and pitched so mulch stays put, and the steepest ground is planted densely enough that it needs less mulch at all. Within the first 100 feet of a great pond, Maine's shoreland rules require groundcover to be left in place, so new beds there are woven into what is already growing rather than scraped in.
Standish prohibits storing pesticides in its shoreland zone. Beds near the water are planted with species that do not need a spray program to look good, and fertilizer is left to what a soil test says.
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 Standish, Maine.
Planting & Garden Beds in nearby towns
- Planting & Garden Beds in Gorham
- Planting & Garden Beds in Windham
- Planting & Garden Beds in Westbrook
- Planting & Garden Beds in Gray
- Planting & Garden Beds in Cumberland
More services in Standish
- Hardscaping in Standish
- Retaining Walls in Standish
- Landscaping in Standish
- Landscape Design in Standish
- Hydroseeding, Sod & Turf in Standish
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding in Standish
- Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal in Standish
- Commercial Mowing & Cleanups in Standish
- Excavation & Land Clearing in Standish
- Septic Systems in Standish
- Tree & Shrub Services in Standish
- Tree Removal in Standish
Free Estimates
Planting & Garden Beds in Standish? 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