Consumer Reports calls YardScapes’ founder Shayne Newman’s landscape renovation, “backyard bliss.” The “before” and “after” transformation of Newman’s property was featured in Consumer Reports’:
5 easy ways to enjoy your yard more and maintain it less
A Consumer Reports survey found almost a third of homeowners who made changes to their lawn in the last year reduced its size in some way. This is how Newman re-imagined his residential landscape.
BEFORE: A receding lawn and an old freestanding grill hardly made for relaxing backyard barbecues at this home in New Milford, CT. The sloping landscape of the property created challenges, especially in terms of growing and mowing grass.
AFTER: Rather than fight the sloping property, Shayne Newman, an industry-certified landscape professional and founder of YardScapes, used the problems to his advantage and created a picturesque waterfall that flows down into a koi pond. A stone-veneer retaining wall makes up two sides of the pond and is also the base for a built-in grill. A custom masonry fire pit anchors an all-season seating area, which looks out over a patch of lawn landscaped with a resilient mix of border plants including spirea shrubs, endless summer hydrangea, and ornamental grasses.
photo credit Denise Cregier
