Your Pup Deserves A Space to Enjoy
Homeowners and their four legged family deserve an outdoor space that offers room to play and unwind without concern of the safety of your pet or landscape. 

We take great pride in designing stylish and durable landscaping where your four-legged friend can frolic without destroying plants and perennials.

Arterra Landscape Design/Build's owner and principal, John Majeski, is a long time dog lover and owner. He understands it can be challenging to create a space that is both beautiful and suited to the needs of your canine companion.

​Your four-legged friend probably needs to enjoy the freedom of taking a few rowdy laps around the yard, chasing a ball, and playing freely without causing worry that he or she could destroy delicate landscape elements or accidentally escape your yard for a neighborhood adventure.

​Conceptualizing and designing a landscape that truly considers your dog’s behavior and needs is something we delight in. In fact, we’ve brought joy to a number of dogs and their guardians throughout the Denver metro with our unique designs. 

​In general, dog friendly landscape designs tend to include turf grass, quality fencing, ground covering, shade bearing trees and pergola structures, and protection built around your sensitive plants or garden beds. 

​Request a complimentary consultation for your dog-friendly landscape today.

 Thoughtful Design Solutions
Before offering design solutions, John talks to you about your dog’s behavior and habits. A custom dog friendly landscape plan is thoughtfully informed by your pup’s habits, personality, size, and temperament by our licensed landscape architect. ​

Here are a few examples of what we mean: 

• High energy dogs that run up and down your fence line need space for their daily romp without the risk of devastating a flower bed. Raised planters and discreet fencing or mesh wire are often good deterrents. 
• If you live with a chronic digger, river rock, pea gravel, and turf solutions may prevent a backyard from taking on the look of a prairie dog sanctuary. You might also consider leaving a small, hidden patch of bare ground in your space for your digger’s delight. 
• Dog breeds stereotyped for aggressive behavior may need tall, unbreachable fencing to ensure peace of mind for the neighborhood. Elegant materials can be used to ensure that boundary fences flatter your home and work within your Homeowners Association guidelines and bi-laws. 
• Small dogs can be clever escape artists, so unbreachable fences and gates are a solid investment for your peace of mind and pup’s safety. One attractive fencing option for smaller dogs could be traditional rail fencing with tasteful and secure modern wire mesh. 

Reduce Outdoor Water Consumption

Many of us make new year's resolutions to create our best life through improved health, finances, and relationships. But how often do we consider the opportunity to make improvements that benefit our home happiness and our home and landscaping's environmental footprint?

If finances and sustainability matter to you, Xeriscape design renovation should be a top consideration for homeowners in Colorado's the Front Range.

What Is Xeriscaping?
Xeriscaping, also sometimes called “smart-scaping” or “drought-tolerant landscaping,” is a set of landscape design principles to benefit areas susceptible to drought or concerned with water conservation, like Colorado's drought-prone Front Range. This style of landscape utilizes water conserving techniques such as the inclusion of drought-tolerant plants; ground covers such as bark, mulch, or rock; and efficient irrigation to create sustainable and functional beauty that also reduces water bills and consumption. 

Designs can range from rustic alpine to vibrant xeriscape garden to minimalist zen meditation aesthetics and anything in between. 

Water Wise Landscape Designs Rooted In Colorado
Did you know that the Water Department of Denver is credited for coining the word “xeriscape” back in 1981? Really! Denver Water combined "landscape" with “xeros” (the Greek word for “dry”), to make it easier to talk about a style of landscaping suited to the Front Range and other semi-arid regions. 

How It Works & Materials To Use 
Ask your landscape architect to select plants adapted to the Denver metro’s general weather patterns. (If you have lived near the Mile High City for at least a season or two, you’ll notice how quickly the weather can turn from 70 degrees one day to snowing or below freezing the next!) Your plants need to be adapted to withstand these extremes, and they shouldn't require copious amounts of water remain healthy. 

A skilled landscape architect like our award winning designer will create a beautiful plan that is aesthetically pleasing with more than just a drab span of sand or rocks to replace your lawn. Ideally you want to enjoy a beautiful space that is designed to require minimal water consumption and minimal maintenance. 

Arterra owner, John Majeski, approaches xeriscape designs considering your area’s average rainfall and what grows indigenously in your area. Instead of expansive sod lawns, he incorporates natural materials like turf grasses, native plants like deciduous shrubs or pine trees, and wildflowers that are hardy enough to sustain the varied temperature swings seen in our region.

Some of John’s favorite plants to work with include roses, ornamental grasses, boxwood, and certain cacti. 

Will Xeriscaping Save Me Money? 
The costs of xeriscape design and installation range depending on the size of your space, materials used, and variety of plants incorporated. Installation costs are typically on par with more traditional landscapes that rely heavily on sod and perennials, but the long term savings from less intensive maintenance and water consumption typically pay off after several years making your landscape more sensible for your finances and the environment.

When Should I Install A Xeriscape?
While spring is always the most ideal time to install and renovate gardens and lawns, you can generally install xeriscapes anytime throughout the year (weather permitting).

Work With Us
Arterra Landscaping Design/Build is now booking landscape design and construction projects for the spring and summer on a first come, first served basis. We give you accurate, fair, and custom quotes based on a site visit to your property with your personal lifestyle and home’s features in mind. 

Great landscaping starts with intentional and creative design work. At Arterra, our licensed landscape architect takes great care in the process behind envisioning your outdoor oasis. John Majeski visits your space to assess things like the land’s grade, existing structural features or trees, weather elements, irrigation needs, and more. 

How do we imagine a space?
First we connect with you to learn more about how you want to use your space. Need a dog-friendly patio, low maintenance space, outdoor sanctuary to read books in the cool mornings and evenings, or want to entertain family and friends while you cook and dine outside? All of this factors into how we conceptualize your landscape design. 

We also consider the style of your home and any challenges or factors (such as privacy from bordering property lines, sloping grades, soil type, sun exposure and wind factors) for your unique location. 

After talking about your dream vision and ideal outdoor space, we assess your property, and chat about your budget before creating a custom, hand rendered landscaping design with built and natural elements. Many of our renovation and new construction projects include hardscapes such as stamped concrete walkways, patios, pergola shade structures, garden beds, water features, fences and, of course, automated irrigation systems (less work outdoors equals more relaxation in it, right?).

Considering A Project? 
Start planning your spring renovation or new landscape project now. Not sure how much to plan to allocate for your dream space? We’ve been doing this for nearly two decades and can help provide you with an honest estimate depending on what features and materials you want to work with.  
 
Contact us today to start a conversation about your dream landscape and design project! Consultations are free and we are now booking a limited number of clients for Spring and Summer on a first come, first served basis. 

Explore some examples of our hand-drawn landscape design renderings.

Trees For Style And Sustainability
Trees are often an important part of landscape design since they offer benefits for people and the planet: trees add cooling shade and privacy to outdoor spaces, and they also help improve air quality by producing oxygen and storing carbon. However, not all trees are created equal when it comes to thriving in the Front Range. 

​Our Favorite Evergreens
We love working with trees to add wind and privacy screens. See which ones are our favorites and read about their respective merits below:

​The Spartan Juniper For Full Sun
For spaces bearing the heat relentless direct sunshine, the Spartan Juniper is a narrow and upright evergreen to weather hot summers and add a cooling layer of shade to help you and your pets enjoy your space more comfortably.

​Trees We Typically Avoid Planting
There are a few shortcomings of trending favorite trees out there to be aware of. For example, oak trees are a trending favorite by appearance, but they take years to grow to maturity (a consideration especially when renovating landscape to increase home resale value). ​​

​Another signature look in Colorado is the Aspen tree, beloved for their subtle bark color and delicate leaves. While this native species thrives naturally in the mountains, we do not recommend planting these seedlings unless working with a sizable property that provides ample space for these invasive root systems to sprawl. Planting saplings near homes and in smaller spaces can lead to plumbing and foundation disruptions over time. The variety of Aspens that flourish at the Denver metro elevations are also limited.  

The Takeaway
Include the right trees for your space to reduce wind, dust, excess heat, and street visibility in your outdoor space. We can help you hand select the right varietals to thrive in your space and the best design placement to help you enjoy your space whether you want comfortable patio time during the summer months or an added layer of privacy between your home and property line. 

Looking for the best support for maintaining your trees in Colorado? Consult a certified arborist. The Rocky Mountain chapter of ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) has tips and an online directory to support your search. 

After winterizing your irrigation systems, you’ll also want to ensure that you have a plan for giving your plants and grass enough hydration to stay alive and healthy between rain and snowfall. We recommend adding a recurring reminder on your calendar to hand-water your greenery, especially if you recently installed a new landscape that hasn’t had time to develop a hardy root system. 

Let Us Worry About Your Watering
Arterra is now offering watering services at a reasonable rate. We'll set a schedule for your space's needs and take the hassle out of this chore for you.

Water Savings Evaluations
For older irrigation systems, now is also the time of year to evaluate whether your entire irrigation system is working properly, replace edging, install new light fixtures, and get ahead of any issues before they arise this spring. 

Arterra’s principal, John Majeski evaluates water systems to help reduce monthly water bills and consults on how to make spaces more Xeriscape-friendly for low-maintenance, highly usable, and attractive spaces. 

Free Consultations
Call John Majeski with Arterra Landscape Design/Build today to discuss your seasonal landscape maintenance needs: (720) 436-6340.

People never forget to consider their home’s interior lighting options for style and practical needs, but when it comes to a home’s outdoor space, the details of landscape lighting often go overlooked. 

Cost-effective landscape effects with maximum impact
Low voltage landscape lighting is a highly cost effective way to put the finishing touches on a home for added elegance and safety. As you’ve likely seen from some of Denver’s striking neighborhoods, adding a number of well placed spot lights effectively highlights the key features of a well-designed space while also adding a warmer welcome when coming home after dusk and during the shorter days of winter months. Step lights can prevent trips and slips in the dark, and spot lights can also deter would-be prowlers from nearing your home in the wee hours. 

The results of landscape lights are dramatic, offering maximum impact from whatever budget you have. From LED spot lights to deck lights, flood lights, path lights, and submersible pool lights, we consult on how to elevate your space to the next level. 

How outside lighting works: 
Arterra and most professional landscape companies now primarily recommend installing all LED lights over the halogen bulbs previously used. Landscape lights run on a low voltage system in the same way that conventional car batteries do. A small transformer plugs into an outdoor wall socket and converts your home’s 110 volt electric current into the needed 12 voltage rating necessary to safely keep your home lit through, clouds, clear skies, rain, snow or hail (hooded or capped light fixtures are a great option in hail prone regions like the Front Range). 

​​
More efficient lighting
While typically more expensive to purchase upfront, LED bulbs utilize less energy (just around 3 watts) and offer much greater system efficiency with brighter, more effective lumens, and a longer lifespan. You can operate more fixtures on a lower wattage transformer. 

 Unique and custom offerings
While outdoor lighting may not provide quite the same myriad of options as indoor lighting fixtures, homeowners can still easily customize their outdoor living space with unique lights. Explore our Arterra Landscape Design/Build Pinterest for more ideas.

Save on landscape lighting today
Arterra offers consultation in outdoor lighting design and also offers installation services. 

Get help with your holiday lights
Are you thinking about the holidays? Arterra is also offering special packages for holiday lights. If you want to install decorative outdoor lights in October, November or December but don’t have the time or willingness to risk working on ladders to create the perfect twinkling adornment, we can help.

From simple plans to grand treatments, we consult with you on what you want and we’ll take care of the rest, from design inception, to supply shopping, to installation. 

​Contact us today to schedule an estimate for your project.

Well constructed gates and fences are an integral part of an overall landscaping plan, adding style and utility (keeping dogs in and intruders wildlife out). But gates and fences can add so much more than function and safety to a home when they are custom designed and built to last. 

Symbolic entry ways
These symbolic entry points and property boundaries set the tone for the experience of coming home and transitioning from wherever the day has taken us to the relaxation and restoration of being home. What do your home's entry points symbolize for you, and do you feel soothed by beauty when you approach your home?

Arterra’s Principal, John Majeski designed the above custom privacy gate for a family near Denver’s botanical gardens. 

The difference is in the details
The sealed natural pine wood with touches of western red cedar accent and classic metal handle add style and contrast for visual appeal against a plain stucco fence. 

Materials we prefer 
Some of our favorite materials for creating fence gates are ornamental iron and wood. Western red cedar has a beautiful tenor and ages well with our treatment of a high quality oil based sealer to prevent splitting and shrinkage in Colorado’s dry climate. Composite fences may also be a durable option for those who want a maintenance free fencing solution. 

Check out some beautiful gate ideas on Arterra Landscape Design/Build Pinterest.