Gilmore Landscape Architecture

Rob Gilmore and his team did a fantastic job. We selected Rob for our yard in Somerville because of his experience transforming smaller spaces into beautiful and functional areas. They came up with innovative ideas for different areas of our yard that we would have never thought of including solutions to our steep driveway that used to freeze into an ice sheet in the winter. They listened to our needs and asked about how we used our yard before making suggestions. They recommended we create an extra set of steps off our front porch to improve accessibility to our side yard. They created unique planters around a new patio to allow us to garden. They added an herb garden in a particular spot for perfect herb growing once they learned we liked to cook. Rob's partner Ian has a tremendous knowledge of plants and made great suggestions about what to plant and always gave us choices. They were incredibly easy to work with and were able to accommodate us and change plans when we realized what we had asked for wasn't exactly what we wanted. We hired Gilmore Landscape for both the design and build phases. That made it much easier to adjust things along the way. We highly recommend them.

We worked with Rob on a complete yard renovation that included full regrading across multiple levels, new retaining walls (both mortared and placed), a stone landing, walkway, and stairs, a paver patio, deck, fencing, sod/irrigation system, and full planting. During the design process, we provided a rough vision and goals for the project and Rob and team game back with multiple options that we iterated around until we generated the master plan. Rob really listened to us and brought his experience to make recommendations consistent with our goals, design aesthetic, and budget. Once we began the project, Rob and his team efficiently orchestrated its execution, which included both his own team's hard/softscape work along with that of subcontractors (e.g., mason, carpenter, excavator). There were many moving pieces and some onsite changes had to be made once the project started and "issues" arose. Rob communicated these challenges and his suggested modifications always made sense and worked out. There were some delays getting the different subcontractors scheduled that overall lengthened the timelines, but Rob kept us posted and let us know what to expect. I really appreciated the design and build aspect to Rob and his team. I was impressed with how Rob and team excelled at both the design, but also rolled up their sleeves to "dig in the dirt" as well. I think that design/build continuity really made the project successful. The final product is absolutely incredible and achieved everything we set out to do - to both create more functional spaces and to make it look great. We couldn't be happier and would absolutely recommend Gilmore Landscape Architecture.

We presented Rob and his team with lots of challenges - design requirements that were somehow both specific and vague, quirky and rocky terrain, access limitations, and intractable town zoning restrictions. Rob and his team overcame all of the above to give us exactly what we were hoping for – even if we couldn’t always articulate what it was we wanted. Rob was creative, persistent, patient, flexible, and kind. Equally important, he is a good listener and a good communicator. As an enthusiastic gardener, I found Rob and his team to be knowledgeable about plants, sensitive to our existing landscape considerations, and to possess unerringly good design instincts, appropriate to our site. It's important to note also that the team is obviously selected with great care. We felt that they were enthusiastic about the work they were doing, meticulous in their operations, and respectful of our property and our requests. It was always a pleasure to have them onsite, and we would love to have a chance to work with them again in the future.

We couldn’t be happier with the work GLA did to transform our backyard! We had a vision to create a unique, cozy, natural oasis, where we could go to escape from our busy neighborhood. From the very beginning, Rob and team were incredibly collaborative, taking the time to understand our taste and style, while offering new creative ideas that perfectly complemented our vision. They were very flexible and willing to easily incorporate our feedback and changes. The end result is a stunning backyard that’s not only our new haven, but also a warm and inviting space, perfect for entertaining. Our friends and family have been raving about it! We highly recommend GLA to anyone looking for beautiful, personalized landscaping design. We will enthusiastically continue to use them for future projects. -Ron & Lisa

It's not often you can say it was a pleasure having a work crew at your house, but my boys, my dog and I all enjoyed having Gilmore Landscape Architecture on site. They are intelligent, kind, respectful, creative and talented individuals. The exterior of my home was completely transformed; Rob's expertise in terrain and site planning was fundamental to creating a stunning final result. He made sense of a plot that was uneven and mostly covered in cracked pavement. It now instead features a kitchen garden, native trees and plantings, a reflecting pond, meditation rock garden, as well as a driveable grass paver driveway and beautiful gabion rock walls with wood bench toppers. --Allison TC