NOW is the time to plant! The cooler weather and rains of the Pacific NorthWest Autumn lend themselves to a thriving luxuriant lawn. Our weather conditions allow new plantings including trees, bushes and lawns to establish and thrive for a gorgeous spring 2014! Exstream Landscaping offers both sod and seed lawns as well irrigation systems for a trouble free Spring and summer. Planning ahead really does pay off. Give us a call at 503-654-1953 or 503-522-9174 to get on our fall planting schedule!
Southwest Portland Home – Before and After Landscape!
Before and after photos of a Southwest Portland home Landscape Project.
Exstream landscaping turned this southwest homes backyard into an beautiful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the work-a-day world. After, grading the yard for optimal drainage and flattening the patio area, we then created planting mounds with large mature trees, built natural stone retaining walls with flat surfaces for additional seating, then installed the 24X24 paver stones to create the patio, then completed the project with a custom fence (complete with doggie door!) an arbor and a soothing bubble rock fountain! Magnificent!
Eat your landscape Portland!
The victory garden was started during world war I and world war II in an effort to boost vegetable, fruit and herb production in the U.S as well as to boost morale of those left behind during the war effort.
A modern take on the victory garden is taking hold in the U.S and especially here in the Pacific Northwest.
A few great examples of plantings that are both edible and beautiful serving dual purposes as ornamental plantings as well as helping to feed your family and communities are Rosemary. Not only is rosemary a beautiful plant to add to your garden but it makes a lovely hedging plant with woody stems that withstands the rain and occasional snows here in the Portland area. Rosemary can be added as herb straight off the plant to enhance your BBQing and also infused in vinegars and oils as well as baked into breads or used in canning pickled vegetables.
Strawberries are another common N.W plant that are both attractive and useful in the landscape. Strawberries can be used as a hardy ground cover providing both an attractive alternative to Ornamental plantings, bark dust or gravel. Strawberries have a multitude of uses from jam to pies to just eating off the vine!
Grapes are another N.W favorite. Both our N.W. weather and soils contribute to robust crops in our area. Grapes look beautiful cascading over an arbor or as a focal point in any garden. There are many varieties that do well in our area. Wine or juice, a fine table grape is great to munch in your picnic lunch!
The Huckleberry is a dense, woody, slow-growing shrub that has attractive copper–colored new growth and delicious blue/purple berries. The berries are generally harvested in late summer or early fall. These hardy plants not only look nice in your yard but offer berries that make fantastic tart-sweet jams, jellies, syrups and pies! They grown well in our slightly acidic soils and cool damp weather.
The Blueberry is another common plant for the N.W. but it is not often seen in the front yards of our homes which is unfortunate because in addition to being delicious, blueberry plants make a fantastic hedge! The blueberry is also amenable to being trained onto trellises or over arbors as well as being an attractive landscape plant in its own right. 
Blueberries are used in everything from Pies to jams and jellies to juices, salads, smoothies and even atop your N.W. Chinook salmon with a butter demi-glaze!
Lavender is another of herb plants that are often added to our summer garden patch but not thought of as landscape worthy… When used in mass planting lavender gives the eye a stunning display of dark violet to lighter purple blooms. Exstreamely hardy, the lavender plant can be trimmed into shapes or used as an attractive hedge as alternative to traditional wood fencing.
Fruit trees have been used for years as a addition to your families food budget but did you know that there are many new cultivars and grafted varieties! This apple tree boasts 6 different varieties all on the same tree! These trees are often dwarf in habit making them easier to incorporate into your landscape or as in this case espaliered to grow against a fence, a wall of your home or a trellis. Apple trees provide much needed summer time shade, have beautiful spring blooms and gorgeous fall colors in addition to boasting a delicious, multi-use fruit!
There are many other plants that can be used in the kitchen as well as the garden, the only limit to creating your own pantry in the landscape is your imagination!
Picking the Perfect Landscaper in Portland, OR – Be Picky!
One of the greatest pleasures of homeownership is making it your own, both inside and out. If you are really invested in making your yard your own, some of the best advice you can get is to call a professional landscape contractor.
Picking a landscape contractor isn’t just about price. Yes, cost is an important factor to take into consideration when planning your landscape project but it isn’t and shouldn’t be the only one. When shopping for a contractor it’s important to make sure that they’re licensed by the state in which they operate, bonded and fully insured. This way if there are any mishaps you, as a consumer, have recourse.
Another great idea is cruise the internet and check out your candidates. Most will have their own web pages. Yes, they will be "tooting their own horns" on their web site but there are ways to check them out and be objective. Look at their before and after photos, read their customer reviews (if they have any) and check out their experience. How many years have they been in business? What caliber of jobs have they done? Do they have experience with ALL facets of landscaping or do they just mow lawns.
Now that you are down to one or two candidates, be sure to check out independent reviews from services like Yelp, Google or Angie's List. Are they accredited with the Better Business Bureau? Make sure they have no complaints and have a superior rating. Ask people. Landscape Contractors that are worth their salt, have quality reputations. Ask around and see if you know of anyone who has used them before.
And finally, don’t discount your gut feelings. Your emotional responses to a potential contractor can spell the difference between a great working experience and a potential disaster.
New backyard bridges and Ponds to Ponder in Portland!
Check out all of our exciting new bridge and pond pictures in Portland. Ponderific!
Landscaping 101: Creating rock walls that really ROCK!!!
The choices of materials when you add a rock wall as part of your landscape are endless. One of the latest trends in Landscaping in Portland is the clean and natural look of "real" rock. The colors really complement your landscape and they can be built for many different reasons.
We like real rock because not only does it look prettier than the man-made stuff but it is usually is much less expensive. It's also more amenable to drainage and it's much easier to install.
May we suggest varying the look of the boulders, mixing and matching various colors, shapes and sizes? Pat will spend the time required to make sure your rock wall looks like it "belongs" there and that it is as natural as possible.
Contact Exstream Landscaping today for your FREE QUOTE,
See other examples of our Rock Walls in the Walls and Fences section of our web site.
Landscaping in Oregon: Which path will you follow?
As we age, we see and experience new people, new places and new things and we create new memories. Children and grandchildren come and they go. Things change. And, like you, your yard is changing. Growing. Evolving. It's a path everyone follows.
At Exstream Landscaping, we know that with new ideas, new experiences and new memories, your yard may need an overhaul or simply a refocus. Maybe you need new pavers, a statue, a fence or a wall or a grassy area? Maybe you want more or less shade? Maybe you want a pond, a stream or a fountain? We can help. If your landscape in Portland needs some work, give us a call. We provide superior Landscaping service in the Portland, Oregon and Metro area.
Landscaping in Portland Oregon: Simple-to-Complicated, when it’s your yard, the sky’s the limit!
If your yard were a blank canvas, what would you do? In the Northwest, we have endless options and possibilities, and in the Portland, Oregon Area most of them are closer than you think.
When it comes to your yard do you …
… make it a dramatically stunning setting with crazy angles and lines and rocks and pavers and trees and grass and hills and valleys and waterfalls and tree houses and winding paths and lighted features and streams?
… make it simple a simple shade tree with lots of soft, comfortable seating?
… do you go with an Asian theme, like you just walked into a painting?
… do you create a English Garden where you can wait for the sun?
Or, do you choose something in between.
The best part about improving your yard's landscape is that it's your yard and the sky's the limit!
Contact us at Exstream Landscaping TODAY for your free consolation. It's easier than you think and it's lots of fun!
If you backyard looked like this, you’d stay home for the 4th too!
Your back yard is you oasis, your escape from the world. Let it be want you want it to be. If you live in the Portland Metro (Happy Valley, Clackamas, Gresham, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard) area, you know the value of a relaxing backyard and you also know it doesn't have to happen overnight either, you can build it, Exstream Landscaping can help, one stone at a time, if needed! Check out our web site at http://exstreamlandscaping.com for great Portland Lanscaping Ideas!
A great ground over idea for Portland, OR!
Great plant for the NW, lavender! Showy and colorful, lavender also smells amazing and adds gorgeous color and texture to planting beds, rock gardens and water features. Planted as a mass planting, lavender makes a striking display of fragrant summer blossoms.
Additionally, lavender can be dried send used as a potpourri, in sachets or as a beautiful cut flower bouquet, filling your home with its luscious scent! Added to the oil of your choice lavender makes a soothing essential oil for tired achy muscles.