Our Love Your Landscape pick is the MGIA Gold Award winning Mays' Estate located in the upscale neighborhood of Island Lake of Novi. The Mays worked with D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.'s landscape designer, Cale Brown, to create a grand governor's driveway and select colorful plant materials to enhance this impressive new construction home. The Mays' outdoor living area includes a series of functional ledgerock and boulder retaining wall structures which were installed to naturally compliment the grade. Raised and sunken outdoor patio living areas and a natural gas-fueled fire pit establishes a functional and beautiful outdoor entertainment area.  

To create interest all season long, a variety of flowering shrubs and perennials were selected for their staggered bloom times. Purple cone flower blooms in the summer and Diabolo Ninebark dazzle with their dark burgundy leaves and white blooms. Groupings of Monarda provide color through mid-late summer while the beautiful heart-shaped leaves of stately Katsura trees transition to a yellow-apricot fall color and the low maintenance procumbens juniper provide interest throughout the winter.  These plants, combined with the addition of a centrally located Weeping Purple Beech tree bring dramatic color and texture to the Mays' landscape. 

We asked them to tell us a little bit about their experience working with D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.: 

Q: Briefly describe the services D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. provided for you.

A: They provided turn-key landscape solutions (both hardscape and plants) for our new construction in the Island Lake community.  The supported us through the entire process:

•The initial consultations regarding our ideas to understand what our vision was, our likes and dislikes, and of course our budget. 

•The final design and professional layouts of the plan, including pictures and names of the plants that were selected. 

•The installation process, where they took GREAT care to protect our home and surrounding neighborhood from any damage. 

•Extensive discussions on maintenance requirements, and training, and continuous follow-up to ensure we protected our investment.

•And VERY importantly, continued support for any issues that we had AFTER the installation.  Not every plant can survive 100% of the time, and D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. 100% took care of any issues including replacement as necessary.

Q: How did the services provided by D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. add to the value / enjoyment of your home / property?

A: Every time we drive by the house, we slow down to look, and sometimes drive around the block just to enjoy it from our vehicles.  Our outdoor lifestyle fits PERFECTLY with the flawless design and implementation of the design, and we know for sure that all of our neighbors can ALSO enjoy our beautiful landscape project.  Of course, winning a Gold Award for our project in Landsculptor Magazine in 2016 was also a very nice surprise, but absolutely well EARNED by Cale Brown and the entire team.

Q: Why did you select D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. for your landscape services?

A: Initially because of the reputation that they have for outstanding service.  Then, after the spectacular initial design consultation meetings with Cale, we were sure that the reputation was well earned, and we felt very comfortable entrusting D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. with our project.

Q: What did you enjoy most about working with D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.?

A: The teamwork and ability to work with us and adjust the design plans, as well as the actual installation, throughout the process.

The Mays' landscape is spectacular! We imagine they'll make many memories here and will LOVE it for years to come!

(Click on the image for more)

The Grimes' home is framed by a mature tree line and features stone façade accents.  Their landscape beds were constructed, front paver walkway in and landscape designer, Tim Brown, brought the WOW factor!

Q: Why did you elect D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. for your landscape services?

A: “A friend who works in the industry recommended D.A. Alexander without hesitation. The recommendation was spot on.”  

Q: Describe the services D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. provided for you.

A: “D.A. Alexander provided landscaping and hardscape services for our new (to us) home. They filled in large empty beds in the front of our home. They provided a beautiful paver patio with steps off of the house. They built a wonderful paver fire pit to let us enjoy summer evenings outdoors with friends. They regraded a portion of our property and redesigned a proper retaining wall. They also gave us many beautiful trees, which will give us privacy. It was amazing to see them bring in beautiful 26' trees! They also designed lighting for the front of the house that makes the home beautiful to see at night. We really appreciated that D.A. Alexander was happy to reuse materials throughout the course of the project. When they pulled out a tree that was too small for its prominent location, they were happy to seek our input and replant it. When they removed boulders that formed a crude retaining wall, they had the vision to repurpose them in the landscape beds in a feature that is one of my favorite of the project. We have a beautiful home, and D.A. Alexander gave us landscaping that matches the quality of our home and improves it greatly.”

D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.'s, Tim Brown, created season long interest with the addition of evergreen plants, Boxwood and Juniper, flowering shrubs, Weigela, Rose, and Deutzia, and welcoming perennials, Shasta Daisy, Daylily, and Salvia. Tim enjoys the Hameln grasses most at the Grimes residence. “They are a very versatile plant, simple and elegant.” A paver patio and firepit were installed in the backyard creating a place to relax and entertain guests. Old World Vintage brick pavers manufactured in Michigan by Fendt Builders Supply, Inc. were selected as the material.

Q: How did the services provided by D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. add to the value/enjoyment of your home/property?

A: "The work that D.A. Alexander did was excellent. There was nothing but quality provided in the materials used and the design was excellent. I did not have many detailed requirements, but Tim met all my requests and had the vision to design beautiful landscaping.”

Q: What did you enjoy most about working with D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.?

A: “Tim made it clear that our satisfaction was his top priority. He had excellent attention to detail. He supervised all facets of the job and made himself readily available to us for any questions or concerns we have. The quality of the work D.A. Alexander provided was excellent.” 

The Sciberras' built a beautiful new construction home and expanded their living space with functional outdoor entertainment areas. Landscape designer, Cale Brown created a landscape the Sciberras' love!

Q: How did the services provided by D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. add to the value / enjoyment of your home/property?    

A: “Our landscaping design was initiated during the new construction of our home in Steeplechase Subdivision. Working with Cale Brown has been and continues to be a very positive experience. He is very dedicated to customer service and working with his clients to ensure their landscaping needs are met and work is completed with high quality and timely. He is very talented and creative in his design work, creating our beautiful design which included front and back yard designs as well as our resplendent deck design and the charming fire pit design. In fact, we love being in our yard admiring the beauty of all the various plants, trees, bushes, flowers and ground cover every day. Over the past two years we have continued to add to our beautiful design including annual flowers both spring and fall.  We have had many compliments from neighbors as to the ‘gorgeous flowers' and landscape design. The value factor as well as enjoyment factor is a definite and resounding ‘Added absolute positive value!”

Cale's favorite plant at the Sciberras' home is Maiden Grass ‘Morning Light'. Cale used the thin foliage with green with creamy while margins to create texture and color variation amongst the landscape. This variety of Maiden Grass grows large enough to create some privacy from neighboring homes. 

Careful consideration went into plant selection. Green Boxwood provides season-long interest. Purple Coralbells have inconspicuous white flowers and dazzling purple foliage. Creeping Phlox and Dragon's Blood Sedum are mass planted as a groundcover and have vibrant, eye catching blooms. River Birch flank the patio, the peeling bark provides great winter interest and their leaves turn yellow in the fall. Hydrangea, Weigela and Spirea with their different bloom times provide a season full of color. Large annual flower beds create fantastic seasonal displays.  

Outdoor entertainment areas include a two toned composite deck with LED lighting and tumbled paver patio with wood burning fire pit and seating wall. Flagstone walkways connect the front of the home and backyard for easy transition.

Q: What did you enjoy most about working with D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.?  

A: “Excellent customer relationships, follow up and timely completion of all work as promised!!”

Q:  Do you have any future landscape plans? 

A: “Currently working on addition of more trees and rock design.”

In this month's Love your Landscape feature, we take a look at a 2-story home in Northville, Michigan. This homeowner was looking to revamp the entire front landscape and widen the stone walkway that connects the rounded driveway to the front door.

D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc.'s Cale Brown created a design that widened the pathway with natural pavers, complementing the exterior façade of the home. Cale also added a variety of trees and flowering plants to modernize the landscape and add a pop of color. The existing landscape was nearly 20 years old and included a Japanese Maple that was original to the property- a tree the homeowner was happy to move and elevate with surrounding stonework and flowers.

Q: Why did you elect D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. for your landscape services?    

It was time to rework our entire front landscaping and we needed a company we could trust to make it happen on time, and look amazing.  In our initial meeting, we liked the professionalism and knowledge Cale demonstrated. All through the project, it was evident that Cale loved his job.

Q: What inspired you to change your landscape?    

The old landscape was twenty years old and looked outdated. Our house had become overgrown to the point of being hidden.

Q: Briefly describe the services D.A. Alexander & Company, Inc. provided for you. 

We received a design that included removal of our old landscaping, regrading our lot, replacing and widening our front walk, moving a prized Japanese Maple, and the planting of all new plants, trees, and grass.

Q: How does your new landscaping add value to your home?  

Our landscaping had become overgrown and was blocking the view of our house from the street. We feel the new landscape is a fresh start and will definitely add to the value of our home. Neighbors and friends have remarked that the house looks brand new. We continue to receive many compliments on the landscape design. 

Q: What did you enjoy about working with the staff?  

After the first meetings with Cale and reviewing the design, we were able to begin the job feeling confident in how our job would progress. The staff was hard working and attentive to detail.

Q: Which landscape feature do you enjoy most? 

Our favorite feature is the new wider, stone walkway that welcomes everyone to our front door. It has become the central focus of our landscape and allows each area to compliment the other. The strong design layout is beautiful and gives our landscape a professional, modern look.

Q: Do you have any future landscape plans? 

This summer we are planning to add to our backyard design by replacing damaged boxwoods and adding a new section with plants and trees.