Our Design Approach
We design landscapes that belong. From plant selection to stonework, we favor materials that grow more beautiful with time and techniques that reflect both craftsmanship and care for the land. Below are the kinds of details that quietly set our work apart.
Native Plants
Sweet fern, New England aster, milkweed, goldenrod, lowbush blueberries. Native species like these are naturally adapted to Maine’s conditions, which means they require less water, less maintenance, and less fuss over time. We choose plants that not only look beautiful, but also settle into the rhythms of the land, growing fuller and more graceful with each passing year.
Native planting turns your landscape into a living, breathing part of the ecosystem. It becomes more than just something to admire—the right mix of plants attracts pollinators, butterflies, birds, and toads, creating a space that supports biodiversity, soil health, and longevity. That’s the kind of landscape we love to build.
Granite
Granite has been quarried in Maine since the 1800’s, contributing to countless libraries, museums, and state houses alongside pedestrian uses like home foundations, steps, and garden walls. You’ll find colors from salmon pink to smoky silver and moody green, each with its own texture and character. It’s hard not to love.
By 2015, Mike had officially caught the bug for reclaimed granite, driving around the state to pick up old, hand tooled blocks from renovations and teardowns. When a piece of granite gets earmarked for removal during a project, people know to call Mike. He finds them new homes among the native plantings and hardscape features of Terrapin’s landscape designs. This saves beautiful, local stone from the crusher and adds historic charm to our client’s properties.
Shoreline Stabilization
We’re lucky to have more than 3,000 miles of tidal shoreline in Maine by way of our numerous islands, inlets, and bays. Owning property somewhere on our coasts is doubly lucky. Shoreline stabilization doesn’t just protect our precious coastal areas from erosion, it also integrates your landscape design more intimately with the natural environment for a seamless, “always been there,” look.
When working on the water’s edge, we use a combination of stabilization techniques that imitate nature. Grading the land for a soft slope, planting native vegetation that will establish deep roots, and carefully placing ‘soft armoring’ like driftwood and stones.
