Landscaping in The Woodlands, TX
Landscaping in The Woodlands, TX is decided by three things before a plant is chosen: the village’s Development Standards Committee packet, the shade under sixty-foot pines, and root plates that a terrace has to go around, not through. Every Woodlands property is different. Pictures help us prepare. The written price is given after we walk the property. Call to schedule a visit.
The ground here
Shade, roots and a committee
Lots in Grogan’s Mill, Panther Creek, Indian Springs and Cochran’s Crossing were platted around the pines, so a typical rear garden gets four hours of direct sun and a canopy that drops litter all year. The clay under it drains slowly and the roots above it own the first eighteen inches. Turf specified for full sun thins out by the second summer; planting chosen for pine shade — hollies, sedges, azalea, oakleaf hydrangea — fills in.
Nothing exterior gets built here without a DSC review, and the packet is the job before the job: a scaled plan, materials and a planting schedule in the format the village committee reads. We draw it under the same design-build method used across the county, then build what was approved, not an improvised version of it.
The work
What a Woodlands lot usually needs, as separate jobs
Most projects here combine three of them under one DSC submission.
Landscape design and DSC packet
Scaled plan, materials and plant schedule drawn for committee review. credited against the build.
Terraces and paver patios
Routed around root plates on a base that does not cut feeder roots, so the oak above it stays standing.
Retaining walls and steps
Engineered to the retained height on the sloped village lots near Spring Creek, drained before backfill.
French drains
Shaded clay dries slowly; interception drains take the water off before the terrace is poured.
Outdoor kitchens and fire features
Built into the terrace with gas and drainage run while the ground is open, and drawn into the DSC packet.
Landscape lighting
Uplit pines and lit paths on low-voltage runs trenched with the hardscape, not stapled on after.
Xeriscaping
Gravel, stone and low-water planting for the few full-sun elevations where turf is not worth the water.
What fails
What fails on a Woodlands lot
The four we are called about most, and what we do instead.
Full-sun turf under a pine canopy
CauseSod chosen from a catalog for a yard that gets four hours of light. It thins, then moss and bare clay take over.
FixShade planting assigned bed by bed, and turf kept only where the light meter says it will hold.
A terrace poured across a root plate
CauseFeeder roots cut for a base, the tree declines over three seasons, and the DSC asks why a protected pine is dying.
FixTerraces routed around the plate on a permeable base; the photographs above show the same detail twice.
Stone ordered before the packet is approved
CauseMaterials the committee rejects, sitting on a driveway while the plan is redrawn.
FixPacket first, approval in hand, then the order. It costs two weeks up front and saves a month at the end.
A shaded rear garden that never dries
CauseClay, canopy and no fall. Water sits, roots suffocate, and the mosquitoes are the least of it.
FixFall shot with a level, an interception drain to an outfall, then planting that suits damp shade rather than fighting it.
Where
Villages we already know
The Woodlands is 77380 through 77382, 77384, 77385 and 77389, and each village reads its packet a little differently.
Carlton Woods and Sterling Ridge
Estate lots with specimen pines and the strictest review. Terraces, lighting and planting drawn to the tree survey, and built to it.
Creekside Park and Indian Springs
Sloped lots toward Spring Creek and the Lake Woodlands edge: engineered walls, interception drains, and steps that meet code.
Panther Creek, Grogan’s Mill, Cochran’s Crossing
The original villages, deepest shade, mature root systems. Renovation work that keeps the canopy and replaces what died under it.
College Park and Research Forest
Newer lots with thinner topsoil over the pad. Ripped, topsoiled and graded before planting, then a scheme the HOA approves first time.
Cost
What decides the number
The written quote follows the visit and the tree survey.
Design and DSC packet
Survey, scaled plan, materials and planting schedule in committee format.
Mid-range with hardscaping
Terrace, drainage, planting and lighting on a typical village lot.
Complete outdoor living transformation
Kitchen, terraces, walls, lighting and planting as one approved build.
Carlton Woods and estate designs
Site-wide work under a full tree survey, phased around the review calendar.
Tree protection and access under a canopy matter more than square footage.
On site
Recent Woodlands work
Paver terrace routed around a protected root plate
Village lot at dusk: shaded courtyard and lit planting
Irrigation zone across a partly shaded lawn
Uplit pines above a warm-lit terrace
From Google
What clients say about the work
Every review below was left on Google, shown with the reviewer’s own name and photograph. Read them all on the Google profile.
I was in a tight situation for getting something done before I closed on my home. Boone was able to fit me in next day and did an incredible job on the space for the quote he gave me.
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Such a Brilliant team to work with! I had some trouble knowing what exactly I needed for certain spaces etc and the team were extremely helpful in advising plant choice as well as executing the work very swiftly!
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Boone's vision for our front landscaping was awesome. His design included an enjoyable water feature, a rock bed for water to flow from the gutter, trees in the perfect places, small flowering plants that the butterflies love (we see many), a beautiful area fo…
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Reviews sourced from Google · last checked 2026-08-25
Questions
Woodlands questions with numbers in the answers
What does the DSC actually need from a landscaping plan?
A scaled site plan showing hardscape, structures, lighting and planting with materials named, in the village’s own format. We prepare it, submit it, and build only what comes back approved. Allow two to four weeks for review.
How much does a project cost in The Woodlands?
Design and packet; a terrace-and-planting build; a complete outdoor-living transformation. Estate work in Carlton Woods and well beyond. Written after the visit.
Can you build near a protected pine?
Yes, if the design respects the root plate: permeable base, no cuts through feeder roots, and the terrace routed around the trunk rather than up to it. The tree survey comes before the drawing.
What survives in this much shade?
Hollies, dwarf yaupon, sedges, azalea, oakleaf hydrangea and cast-iron plant do the work; St Augustine holds only where the light meter shows four hours or more. We assign each bed by what its light actually is.
Why does my shaded back garden stay wet?
Slow clay, a canopy that blocks evaporation, and no fall to an outfall. The fix is a shot level, an interception drain, and planting that likes damp shade — not more turf.
Nearby
Where we work around The Woodlands
Same crews, different ground on each side of the county.
We work in Carlton Woods, Grogan’s Mill, Cochran’s Crossing, Panther Creek, Indian Springs, Sterling Ridge and Creekside Park, and across the rest of The Woodlands.
One crew covers all of them, under landscaping. Since 2010, own crews, workmanship guarantee.
Call to schedule a visit before the packet is drawn
Pictures of the property help us prepare. The written price is given after we walk the property. Call (346) 220-3017 to schedule a visit.