★★★★★
Natural Scapes did a great job and were a pleasure to work with! We couldn't be happier with the work. They made our property more functional and beautiful.Eric Monaco
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Real transformations across Asheville, Weaverville, and the WNC mountains. Explore the work, before and after.
Every project on this page started the same way: a walk across someone's property in the Asheville area, talking through what they wanted their land to become. Since 1997 we've designed and built landscapes across Asheville, West Asheville, Weaverville, and the Western North Carolina mountains, and the work here is the honest record of it: real transformations, shown before and after.
Mountain landscaping isn't like landscaping anywhere else. Steep grades, heavy clay, and hard rain mean the projects that last are the ones that respect how water moves and how these hillsides hold. As you look through these Asheville landscaping projects, you'll see that pattern everywhere: drainage handled first, steep slopes terraced with retaining walls into usable space, and native plantings chosen to thrive on their own.
Perfection in every form
Stonework, water features, terracing, and native plantings from across our portfolio. Click any image to view.
What you're looking at
Most projects here combine several of these. Follow any one to go deeper.
Turning steep, unusable slopes into level, stable ground with boulder walls, natural stone, and engineered block.
Read the guideSolving standing water, runoff, and washouts with French drains, dry creek beds, and smart regrading.
Read the guideSelf-sufficient designs built around Appalachian natives that thrive without constant upkeep.
Read the guidePatios, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, and stone stairways built for gathering through every season.
See servicesPonds, fountains, and bogs that bring movement, sound, and new habitat to a yard.
See servicesNon-toxic plantings and dog-smart layouts that work for the whole family, paws included.
Read the guideWhat clients say
Natural Scapes did a great job and were a pleasure to work with! We couldn't be happier with the work. They made our property more functional and beautiful.Eric Monaco
We love our front yard! Natural Scapes proved their professionalism when things went sideways, solving the problem quickly and with integrity.Robyn Pichler
Working with Natural Scapes was a great experience. They were communicative, listened to our needs, and delivered. We will definitely use them again.Tyler Brown
Where we work
Good to know
It varies widely by scope. A focused planting refresh is a very different number from a full backyard with retaining walls, drainage, and hardscape. On mountain lots the biggest cost drivers are site access (whether machinery can reach the work), grade and drainage, and material choice. Natural stonework costs more than block or planting alone. Rather than quote a misleading per-square-foot figure, we walk the property, understand your goals, and give you a real number.
From first consultation to finished landscape, most projects run a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on size, weather, and how much hardscape and grading is involved. A planting-focused project moves quickly; one with retaining walls, drainage systems, and stonework takes longer, because that work has to be done in the right sequence and given the time to be done well.
We're based in West Asheville and work throughout Asheville, West Asheville, Weaverville, and the surrounding Western North Carolina mountains. The projects on this page span those areas, from in-town Asheville lots to steeper properties up in Weaverville.
It starts with a consultation where we walk your property and talk through how you actually want to use the space. From there we design around your site's realities (sun, slope, soil, and water), then build it, handling grading, hardscape, and planting in the right order. Because we design and build, the plan on paper stays connected to the crew making it real.
Yes. It's most of what we do. Steep WNC lots are our normal. We use terracing, retaining walls, boulder placement, and deep-rooted plantings to turn slopes you can't use into usable, stable space that holds up to mountain weather.
Yes. Drainage is one of our core services and often the hidden reason a landscape succeeds or fails here. We solve standing water, runoff, and erosion with French drains, dry creek beds, regrading, and plantings, and we build drainage into every project rather than bolting it on afterward.
It's our foundation, and has been since 1997. We lean on Southern Appalachian natives because they're built for our clay, humidity, and freeze-thaw winters, which means less watering, less replacing, and less work for you once they're established.
Yes, and on most Asheville properties that is exactly the job. Because a patio has to be level and a mountain lot is not, we cut into the hill on the uphill side, fill on the downhill side, and hold it with a retaining wall, then build drainage and a compacted base before any stone is set. That site work is what makes a hillside patio different from a flat-lot patio, and it is covered in detail in our guide to patios in Asheville.
Patios and adjoining walkways in brick, paver, and natural stone, stone fire pits, natural-stone outdoor kitchens and fireplaces, stone stairways, wood decks and stairs, and structures like gazebos and arbors. You can see the full list on our services page, and our guide to choosing a patio surface walks through flagstone, pavers, and gravel and when each one makes sense.
We can design one deer largely ignore, but no plant is deer-proof. A hungry deer will browse almost anything, so the realistic goal is a planting built mostly from the categories deer avoid, like ferns, ornamental grasses, scented herbs, and tough evergreens, with the plants they love kept close to the house where they are easiest to protect. Our guide to deer-resistant landscaping in Asheville covers what they eat first, what they leave alone, and how fencing and repellents actually perform here.
Fall is the strongest planting window in the mountains. The soil is still warm, the air has cooled, and rainfall is usually more dependable, so roots establish through the dormant season instead of fighting summer heat. Spring works too, and hardscape like patios and walls can go in through most of the year. If deer are a factor on your property, autumn planting also gives new plants months to root in before the spring browse.
The spot that actually gets used is level, sheltered from the wind, and close enough to the kitchen door that serving a meal is one trip rather than three. We walk the yard at the hour you plan to use it before anything is drawn, because sun, wind, and smoke drift decide more than the furniture does. On a sloped lot the level platform and the wall holding it up usually set the footprint, and our guide to outdoor living spaces in Asheville walks through the whole decision.
Yes, and they catch people out. Buncombe County open burning is illegal wherever public trash pickup is provided, which includes the City of Asheville, Biltmore Forest, Black Mountain, Montreat, Weaverville, and Woodfin, and inside Asheville city limits you cannot burn without a special permit from the City Fire Department. Where burning is allowed it is natural vegetation only, on a designated burning day between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, and never on an air quality action day. The Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency keeps a daily recording on 828-250-6767. We cover what that means for a fire pit, and why a gas feature is never affected by a burn ban, in our outdoor living guide.
Schedule a consultation and we'll walk your property, talk through your goals, and put together a plan and a quote. You can book online or call us directly, whichever's easier.
Guides & resources
If you're planning a project like these, our field notes go deeper on the decisions that make or break a mountain landscape.
Low-maintenance doesn't mean low-effort up front. The yards that take care of themselves were designed that way from the first spade of dirt. Here's how we do it in the mountains.
Steep grades, clay soil, and heavy mountain rain are a hard combination. Here's how we solve standing water, runoff, and erosion in Western North Carolina without turning your yard into a construction site.
A retaining wall is the difference between a usable yard and a slope you can't do anything with. Here's how to choose the right one for a mountain property, and the detail most people forget.
You shouldn't have to choose between a beautiful yard and a safe one for your dog. With the right plants and layout, you get both. Here's how we design for the four-legged family members.
Let's begin
Tell us about your property and your vision. We'll walk it with you and design a low-maintenance landscape built to thrive in the mountains.
Schedule your consultation