Experience – Summerhill Landscapes

Introduction

Inspired by the great landscape tradition of his native Ireland, Declan Blackmore established Summerhill Landscapes in 1993. Built on a philosophy of applying the lessons of high level horticultural education to the execution of work in the field, the Summerhill team is a true collective, with over 350 years of field experience and 100 years of college level education directly related to the study of horticulture. The firm’s passion is to build and maintain extraordinary gardens, and it does so with an ardent sensibility, deep experience, and a love of the land. The foundation that Summerhill is built on is one of a never ending pursuit of knowing, understanding, and practicing fine horticulture. It is a mission that carries through our whole team, from the interns who arrive seeking to apply the lessons they have learned in the classroom, to the management group that constantly evaluates and refines our processes.

Infrastructure

Our mission is to harness our team's collective experience in horticulture, project management and business operations to deliver a landscape that is constructed and then maintained at the highest standard possible.

Services

The full scale of services offered by Summerhill

Landscape Construction
Maintenance
Landscape Design
Flower Gardens
Vegetable Gardens
Landscape Lighting
Plant Health Care
Lawn Care
Irrigation
Tree Farm

Project Management

A hallmark of our approach to the construction and maintenance of the landscape is our attention to the process of project management.

Education

The foundation on which Summerhill is built is the education of our staff, both in the degrees they’ve earned and in the continuing quest we share to better understand our chosen field of horticulture.

Fleet

The mobile unit of our infrastructure: a fleet that allows us to execute any project, no matter what the scope of work entails.

Community

Integral to the culture of Summerhill is our belief that we be must be actively engaged and supportive of the community we work and live in.

Farm

With over 100 acres in production, our diverse growing program ranges from native plants to sculpted allées in the European tradition.

Internship Program

Integral to understanding the story of Summerhill is knowing the story of our long running internship program. Having originally come to the United States via an internship program, early on, Declan Blackmore instituted the practice of hosting interns from Irish Universities that taught horticulture, driven by a strong desire to give back, himself having graduated from Kildalton Agricultural College in 1989. Today, that program has evolved to one that is now multinational in its reach, with recent interns having come from as far as China, Brazil, Indonesia, Poland, Germany, India, Spain, and, of course Ireland and The United States. It is here that we strive to help them learn how to take the lessons they are taught in the classroom and apply them in field.