A short drive from Annapolis, Maryland, leads to a new riverside landscape near Chesapeake Bay. For three years, McHale Landscape Design, Inc., based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, transformed this property into an oasis, featuring swaths of native plants, rain gardens, and modern plantings that match the new house. Their efforts led to them earning a 2025 Gold Award of Excellence.
“It’s always humbling to win an award, but this is special because of the challenges and the opportunity to use all of the divisions of our company, including landscape design, masonry, construction, and landscape,” says Steve McHale, principal for McHale. “We continue to maintain the property with our garden care division and have created a client for life.”
Much of this project focused on the sides of the house and the backyard, which posed a challenge. A row of mature white cedars made access difficult to transport materials from the front to the backyard. With construction taking place on the house, protecting the cedars was a top priority.
“Root proctor mats were used around the base of the existing cedars, and everything was hand-carried to the bottom of the slope,” McHale says.
As the home was built, the garage was placed on the site of a 40’ magnolia. Instead of replacement, the team moved the tree to another area of the yard.
“The magnolia was hand-dug and double-teamed with two skid loaders to lift the almost 80” root ball and move to a new location about 15’ from the previous spot,” McHale adds.
The backyard was another challenge, as most of the area was a steep slope covered with invasive plants. After removing the problem plants, the team installed native plantings. Extra precautions were taken to keep employees safe on the difficult terrain.
Photo: Andrew LeDuc
“Safety ropes and cables were anchored at the top of the slope and cast down the hill for crews to grab hold of when they needed extra balance as they were planting,” McHale says.
Today, the hill is covered with drifts of Northern sea oats, Joe-Pye weed, and several other species. Rain was a frequent problem during this project, especially on the slope and the riverbank. Occasionally, the banks would overflow, causing delays in the work and requiring extra time to clean up.
McHale took major steps to improve drainage across the property, starting with the flat front yard. Erosion was a concern along the side yard leading down to the river. Because of this, an infiltration basin was added to the front, along with underground pipes and a dry riverbed to direct water toward the backyard. The design was functional and aesthetically pleasing, with shade-loving groundcovers and boulders along the rock beds. For McHale, the blend of function and aesthetics made this property unique.
“The new house overwhelmed the site, but we made it feel like it had always been there. Additionally, we turned the 100’ buffer plantings and water access into a main feature of the property, not just a functional planting.”
Despite frequent rain delays, the team finished on time with minimal changes to the original plan.
Interested in participating in the Awards of Excellence? Enter your projects by July 31, 2026.
