Landscaping in Maryland is drainage before decoration. Piedmont ground often holds water against a foundation. Shore sand can drain fast and then wash out in a hard rain. Western slopes send water down the hill and into the uphill wall of the house. A yard that looks green can still be pushing moisture at the sill. If water moves toward the building, say that before you talk about beds, borders, or a fresh lawn.
Lawns here fight humidity, summer heat, and shade from large trees. A regular cut is a different call from grading, new beds, or a limb that rests on the roof. Moss in a side yard, a downspout that empties at the stoop, and soil piled above the siding are building problems that show up looking like yard problems. Describe the slope in plain words: toward the house, away from it, or flat and staying wet.
The Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland deal with wind, salt spray on plantings near open water, and lots that stay soft after rain. Inland yards deal with tight soil, grading left from construction, and trees that have reached the lines and the shingles. Western lots deal with a shorter growing season and cold that kills plants chosen for a milder county. Name the region so the plant talk starts in the right climate.
Irrigation, where a house has it, needs a shutdown before a freeze in most of the state, and it should not soak the foundation. Broken heads, a dead zone, or a wish for drip in a bed are specific calls. Mowing and leaf cleanup are specific too. Hauling a season of leaves off a wooded lot is not the same visit as edging a small suburban lawn. If a tree is the real subject, say whether you need pruning away from the roof or a removal, and whether access is tight.
Walk the foundation, the downspouts, and the spot where water sits after a storm. Landscaping in Maryland should move water away from the house and then make the yard livable through heat, humidity, and, in the west, a hard winter. Tell us mow, grade, plant, tree, or sprinkler, and name the part of the state. Call the number on this page.