Landscaping in Providence is a small yard on a hill or a low court near the water, and coastal winter decides which problem you have. East Side slopes shed rain at foundations and then ice the brick walks. West End and Elmwood courts collect leaders from several roofs. Fox Point wind salts the front shrubs. There is no broad lawn to absorb a mistake. The grade is the job.
Downspouts that end at the sill keep the wood wet for ants and for rot. Patios pitched back at the house feed a damp cellar the rivers already encourage. Street trees heave steps and fill gutters that then ice after a wet snow. A fence may be holding your soil off a lower neighbor. Snow has nowhere to go, so the pile sits on the bulkhead until it melts into the stair.
Shade on the north side of a tall house is deep, and the soil may be fill. Raised beds need an overflow that does not pour at the foundation. Salt-burned shrubs on an open street will not recover because you wish them to. Plant for spray and for shade, or plan to replace them. Dogs and a small dirt yard mean mud as soon as the freeze lifts on the slope.
A low spot that floods when the neighborhood floods is not a planting problem. Say so. Drainage, a heaved walk, a tree in the roof, or a court that never dries are different requests. Hill runoff on College Hill and standing water nearer the bay should not be described with the same sentence. Pick the one you see an hour after the rain.
Describe the neighborhood and the size of the space. Mention leaders, walls, and any shared fence. Have one priority, water or plants or the surface you walk on. Call the number on this page.