Set on a wooded hillside in Falmouth, this Cape Cod property had one obvious challenge: the grade. Instead of flattening the site, we used the elevation to shape the landscape. A series of stone-connected terrace steps down through the woods, linked to an upper firepit gathering space to a sunken fieldstone spa below, blending the property together seamlessly.
The result is a landscape construction project that feels settled into the property rather than placed on top of it.
Building into the Hillside
The upper terrace is built around a custom stone fire pit, with black Adirondack chairs arranged around it on a patterned paver patio. While it is an outdoor room for gathering, the real work lies underneath, built on a sloping, wooded site.
From the fire pit, broad granite steps lead down through the landscape to the lower terrace. The steps make the change in elevation feel deliberate, unfolding the property in stages.
Building landscapes that settle and blend into your property is at the core of our landscape construction work.
A Fieldstone Spa Below
At the next level of the Falmouth property, the landscape opens around a sunken spa wrapped in fieldstone. The stone gives the spa a feeling of having been carved directly into the hillside.
Lounge chairs and woven seating sit beneath the surrounding tree canopy, making the lower terrace feel private without closing it off from the woods. The fieldstone also connects this space visually to the terrace above, blending the levels together into one outdoor area.
The construction had to follow the existing slope closely. Each terrace, step and stone work alongside the elevation change.
Layered Planting and Native Design
The planting design softens the hardscape and helps the new construction settle into its Cape Cod setting. Flowering shrubs and dogwood trees bring color through the beds, while white pines and native hardwoods form the larger backdrop.
The layering is a finishing touch on a project like this. The stonework provides the structure, but the planting makes the terraces feel as though they belong to the property. As the trees and shrubs mature, the distinction between the built landscapes and the surrounding woods becomes less noticeable.
Built to Mature
We’ve cared for Cape Cop landscapes since 1973. After installation, we return season after season to prune, plant, and keep the stonework, the paver patio, granite steps and fieldstone spa, sound as the garden matures. If you’re planning a terrace, patio, or garden of your own, see how we approach landscape construction or schedule a private consultation.
