Custom Planting Design and Horticulture

This is where 25+ years as a horticulturist and plant collector shows most directly. Plant selection happens as part of the design from the start: not something added after the hardscape and structures are finished. Elton personally leads planting design in Charlotte and the surrounding region, choosing and placing every specimen himself.

Custom Planting Design, Horticultural Landscape Design, and Specimen Plant Selection

Custom planting design and horticultural landscape design happen as part of the layout from the start, not applied after the hardscape and structures are finished. This is landscape planting design, garden design, and specimen plant selection informed by 25+ years of hands-on horticulture and plant collecting, not generic garden-center advice. Choosing the right plant for the site's actual conditions (light, soil, and drainage) and thinking through seasonal structure and how a planting plan will look and function years after installation, not just the week it goes in. A tree positioned today for its shape may also be positioned for the shade it will cast over a patio ten years from now.

Evidence

• McCoy Water Feature, some of the best horticultural detail photography in the Plant Man portfolio
• Unionville Waterfall Project, approximately $750,000 of nursery plant material, every plant personally placed by Elton
• Our own property, where Elton continues to collect and experiment with specimen plants, Japanese maples, and conifers

Related Services

• Custom Water Features and Waterfalls

See The Plant Man Process for how planting design fits into a full project. Read more about Elton's own background as a plant collector on the About page.