Tree & Shrub Planting in Arlington, Lexington & Winchester, MA
The right plant in the right place makes a landscape. Get trees and shrubs matched to your property’s specific conditions — so they establish well, stay healthy, and look the way you want them to look for years.
30+ Years of Local Experience
We know which plants and trees thrive in this climate, soil, and region
Site-Specific Plant Selection
We select plants based on your soil, sun, space, and maintenance preference — not just what looks good in a catalog
Proper Installation
Correct depth, root preparation, backfill, and staking — the things that determine whether a tree or shrub thrives or dies
The Right Plant in the Right Place
Most planting mistakes are made before a plant goes in the ground — in the selection. A shade-loving shrub planted in full sun. A tree that reaches 40 feet planted under a power line. A fast-growing species planted too close to the foundation. These are expensive mistakes that take years to become obvious, and they rarely get cheaper to fix.
Craig’s Landscaping selects trees and shrubs based on what will actually work on your property — sun and shade conditions, soil type, drainage, mature size, maintenance requirements, and how the plant fits into the broader landscape design. We source quality plant material and install it correctly: proper planting depth, root preparation, backfill, mulching, and staking where appropriate. The goal is a plant that establishes quickly and performs well for years.
We handle standalone planting projects — replacing a dead tree, adding foundation shrubs, establishing a privacy hedge — and planting as part of larger landscape design and construction projects. If Craig’s is designing and building your outdoor space, planting is typically the final phase that brings the whole design together.
Types of Planting Work We Handle
If you need it planted, we can handle it! Here’s an overview of the tree and shrub planting services we provide most often:
Shade & Ornamental Trees
Shade trees for lawn areas, ornamental trees for focal points and seasonal interest, and evergreens for screening and year-round structure. We help you select the right species for the space — accounting for mature size, root behavior near foundations and utilities, and suitability for the Boston suburban climate.
- Common selections: oak, maple, birch, hornbeam, serviceberry, dogwood, Japanese maple, crabapple, arborvitae, and others based on site conditions
Foundation & Border Shrubs
Foundation plantings frame your home and give your property its baseline curb appeal. We assess the existing plantings, identify what’s worth keeping, what should come out, and what should replace it — then install a selection that complements your home’s architecture and stays at the right scale as it matures. Border shrubs for bed definition, privacy hedges, and specimen plantings are also things we handle.
- Common selections: boxwood, holly, viburnum, rhododendron, azalea, hydrangea, spirea, arborvitae, and native alternatives based on site conditions
Privacy & Screening Plantings
Evergreen screens and mixed hedges for privacy from neighbors, roads, or adjacent properties. We help you select species that achieve your desired density and height at maturity, grow at a realistic rate, and tolerate the specific site conditions where they’ll be planted — wind exposure, shade from existing trees, and soil drainage all affect what will work.
Planting Beds & Perennial Borders
Designed planting beds combining shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials for seasonal color and year-round interest. We design these as part of a landscape project or as a standalone bed renovation — removing existing plantings, amending the soil, and installing a selection that provides interest across multiple seasons with manageable maintenance requirements.
How We Select the Right Plants for Your Property
Before we recommend a single plant, we assess your home and property to figure out what makes the most sense. Here’s what we look at:
Sun & Shade Conditions
The sun and shade conditions shift across your property throughout the day and from season to season, which affects what species and varieties will thrive versus struggle.
Soil Type & Drainage
The clay-heavy soils common in Arlington and Lexington require different plant selections than sandier conditions. We’ll assess your soil to make sure the plants you choose are likely to flourish.
Available Space
A small plant today may look totally different when it’s mature. When we choose trees and shrubs, we always plant for the mature size of the plant, not how it looks in a two-gallon container.
Maintenance Preference
Some homeowners want a low-maintenance landscape that holds its shape naturally; others are willing to do more seasonal pruning for a more formal look.
Did you know?
We also offer a full range of other services to build your perfect outdoor space. Other services include patio construction, lawn care maintenance, and even irrigation installation and maintenance.
Recent Planting Projects in Arlington & Lexington
Why Homeowners in Arlington, Lexington & Winchester Choose Craig's for Planting
Plant knowledge built over 30 years in this region.
We know which trees and shrubs perform well in Middlesex County — which species handle the clay soils, the freeze-thaw cycles, and the variable sun/shade conditions common in these neighborhoods. That knowledge informs every plant recommendation we make.
Installation done properly.
Correct planting depth is one of the most common installation errors — too deep is one of the leading causes of tree and shrub failure. We plant at the right depth, prepare the root ball appropriately, backfill with the right mix, mulch to retain moisture and protect roots, and stake trees where necessary for the first season.
We plant for the long term, not the install day.
Plants are selected and placed for how they’ll look and perform at maturity — not how they look leaving the nursery. That means appropriate spacing, appropriate species for the available space, and honest guidance if a plant someone wants isn’t the right choice for their site.
Part of a full landscape project or standalone.
Most of our planting work is part of a broader landscape design or construction project — the final phase that finishes the design. We also handle standalone planting projects: a dead tree that needs replacing, foundation shrubs that have outgrown the space, a privacy hedge that needs to go in. Either way, the plant selection process is the same.
We highly recommend using Craig’s Landscaping. They have totally transformed our garden over the last couple of years. They listen to our ideas on plantings and they make suggestions that fit the area – things we hadn’t necessarily thought of. They stand by their work and always respond to queries. Love Laurie in the office too. And their prices are fair!
Serving Arlington, Lexington, Winchester, & Nearby Communities
Craig’s Landscaping has been working in the Boston suburbs for over 30 years. Our primary service area covers three towns in Middlesex County:
- Arlington, MA
- Lexington, MA
- Winchester, MA
We have decades of experience with the specific growing conditions across Middlesex County — the soil types, drainage patterns, and microclimate variations that determine what plants will perform well on your property.
Not sure if we cover your area? Give us a call at 781.643.3841 or send us a message. If your home is outside the towns listed above, we still may be able to help you with finding the right trees and shrubs for your property.