Decks

Instead of working around your deck to create your dream landscape, we can offer a cohesive plan that makes the deck an integral part of your overall landscape plan. Being a landscape company, we design and build decks to integrate with your new or existing landscape. We can offer innovative designs that incorporate things that a deck builder simply cannot. Items such as matching, custom brick pillars like in the example below, require a landscape touch. Using the right trees to provide shade or privacy, incorporating water features, planter boxes, lighting, irrigation and other creative features can be achieved through smart design that is landscape focused.

​Deck Resources:
Timbertech Composite Decking Information

Retaining Walls

Retaining walls are the “backbone” of many well-designed landscapes. They provide important stability for walks and patios, create usable spaces out of steeply sloped sites and add stunning dimension to an otherwise flat terrain. Miller Landscape has installed “miles” of retaining walls over the years and is pleased to offer you a wide range of choices for yours.

• Unilock modular concrete walls
• Natural boulder walls
• Ledge rock walls
• Treated wood walls

As a Certified Unilock Contractor, our design team is well equipped to create properly engineered, functional and beautiful retaining walls to enhance your landscape. They will address the drainage and safety issues that often accompany wall construction and offer guidance on which materials will work best on your site. The highlighted links above will connect you to our preferred suppliers so that you may enjoy a more extensive look at the modular concrete products that are available.

Water Features

We seem to be naturally drawn to the water: the oceans, the rivers, and the beaches. The soothing visual effects and the relaxing sounds create an atmosphere of peace. Nature seems to accomplish this effortlessly. You will sense this same tranquility with a naturally designed water garden by Miller Landscape.

The stone, plants, perennials and aquatic plants combine with the sounds of falling water to create an oasis for all to enjoy. Water features can be “carved” out of an existing patio or landscape, or developed into a major focal point of a new landscape.

Our experienced team is specially trained in installing self-contained Eco-Systems, which require a minimum amount of care. These systems can range from a small lily pond and waterfall to a full-scale stream connecting larger waterfalls to a reflecting pool. There are even pondless waterfalls that can be nestled into almost any setting, adding the delightful element of water into your landscape. And if you wish, we will provide all the seasonal maintenance so that you can just sit back and enjoy!

Patios, Walkways & Driveways

Patios, walkways and driveways can now come alive with the many patterns, colors and textures of brick pavers. We can define spaces, as well as enhance interest with a myriad of custom brick paver inlays and creative paver patterns. We design patios that offer you space in which to relax on one of our custom benches, dine, entertain, or simply enjoy a quiet moment during your hectic day.

​Would a raised paver patio bring needed dimension to your otherwise “flat” back yard? Through the use of boulder, ledge rock or modular concrete retaining walls, our staff can create multi-level patio areas that are both functional and inviting. You can even choose an “old world” look with “tumbled” or weathered styles. Today’s brick pavers are virtually maintenance-free, and our preferred Unilock line carries a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty.

Garden Bed Planting

Plants are the essence of any landscape and they are as varied as the people who enjoy them. From the spectacular maples that emblazon the roadways in the fall, to the blankets of blue phlox that announce the arrival of spring, Michigan’s plant palette is delightfully vast.

At Miller Landscape, we choose the plant material for your landscape very carefully and consider many important factors in making our recommendations. Too often, we find consumers on their own, choose plants solely on the basis of what they look like or the “great deal” offered by a local retailer. Sadly, many end up discouraged by shrubs that don’t thrive or bloom, perennials that invade other plantings, and trees that simply die.

The horticulturists and designers at Miller Landscape offer you the peace of mind of knowing that your investments in plant material will be wise ones and that you will truly be able to enjoy watching your landscape mature in the years to come.

Outdoor Living

From that first sunny, winter day when the melting snow allows a few blades of grass to peek through, the outdoors “summons our very soul.” In today’s world, many of us spend countless hours in front of computers, in cars and under significant pressure. Something magical happens, however, when we swing open that door and immerse ourselves in the fresh air, sunshine and a welcoming landscape.

Miller Landscape has spent the last 45 years creating and caring for landscapes that make Michigan living especially enjoyable. From the moment you can put your winter coat in the back of the closet, you can enjoy the spaces and amenities that make your outdoors an inviting, comfortable and fun place to be. Whether you are considering a completely equipped outdoor kitchen and BBQ area, or would simply enjoy sitting around a warm, cozy fire pit and toasting marshmallows with the kids, we would welcome the opportunity to make your outdoor environment all that it can be.

Some of the most dramatic additions our customers have enjoyed include the new, modular outdoor fireplaces from Unilock’s Element line. We have created comfortable shaded areas with our custom made garden structures, providing more pleasant daytime use of patios and decks. And customers with and without swimming pools gravitate toward the soothing comfort of a hot tub. Whatever your pleasure, we can make it happen, with style.

Landscape Lighting

Landscape lighting has slowly increased in popularity over the years but it still does not get as much credit as it deserves for what it can do to the look, feel, and use of a space. Landscape lighting systems are more advanced than ever. They are highly efficient, long lasting, completely customize-able, and work automatically.

Any space around your home or business can benefit from being lit properly. Whether you would like the additional safety and security that lighting provides or the beauty and finished look that it provides, there is a solution to enhance any space.

At Miller Landscape, we’ve been providing custom landscape lighting systems for over 20 years and we encourage you take try out our demonstration process if you are considering a lighting system. We can come out and set up a basic system that we recommend, then you can try it out or move things around for a few nights and see what different lights and lighting arrangements can do.
If you are considering a new patio, deck, pool, or other project around your home, we can design the lighting system to work with your new landscape. We can build lighting fixtures into pillars, like the picture on the left, we can light deck stairs, add a colorful splash to water features and pools, and so much more.

If you’re interested in taking your landscape to a new level, give us a call today!

Irrigation Solutions

Automatic irrigation systems allow consumers to roll up that web of hoses and be assured that their entire landscape is being watered evenly, at the correct times, and with the correct amount of water. Today’s automatic systems are controlled by programmable, computerized timers that can be set to water at the right time. We can program your system to effectively cover your lawn or landscape plants while taking into account individual watering needs of the different areas of teh yard and local watering restrictions. We can add a rain sensor to avoid watering when it’s not needed, which helps minimize risks of disease and wasting water.

When you have Miller Landscape design and install your irrigation system, you will be working with a seasoned team of professional irrigation installers who will offer you the latest in irrigation design and technology. We offer custom solutions that are designed with your goals and your property in mind. From a traditional spray and rotor system to the increasingly popular drip system [water drips directly into the root system of each plant for maximum efficiency.] for planting beds, to hybrid and highly customized systems.

We invite you to end the hassles of crossing your fingers through weather reports, dragging hoses and rotating sprinkler positions, and arranging for someone to water while you go on vacation. Let us design, install and maintain an automated irrigation system that is configured to meet the specific needs of your landscape.

Drainage Solutions

Water is an essential component to any landscape, but when it is not “routed” correctly throughout the property, it can become a most frustrating problem. Inadequate drainage can cause building damage, destroy plant material, wreak havoc with brick pavers and become a safety issue on walkways in the winter. Miller Landscape has over 44 years of experience in evaluating drainage problems on both commercial and residential sites, and then designing systems to provide permanent solutions.

Proper drainage of any site begins with correct, post-construction grading. Unfortunately, the ground continues to settle long after the builder leaves and even a properly graded site can eventually be plagued with water issues. Locations that are “downhill” from neighboring properties and poorly maintained gutter systems can also contribute to puddling, erosion and other water related problems.

Our experienced team and their state-of-the-art equipment are available to reduce the mud, damage and ice build-up that result from poor drainage on your property. When you hire our team to troubleshoot your drainage issues, we will evaluate the grades and any existing drainage systems on your property. We then custom design and install a comprehensive system that will include one or more of the following elements:

• Appropriate re-grading of problem areas to provide prudent water flow
• Installation of an underground pvc piping system, usually connected to an existing gutter system, to properly re-route water runoff. The pipes are positioned with the proper slope to ensure correct water flow, and the outlets should be checked periodically to keep them clear of leaves and debris. We often utilize this type of system around in-ground swimming pools. Appropriately sized catch basins are strategically placed in the brick pavers or concrete of the pool deck to prevent puddling.
• Planting of appropriate, deep rooted shrubs and turf to absorb surface water, especially near driveways and other large, flat areas.
• Construction of a swale [a broad depression created in a lawn area to aggressively route water to an appropriate outlet on the property: a stream, a street, a wooded area, etc.] Swales are sodded for the sake of appearance as well as erosion control.
• Installation of a dry stream bed [a stone-lined channel or gully that mimics a natural water flow.] Well-designed dry stream beds can be attractive additions to the landscape as well as provide an especially effective solution for storm runoff from heavy rains.
• Construction of a French drain [a trench containing a perforated pipe that is covered with gravel or rock.] French drains quickly vent water that seeps down through the upper gravel or rock. They are often utilized along building foundations and behind retaining walls.

Investing in your drainage system may be less exciting than other, more visible aspects of your landscape. It is, however, an important, preliminary step that must be taken to assure an attractive, functional and safe exterior environment that you can appreciate and enjoy for years to come.