Keystone Permaculture

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Philadelphia, PA
Keystone Permaculture

Native + Edible Landscaping and Permaculture services in the greater Philadelphia area.

10/15/2026

We just finished up another native plant installation in the cottage garden style. This garden in Glenside is situated above a wissahickon schist retaining wall which is our local stone and looks lovely in the light. We removed the English ivy that was covering the area.

This space originally was home to a large pine tree which unfortunately came down last year. The stump remains as you can see in the center bed of the garden. There is a path that winds through the garden, the entryways are marked with inkberries on either side.

This garden went from an incredibly low ecological state to a lush paradise full of blooms from spring through fall. The pollinators showed up immediately and are loving their new buffet.

We cannot wait to see this space fill in and evolve over the years!

10/12/2026

This Wyndmoor backyard is beautiful at sunset! We designed this space with a variety of native plants, a mix of partial shade tolerant plants, and full sun plants. chosen to provide blooms across three seasons! And to compliment the beautiful patina on the stone retaining wall.

Now the home owner can enjoy the beautiful view in their backyard while also supporting pollinators and wildlife. As well as having a lower maintenance demand as we chose well behaved and proven varieties. The bees were already all over this garden which is always gratifying!

10/12/2026

Stone steps installed and planted earlier this year.

10/12/2026

We're down the shore
for this install! Our client wanted native plants surrounding their pool and entertaining areas. With the backdrop of the bay it's going to be so beautiful once everything establishes. Check back in for the final walkthrough. We will check on the progress in a month or so!

10/12/2026

This shaded garden sits directly in front of our clients home, making it a focal point from both the the long entryway drive and the porch. We redesigned this planting with a native mix of shade tolerant plants, chosen to provide blooms across three seasons while also standing up to one of the bigger challenges on this property... the deer that call it home!
The existing cobblestone border had started to settle over time, so we lifted and reset it as part of the project, giving the garden a cleaner edge and bringing the whole space back together.
At the center, we placed a kinetic sculpture which gives the garden something structural to contrast the foliage below. Its motion adds a little life and movement to a space that would otherwise be fairly static.
This garden changes throughout the seasons, welcomes you as you arrive, and gives you something interesting to look at from the porch.
Native shade plants, three seasons of blooms, a little movement, and hopefully fewer plants being eaten by deer.

09/10/2026

Who says a native garden can't look like an English cottage garden?

This garden started out as a typical zoysia lawn. A few weeks ago, we replaced it with a variety of native plants designed to create the lush and layered look of a traditional cottage garden.

It's already filling in nicely, with blooms and foliage filling in the spaces between and plenty more to come as the plants establish.

We also added to the existing garden along the front of the house and planted a Sweetbay Magnolia to the treeless space. To keep the evil zoysia from creeping back in, we installed Corten steel edging around t he garden to give it a clean edge. The Corten steel will weather intentionally over time bringing in a warm earthy tone.

One of the things we enjoy most about native landscaping is that you're not limited to one particular style. Native plants can be used to create formal gardens, cottage gardens, woodland gardens, meadows, or something completely different.

This one just happens to look like an English cottage garden except wwith a lot more wildlife!

02/22/2026

Spring is just around the corner, and it’s a great time plant native plants! These are images of a garden we installed last spring just a few months after installation. Everything took off really well in this site and we selected plants that aren’t palletable for deer. This year the garden will be even more full and established and we can’t wait to go back and see it! If you’re interested in adding a native garden to your property this year, please reach out to us at our website. Keystoneperm.com

We offer design services, installation services, and maintenance services.

02/15/2026

Here is the same native pollinator garden as our last post only a few months after planting. It was incredibly dense and absolutely buzzing with pollinators. This garden will only continue to improve year after year and we can’t wait to see it reach its full potential!

02/08/2026

Spring is on the way! Here is a lawn replacement, native pollinator garden we installed in East Falls early last April. This garden filled in so quickly after planting and was full of lush blooms for months and months. In winter, the seed heads are providing food to our birds, and the stems and leaves are providing shelter for hibernating pollinators.

Interested in replacing some turf, or simply adding native plants to your existing gardens? Reach out now to get on our 2026 schedule!

Design - Install - Maintain

01/16/2024

🎄What do you do with your old Christmas trees? We suggest mulching them around your more acid loving plants. In our case we’re mulching seven of our high bush blueberries. As the needles break down they will help to add acid to the soil around the shallow root systems of the blueberries. You can chop these up even finer if you so choose. It was too cold out for all of that today…maybe next time.

🌳Keystone Permaculture specializes in native + edible landscape design. If you want to grow your own food or provide habitat for our native species, but don't know how to, contact us for a consultation today! We service the greater Philadelphia area. Let’s get growing!

Address

Philadelphia, PA
19118

Website

http://Keystoneperm.com/

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