Landscaping in Royal Oak, MI: Big trees, small lots, sand here, clay there.
Look up in a Royal Oak yard and you see why the city calls itself the City of Trees. Look down and the ground may be sand or heavy clay, depending on the side of town. HD Landscape plans around both, then plants the yard and looks after it.
- Planned for your soil
- We know which trees are the city's
- Free itemized estimates
A finished job, relit for evening
Services in Royal Oak
The work we take on in Royal Oak.
Pick a service to see how it works. Every one starts with a free, itemized estimate.
Design and build
Lawns and planting
Yards in Royal Oak
Six in ten homes here were built before 1960.
Census figures put the median home at 1956, and the 1950s left more houses standing than any other decade. Shrubs planted along those foundations have had decades to outgrow the windows, and the shade trees have had just as long to spread over the beds. A lot of good work here begins with deciding what comes out.
Styles mix, even inside one neighborhood. Vinsetta Park has Tudor, Colonial and Arts and Crafts homes on curving streets, and a bed that suits one can look wrong on the next. In the one family zone the minimum lot is 6,000 square feet and a house can sit 25 feet back, so the front yard is seen up close from the sidewalk. A sloppy bed line has nowhere to hide.
Then there is the water. The Red Run, the stream the city grew up around, now runs in pipe under town, and many street drain covers are built to hold rain back in a storm so the sewers do not back up. Where your roof and lawn send water matters here.
A soil line between Woodward and Main
Downtown and much of the east side sit on sandy Thetford soil, while the west side around Woodward is heavier Blount and Lenawee. Sand drains fast and dries out. Heavy ground stays wet. The plant list and the watering plan depend on which one you have.
Trees that are not yours
A tree in the lawn strip along the curb is a city street tree, and work on it goes through the city. Planting here goes back to the 1930s, so those trees often set the light for the whole front yard. We plan around them.
Close quarters
Zoning lets a house sit about five feet from the side line, so the side yard can be little more than a walk. Materials come through in small loads, and where the trailer sits is best settled before the crew arrives.
Leaves and the street
Restricted drain covers on residential streets have only two or four slots, and leaves clog them quickly. Fall work also has to fit the city's leaf trucks, so the gutter has to stay clear and a cleanup has to land around your street's pickup.
In Royal Oak
A Royal Oak job starts with what is yours and what is the city's.
On the walk, Jake sorts out what is yours and what is the city's, looks at the soil and the water, and tells you what he would do and what he would leave alone. The estimate comes itemized, so you can go over it line by line with no pressure to say yes.
On the day, the crew shows up when we said. During leaf season the city asks for cars off the street so its trucks can reach the curb, which means parking and deliveries have to work around your block's pickup day. We leave the walks and the drive clean.
- Street trees
- The city's, so our work stops at the sidewalk
- Estimate
- Free and itemized
- We do not do
- Sprinklers, lawn aeration or big tree removals
- To talk now
- Call or text Jake
Jake with HD Landscape did an amazing job. We are the 3rd house he did on my street and he did AMAZING for each of my neighbors and me. He is reasonably priced, and most important of all he does quality work! You can tell he cares about doing the job right, and is very passionate. …
Amanda H.Trees and landscaping
This young man and his crew were nothing less than amazing. They just completed a big project for us.... his team of young men were so polite, professional, easy to get along with... They did a great job on our yard and flower beds. The owner gave us some great advice before they started, and we listened to him.. and we are so glad we did. …
Stephen D.Yard and flower beds
Jake was quick to respond and very professional. We came up with a plan and he gave me an itemized bill which was very competitively priced. Jake and the crew arrived exactly when they said they would and the work was completed within a day. The whole crew did an amazing job, very hard working and even though it rained the entire day, they finished the job as promised. …
Renee G.Front and back yard
Does HD Landscape do landscaping in Royal Oak?
Yes. HD Landscape is a landscaper based in St. Clair Shores that works in Royal Oak on homes and commercial properties. That includes landscape design, tree trimming, yard cleanups, pressure washing, sod, hedge trimming and monthly maintenance. Call or text Jake at (586) 718-8762 for a free estimate.
Is the soil in Royal Oak clay or sand?
Both, depending on where you live. USDA soil maps show sandy Thetford ground through downtown and much of the east side, and heavier Blount and Lenawee ground on the west side around Woodward. The ground around an older house has often been moved or filled, so the map is only a start. The spot itself decides the plant list.
Why does my street pond after a heavy rain?
It is built to. Many Royal Oak streets have restricted drain covers with only two or four slots, which slow rain into the sewers so they do not back up into basements. The ponding is temporary and usually under 12 inches at the road edge, but a yard that drains to the street may have to hold its water for a while. Keep leaves and clippings off those covers, and if water sits against the house, yard grading is the place to start.
Can I get a free street tree in Royal Oak?
You can request one. If a tree was removed from the right of way, or there is an open space beside your property, the city takes requests for a free street tree in the strip along the curb. The city's arborist picks the species, and programs change, so ask the city what is open now. Either way, lay out the beds behind it for the size it will reach, not the size it came.
What landscaping work do you not do?
Sprinklers and lawn aeration are not on our list. In Royal Oak, neither are city street trees, because that work goes through the city. Smaller trees on private land we can handle, and Jake hands the big removals to a tree company.
Can you look after the yard once the project is done?
Yes. Monthly landscape maintenance can cover beds, weeding, shaping shrubs and edging, and what a visit covers is set on your estimate. A spring or fall cleanup handles the heavy work, timed around the city's leaf trucks and its curbside yard waste dates.
Nearby towns we serve
Background: a finished job, relit for evening
Free estimate
Get your free estimate in Royal Oak.
Tell us about the yard and where in Royal Oak it is. Jake will take a look and give you an itemized estimate.