On September 20th, third Wednesday of the month, members of the plant-based industry gathered at Landscape Creations of Rhode Island to hear from Jonathan and Rochelle Zeyl, co-owners of the firm and President/CEO and Executive Partner respectively, deliver on their team’s approach to meadow construction. They covered topics such as sourcing seeds and plugs, and managing homeowners’ expectations for success, while harnessing imagination and cutting-edge design to install breathtakingly beautiful meadows for a variety of properties and terrains. In honor of their business’s 25th anniversary, Landscape Creations was happy to host RINLA’s sixth Twilight Meeting this year, welcoming a crowd of apprentices, business owners, friends and professionals to their headquarters at 715 Mooresfield Road in Saunderstown.
Operating from an expansive, renovated farmhouse, complete with oversized barn, the site is idyllic – but that may have even more to do with the enormous meadow of wildflowers growing high and wide on the front side of the property, greeting visitors on their way in and on their commute down Route 138. Their meadow was an opportunity to conduct a step-by-step case study of a budget-friendly installation of a design whose goal was to be as ecologically sustainable as it was undeniably gorgeous. The other immediate benefit, and original inspiration, of the meadow was to be the setting for the dream wedding of Rochelle and Jon’s daughter.
Landscape Creations RI is a full-service landscape contractor partnering with leading landscape architecture and custom homebuilding firms to craft extraordinary landscapes. Serving all over New England, their work spans everything from urban oasis gardens to expansive coastal estates. Founded in 1998 as an exclusively landscape construction firm, they first focused on luxury residential properties, marketing themselves to landscape architects. Eventually they expanded to working with custom builders and homeowners as well. Today, the company has grown to employ 60 professionals and serves a host of clients across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. In recent years, the team has seen a surge in popularity of meadows among homeowners, citing more than half of their projects in 2023 so far having included installation of a meadow, rain garden or coastal buffer. The demand for meadows initiated from seed also increased more than three-fold since 2022.
Walking us through a selection of their projects, Jon was able to convey the remarkable detail that goes into every stage of developing coastal and naturalized meadows. He even showed us slides from the installation of a Piet Oudolf perennial garden his team completed. From the presentation, it was made clear to everyone in attendance that the amount of expertise, dedication and artistry demonstrated by the team at Landscape Creations RI commands admiration. We are honored to have them as part of RINLA!
This event, like so many others, was sponsored by Farm Credit East. A RINLA member and cooperative providing financing for northeastern agriculture, Farm Credit East is owned by the very customers they serve. As a longtime benefactor to us, their continued funding has supported RINLA’s educational activities and networking events. We thank you and are forever grateful to you!
Written by Mason Billings
Cover photo provided by Landscape Creations. All other photos by Mason Billings