An Olmsted-planned village on the Huron. Woodland gardens, view restoration and stone work for one- to eight-acre lots.
Request a ConsultationBarton Hills is unlike anywhere else we work. The Olmsted Brothers laid out the lot lines and roads in 1915, siting the most valuable parcels along finger-like ridges for their views over the water. Roads follow the contour of the land rather than cutting through it, and there are no curbs or sidewalks. Designing here means working with a hundred-year-old landscape plan rather than against it.
The village sits on the Fort Wayne end moraine, formed roughly 14,500 years ago. Those are the ridges. Four major stream valleys plus a smaller fifth run through it, spring-fed and flowing year-round into the Huron. Oak woodland dominates the western two thirds. On steep, wooded, spring-fed ground, drainage and erosion drive the design before aesthetics get a say.
One thing worth naming: the Olmsted plan intended plantings to frame the views from those ridges. A century of natural succession has closed many of them in. Selective canopy work to reopen a borrowed view isn't a departure from the original design. It's a return to it.
The Fort Wayne moraine gives you real elevation change. Steep slopes need planting that holds soil, and grading that respects the contour rather than flattening it.
Perennial spring flow through the stream valleys means permanent moisture in places you wouldn't expect. It rules some plants out and makes others thrive.
The Village's own master plan calls the deer increase exponential and a threat to native plant species, and it culls the herd annually. Planting lists here have to start from that.
Dry shade under established oaks is one of the hardest planting conditions in Michigan. It rewards the right species list and punishes a generic one.
Every project is designed for the property it sits on. These are the services Barton Hills clients ask for most.
Common Questions
Yes. Every deed in Barton Hills carries restrictive covenants, including generous setbacks and review of work by the architectural review committee, enforced by the Barton Hills Maintenance Corporation. We design with that process in mind and prepare what's needed for it rather than treating it as an obstacle.
Not everything, honestly, but a lot. The approach is layered: species selection that deer genuinely avoid rather than merely tolerate, placing vulnerable plants where they're protected by structure, and accepting that some plants aren't worth attempting here. The Village's annual culling helps, but design has to assume browse pressure.
Often, yes. The original 1915 plan sited houses on ridges for their outlooks and used planting to frame them. Selective canopy and understory work can restore a great deal of that without clear-cutting, and it usually improves the health of what remains.
Significantly. Barton Hills has village water but no municipal sewer, so every property is on septic. Drain fields limit rooting depth, restrict where trees and large shrubs can go, and can't be driven over during installation. We locate the field first and design around it.
The Village has documented honeysuckle, buckthorn, garlic mustard and dames rocket as problems. On wooded lots, removing those is often the single highest-value first step. You get the understory back before you plant anything new.
Aaron works personally with every client, March through November, across Ann Arbor and surrounding areas.
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