Welcome to Natural Art Landscaping

In early 2003, my husband and I decided to embark on a landscape renovation. I contacted four companies asking for proposals. The first three were large nurseries and landscape organizations in the Richmond area. The last on our schedule was Tom Thompson's “Natural Art Landscaping” that I selected from the yellow pages.

Unlike the three before, Tom began his assessment by canvassing our entire property, taking note of transplant possibilities, wildlife encroachers, and plants native to Virginia . In addition, he talked with us about altering the existing beds to give them interesting shapes instead of following the current layouts and just replanting within the existing parameters. This too was a departure from the other three proposals.

When we met next, Tom had a comprehensive rendering of the landscape layout that included details showing placement, ranges of color, a blending of textures and photographs of each plant at its maturity. He also artistically embedded complimenting textures by including beautiful imported stones and local rocks to give the beds a different focal point. His approach painted a beautiful picture of what our property would evolve into in the future.

Lastly, he educated us on the importance of soil preparation for the longevity of the plants and trees as a way to protect our investment far into the future. Without hesitation, we agreed to all aspects of his proposal.

The result is a lush, fluid and most welcoming landscape. We consider this venture to be the most rewarding and gratifying of all the updates and changes we have made to our home over the last ten years. Neighbors compliment on the beauty, we sit and enjoy the view and marvel at the changes that take place when different trees bloom, berries emerge, colors come and go. It is a living, breathing, ever changing work of art.

Natural Art Landscaping is what Tom brings to his clients. He take no short cuts, he know how plants, trees and wildlife come together to create a serene landscape that exudes beauty. He is a master of his craft

Deborah and John
Midlothian

Over the past two years, my husband and I have been renovating parts of our Museum District home, including the front and backyards. When we moved into the house six years ago, the backyard was basically a construction site. We had a hideous concrete sidewalk down the center of the yard, overgrown grasses, half sawed wood, nails, broken glass, and virtually no real plants. The first five years we lived here, we redid parts of the yard ourselves, and parts were done by professionals. Still, after much expense and work, we were disappointed with the results.

This is when we met Tom and Elizabeth Thompson of Natural Art Landscaping. Two years ago, my husband finally gave up, and we had Tom come to us with a plan to renovate the front yard. The final design (with very little input from us) turned our front into a beautiful, extremely low maintenance, flowering herb garden. The front yard looks great, and gets a lot of attention from the people walking or running through our neighborhood, and has become a community garden where neighbors stop by to grab basil, thyme, and other needed ingredients for cooking dinner!

Once we saw the change to the front yard, we again engaged Tom and Elizabeth to help us with the backyard, which was substantially more challenging. A design, again very low maintenance and unstructured, was prepared for our approval, and again, went completely unchanged. Tom designed an amazing retaining wall made from stone, and a beautiful stone patio that he and Elizabeth installed. We receive more compliments on those two additions to our yard than all the interior renovations we have done over the six years we have lived in our home.

The garden itself is full of unusual touches (a lattice for honeysuckle that reminds me of home, climbing plants to disguise the fence I hate) and gorgeous flowers. Throughout the winter, the garden was full of colorful foliage. When spring and summer arrived, the flowers were in full bloom, and breathtaking. Currently, our three season azalea lends color to the other berries and fall plants that have taken over. In each season of the year, the garden looks alive and vibrant, something I consider an amazing accomplishment.

Perhaps most important to me is that during the months of tearing out and replanting, Tom and Elizabeth became part of our family, and our dog still prefers their company to ours!. Not only did they do a great job, but they went out of their way to make us comfortable not only with the garden, but with their presence in our home on a daily basis. To this day, they are free to come and go through our gates anytime they happen to be in the neighborhood, and we have also contracted with them for monthly maintenance.

It is extremely rare for me to feel so strongly about a contractor who has worked in our home. In fact, I have only recommended one other firm to friends and family. However, I enthusiastically spread the work about Natural Art Landscaping to anyone who asks about our yard.

April and Raymond
Museum District