The compensation for difficult ground is that a well-built landscape here looks better than anywhere in Ohio — terraces, stone and mature hardwoods do work that no flat lot can match.
Where we work from: our shop is at 7980 OH-249, Hicksville, OH. Salem sits outside our home counties — call and we will confirm scheduling before you commit to anything.
Soil and drainage in Salem
Erosion is the constant on these slopes. Bare ground on a hillside loses material with every storm, and mulch on a grade simply becomes something for the next rain to carry away. What holds is structure plus deep-rooted planting — a shaped swale or stone-lined channel that spreads concentrated flow, terraces where the grade is severe, and species whose roots reach far enough to matter.
Anything cut into a hillside needs drain tile and clean angular stone behind it with a positive outlet. Water moving through shale is what walks a wall forward, and no amount of block quality substitutes for somewhere for that water to go.
What Salem Township properties need
Long drives are their own project. Grade, a crowned surface that sheds water, ditching at the edges and culverts that are actually clear determine whether a rural drive survives a wet spring — and whether it can be plowed cleanly in January.
Every proposal we send states the specification rather than implying it — excavation depth, base material and thickness for hardscape, pipe size and outlet for drainage, and a plant schedule with species, install size and mature dimensions. If a competing bid states none of those and comes in lower, that difference is usually the reason.
Winter in Salem
Winter here is genuinely heavier than the state average, with elevation adding to totals. A snow agreement should state the trigger depth, what surfaces are included, and the response window. Walks, entries, stairs and ramps deserve their own line item rather than being assumed — most winter liability attaches to pedestrian surfaces, not to the parking lot.
Pre-treating ahead of a forecast event prevents snow and ice bonding to pavement, which makes clearing faster and uses substantially less material overall. On a property with real foot traffic it is the highest-value line in the agreement.
What Salem Township properties call us for
These are the services this ground actually needs, ordered by what the soil and terrain in Tuscarawas County demand rather than by what is easiest to sell.
- Retaining Walls & TerracingEngineered walls with real drainage behind them — turning slopes you cannot mow into space you can use.
- Drainage Solutions & Yard GradingFrench drains, swales and regrading that move water away from your foundation before it costs you a basement.
- Lawn Mowing & Property MaintenanceWeekly mowing, trimming and edging on a schedule you can set your watch by — residential and commercial.
- Paver Patios & HardscapingPatios and walkways set on eight inches of compacted base — the reason ours are still flat after ten Ohio winters.
- Sod Installation, Seeding & Lawn RenovationNew lawns, thin lawns and construction scars — graded, amended and established properly the first time.
- Fire Pits & Outdoor Living SpacesFire features, seat walls and outdoor kitchens that stretch an Ohio patio season from May into November.
Why Salem property owners choose us
We know Tuscarawas County ground
Tuscarawas County sits in the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, where thin soil over sandstone and shale on the slopes, deeper alluvium in the valley bottoms. We plan around that rather than applying a template written for another part of the state.
We fix the water before anything else
Every dollar spent on plants or hardscape sitting on ground that stays wet gets spent twice. On Tuscarawas County soil we diagnose drainage first — and often the honest answer is two downspouts rather than a system.
46 Google reviews, licensed and insured
Verbatim reviews from neighbours across the region, full coverage on every crew and machine, and financing available so a full plan can be built in one season.
One contractor for all four seasons
Landscaping April through November and snow and ice through the winter, from the same crews. The people who stake a drive in November are the people who mowed it in July.
Nearby places we also serve
Salem sits in Tuscarawas County. We cover these neighbouring communities too:


