 Axel Landscapes Serving the greater Minneapolis and St. Paul metro areas Award-Winning Landscape Design and Installation
"For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere that gives subjects their true value" ---- Claude Monet |
|||
         
Contact Info
Phone:
Fax:
Email: (click for full email address.)
|
|
||
|
If you need residential landscape design and/or installation, you've come to the right place. On this site you will find many photos and ideas to get your mind thinking about what's possible. Click on our Recent Projects page (now with VIDEO!) to see what we've been working on lately. It's the quickest way to get to know us. Or look at our Everything You Need to Know section--- which includes pricing, and everything else you need to know about patios, firepits & outdoor fireplaces, paver driveways, outdoor kitchens, and the landscape design process. There's also a great page on How To Hire a Landscape Contractor, including Ten Questions to ask ANY Contractor Before You Hire Them. Let me ask you for one favor. If you know right now that you want to have a project installed in mid- to late-fall 2008, get in touch and tell us that as soon as possible. The calm before the spring/summer rush is a wonderful time to work with you and get your project set up. Everyone else--- we're here for you! Call us anytime with questions or to schedule a design consultation. There are still May slots available in our 2008 schedule. We can get you in early! Chris Axel |
2007 MNLA Award Winner!
|
||
|
|
|||
|
What's New for 2006
Spring is here. Wooooo hoooooo! We had a great
winter, pursuing various endeavors. I climbed Kilimanjaro in January,
and got engaged on the summit (Photos
here.) Jon got to spend the winter with his new daughter. Amy redid
her master bathroom, after waiting 6-7 years for the right time. But now
we are back in full force, putting our energy back into the work we
love--- creating beautiful landscapes. Awards season was good to us again this winter. We won our fourth Hedberg award, this time in the Segmental Retaining Wall category. (project pictured here.) We are the only company to win four Hedberg awards. The Hedberg awards are judged by panels of students and professors from the U. of M. and technical schools. It is a contest; they declare only one winner for each category. Being judged the best four times in five years is truly an honor for which we are grateful. We intend to continue this level of craftsmanship, design, and achievement, and continue submitting our projects for awards consideration. Who knows--- maybe YOUR project will be the next award winner!
We did about an 8-day project in 3 days. We called in anyone with two hands to help get it done, and the production staff got their hands dirty, too. We have copies of the program if you'd like us to send you one. It's actually very entertaining! Thank you for visiting our site. We love what we do and we are happy to share it with you. Enjoy your visit, and feel free to contact us with any questions or requests!
(Below are last year's front page articles.)
What's New for 2005 Axel Landscapes Wins Major Design Award: There've been a lot of exciting developments at Axel Landscapes in the last six months, none more so than winning our first design award from the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA) for a project we did in Eden Prairie (pictured at right.) While watching the awards presentation four years ago at the MNLA tradeshow, my sister Amy and I set the goal of winning an MNLA award ourselves. An MNLA award is as good as it gets as far as recognition for landscape design in the state of Minnesota--- this year only about 15 companies received awards. We are incredibly proud to be among the honorees; in a way, I think it makes it even more special for us, a small family-style business, to be recognized along with the big boys like Bachmans and Brubaker Design. We believe we can compete with anyone on the basis of creativity, functionality, and attractiveness of design, while offering fast, friendly, and flexible installation. Winning this award for Residential Rear Yard is a validation of everything we've striven to do since selling our maintenance business to focus exclusively on design/build six years ago. We believe in the power of landscaping to transform not just your property's beauty and value, but to change the way you live in and enjoy your home. If you'd like to receive more information or set up an appointment, please feel free to call (612-819-3543) or Email Us anytime!
Axel Landscapes Featured on Rebecca's Garden in October, 2004:
Many of us are familiar with Rebecca Kolls, who used to do a local garden show in the Twin Cities. Her show, Rebecca's Garden, went national a few years ago and can now be seen weekly on HGTV. Last summer, Rebecca decided to return to her Minnesota roots and produce a program featuring several ponds and designers participating in the yearly Twin Cities Parade of Ponds. Through our relationship with Hedberg Landscape Supply, the Parade of Ponds co-founder and primary sponsor, we had the opportunity to be among the featured pond designers and builders. In July, 2004, a film crew came
out to the site of one of the ponds we've installed to interview me and
my sister Amy. It was my first time on camera (although I believe my
sister has been interviewed before during her volleyball career) so I
was a bit nervous. It also was slightly difficult to hear the
interviewer's questions over the sound of the waterfall, which was
directly between us. Nonetheless, we did our best to give clear,
thoughtful answers, and when the show aired in October we were very
pleased with the editing! ;-) Amy's voice became the opening for the show, describing why she likes the element of moving water in a landscape. Steve Hedberg himself (pictured right), owner of Hedberg Landscape Supply, was shown in front of our pond talking about water gardening's impact of landscaping. Later on the program focused specifically on us and our project for a couple of minutes. This isn't the sort of experience that gives you instant fame and fortune, or gets you recognized on the streets.... but it's another opportunity to be validated in our work. Owning and operating a business is much different than having a job, in that there is no 'boss' watching over you, measuring you, and letting you know when you've done well or poorly. We have to therefore find our own ways of getting feedback, some of which comes from clients and each other, but some of which can only come from independent recognition of our projects. This is why winning awards and being featured on a television program which celebrates gardening and landscapes means so much to us. Thanks, Rebecca!
Axel Landscapes Builds the Display Area at Hedberg Landscape Supply in Plymouth:
Two years ago we helped Allan Block (a manufacturer) build the concrete fence you see in the back of the photo to the left. That year we also designed and installed all the plant material for Hedberg's 15x60' display pond. Last season we installed the hardscape product display area (pictured at left.) Hardscape products include things like brick pavers for patios and sidewalks, retaining wall blocks, natural stone for patios, walls, and steps, as well as all the boulder, rock, and mulch products Hedberg stocks. It was a massive undertaking, one on which we spent many weeks. In the end we installed 4-5,000 square feet of pavers, made boulder walls and natural stone walls, natural stone patios, freestanding concrete block walls, natural stone and concrete border edges.... and the list goes on. Be sure to bring your putter, because there's a putting green we helped install, too! Hedberg's location in Plymouth now has the largest and most comprehensive display area of what's available today in landscape materials--- it's a great place to start if you want to start learning about what's available, and, of course, it's a great way to see an example our our work! The display area is outside their gated lot, so you can stop by any time that's convenient for you. The waterfall is a must-see, as well as the rest of the display items which are far too large to capture in one picture (or even five pictures) to show you here. Be sure to stop by Hedberg, and pick up one of our business cards inside the main office! (Directions to Hedberg)
Axel Landscapes Featured in Eden Prairie Magazine:
Being interviewed in person by a print journalist was much different than the experience of being interviewed on camera for Rebecca's Garden. I was much more relaxed. The editor of the magazine herself did the interview, and impressed me with the level of detail she wanted to get into about our design philosophy and what made this project special. She took 4-5 pages of notes in what seemed like about five minutes. Quite impressive! I look forward to seeing our project in print! We had another project we did just off Lake Harriet featured in an issue of Architectural Digest about 5 years ago, but this time the entire article will be devoted just to us and our award-winning project. This is yet another way we've gotten positive feedback from our community for the kind of work we're producing. It gives us a lot of energy and builds our anticipation for the coming season. Which will be the award-winning project this year? Will it be at your house? It could be! Feel free to give us a call anytime if you'd like to learn more.
|
|||
|
© 2004 Axel Landscapes For info call us at 612-819-2828, or Email Us! |
|||
Other
highlights..... In January, we appeared on national TV for the second
time, on HGTV's Landscape Smart. (Our first time was on Rebecca's Garden
in 2004.) Our episode was called
Our
company would not be what it is today without our partnership with
Hedberg Landscape Supply. We've appreciated Hedberg's high level of
service to us as a purchaser of landscape materials; they are the
standard for the industry in the Twin Cities. On top of this, our
friends at Hedberg have asked for our assistance several times with
projects around their Plymouth yard, which we've been proud to be a part
of. Being asked to install display areas for Hedberg is another way we
get feedback from the community about our mission and our work.
As
if winning a major award and being on TV aren't enough for one year,