Backyard Nature Is Expensive

Talk about the greening of America. This spring, homeowners are calling in landscapers in numbers right out of the big-spending '90s...We asked designers at three price levels -- low, medium and high -- to come up with a plan for our two-acre Connecticut home. We got a lesson on drainage from a place called Vinny's, talked "hardscape" with a midrange pro, and discovered our "palette" of woodland shrubs from a landscape architect whose usual clients spend more on retaining walls than we paid for our home. We even got tips from someone who calls himself America's first 'exterior decorator.'" Editor's note: To read the full text of this article, you will need a wsj.com subscription.

Thanks to Chris Steins