C M Stoneworks & Hardscapes

Scituate's Conservation Commission enforces the Wetlands Protection Act plus a local bylaw, and coastal resource areas are extensive — coastal banks, dunes, beaches, and salt marsh all carry a 100-foot buffer with a strict no-disturb inner zone, so most shoreline landscape work needs an Order of Conditions. Coastal dune and bank review is routine given the town's exposure, and work in velocity flood zones faces added scrutiny. The town protects public shade trees under state law. Retaining walls and seawalls over four feet need building permits and engineering, and pools and stormwater work require permits. Inland wetland lots also fall under conservation review.

Scituate pricing runs high along the coast and softer inland and off-season. Weekly mowing runs $50-85, with summer-only coastal contracts pricier. Spring cleanup $300-800, fall cleanup $350-1,100. Bark mulch installed runs $95-140 per yard. Irrigation runs $5,500-9,500. Bluestone or storm-durable stone hardscape runs $12-18K, with seawall-adjacent and tight-access beach lots costing more. Full design-build with salt-tolerant plantings, irrigation, and hardscape typically lands $30K-120K, and waterfront estate work readily exceeds $200K once coastal review, storm-resilient construction, and difficult access are factored in.

Massachusetts requires a written contract and a Home Improvement Contractor registration for most residential landscaping work; ask for the registration number and check it before paying a deposit.

More on permits, costs, rebates and common questions, plus every other landscaping contractor serving the town, on the Landscaping in Scituate page.