Our Story

At Birch Grove Stone & Garden, we design highly custom outdoor spaces that draw you in, get you outside, and call you to do the things you’ve always hoped to do at home - like having your morning coffee on a quiet, private bluestone patio under a wood pergola in the early morning sun or roasting s’mores with your family around a cozy, custom fire pit. If this is something you’ve dreamed of, we’re here to help make it your reality. We use natural stone details that work hand in hand with plant material to create truly unique spaces.

We’re proud to offer services that make us stand out from the rest. With each project we take on, we strive to elevate and enhance the aesthetic appeal and value of your home or property. Whether it’s transforming an unusable space due to grading issues or creating a private outdoor sanctuary, we invest an incredible amount of thought, effort, and time crafting the perfect space for you.

Some examples of the features and hardscapes crafted by Birch Grove include stone archways, bubbling fountains, freestanding fireplaces, retaining walls, and creative privacy walls. We can create complete outdoor living spaces, as if they are functional outdoor rooms of their own, ranging from stone fireplaces with built-in natural benches and built-in grills to sectioned off low profile walls organized to evoke the feel of a botanical garden. These features can be designed to complement the existing architecture of a home or property, or they can be created as standalone pieces that serve as focal points and conversation starters. These features are an investment in your property and will provide years of enjoyment and admiration.

Meet the Team

Nick Zacarelli, a New England stonemason and landscape designer, hand chisels a piece of local granite for a custom project in Connecticut
Stonemason and landscape designers as work building a granite and fieldstone fireplace in Easton, Connecticut
Landscape construction breaking ground on granite steps to solve grading problems in Connecticut

  • Founder

    Stonemason, landscape designer, horticulturist. Nick founded Birch Grove Stone & Garden in 2018 with a vision of providing unique, highly custom landscape solutions using natural resources and playing off the surroundings. His passion and creativity go into each and every design, including hand drawn masterplans and perspective drawings that bring the design to life even before the team breaks ground. Birch Grove has completed several large scale projects in towns like Newtown, Easton, Branford, parts of Fairfield County and beyond.

    In 2022, Nick expanded Birch Grove Stone & Garden into another creative venture, Primal Stone Design. While Birch Grove offers total custom landscaping services to those local to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and parts of New York, Primal Stone Design offers custom natural art and decor commissions on a broader scale as well as landscape and design consulting services for stonework and hardscape projects that often require collaboration with outside architects and designers.

    Nick offers incredibly high-end services through Birch Grove and Primal Stone Design. Whether you’re buying a piece of art, consulting on a project, or transforming your outdoor space with complete custom landscaping, when you hire Nick, you’re retaining a skilled artisan, master stonemason, and an expert in plant selection, hardscaping, and outdoor design.

  • Working together since 2013, the Birch Grove team is like a second family. Passionate about their work, detail-oriented, always doing bigger and better, and dedicated to going above and beyond.

FAQs

  • Birch Grove is based out of Beacon Falls and North Haven, Connecticut, but we provide service to areas throughout the state of Connecticut, including New Haven, Fairfield, Middlesex, New London, Litchfield, and Hartford counties. We’ve done major projects in various Connecticut towns like Easton, Newtown, Bolton, Westport, Branford, Fairfield, and Clinton to name a few.

    Birch Grove is fully licensed in the State of Connecticut and the State of Rhode Island. We will soon be fully licensed in New York and Massachusetts. In other words, if you’re in the New England area and interested in retaining Birch Grove for custom landscaping, natural stonework, or consulting on a major project, we can come to you.

    Additional costs may apply to account for travel depending on your location.

  • We pride ourselves on standing out from other typical landscaping companies. We don’t just mow lawns and do plantings. Birch Grove specializes in custom natural stonework, unique garden features, highly custom landscape design and construction, including solving grading issues for challenging spaces, as well as fine gardening and maintenance.

    We take on smaller projects depending on the season and the needs of our clients. If you simply need grading, excavation, fall plantings to prepare for spring, a retaining wall, or a simple fire pit patio, we’d be happy to help. Birch Grove is a small, efficient team. Each project, no matter how small, receives our utmost care and attention, as well as our unique and artistic touch.

    Contact us to discuss your needs.

  • When you hire Birch Grove, you get a fully custom landscape design tailored to your outdoor space while retaining the work of a skilled artisan, master stonemason, and an expert in plant selection, hardscaping, and outdoor design. From the initial consultation and proposal to the installation and final touches, the Birch Grove team invests an immense amount of thought, energy, and time into your project. We have confidence that we can completely transform your space into something you will love for years to come.

    Prices vary and depend on an assessment of your property. All projects require a deposit and include a flat rate design fee that is incorporated into each proposal. While we work to accommodate your specific needs and budget, and strive to be accessible, we a premier landscaping business and offer exceptionally unique, high-end services.

  • Contact us by phone, email, text or utilize our contact form to schedule an initial phone consultation. From there, we typically require an on-site visit and assessment of your property, which also involves discussing your ideas in depth. Generally, we are on the job site during the day, but appointments are available in the afternoons or on Saturday mornings.

    Please keep in mind that we are small team and are in high demand during the Spring and Summer months. We suggest planning ahead and consulting with us in the fall and/or winter depending on your needs and the size of your project.

  • It all starts with an idea. Maybe you want a patio or need help with an unusable space. Maybe you want a really cool stone feature but don’t know where to start. We are here to offer solutions and creative ideas based on what you’re looking for.

    Here is a general outline of the timeline/process for a typical job:

    1. Phone consultation

    2. On-site property assessment and budget discussion

    3. Proposal provided, including anticipated budget

    4. Retain Birch Grove, provide initial deposit

    5. Custom perspective sketch provided and/or in-depth design meeting

    6. Meeting or phone call to schedule and coordinate project start

    7. Project installation, which can vary anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks or 3 to 4 weeks depending on the extent of work

  • Monday through Friday: 7am to 5pm

    Saturday: 7am to 12pm

    Sunday: Closed

    We often work at the job site after 5pm, depending on your preferences. If you need us outside of our typical hours, we are available via phone, email, or text.