Anthony Dufour Gardens

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United States
Malvern, PA
Anthony Dufour Gardens

Landscape Design, Landscape Architecture & Tree Preservation, Stone Masonry We design, build and maintain gardens that delight, inspire and endure.

05/20/2026

Sometimes the best landscape solutions are the simple ones. Here, I advised my clients to create a simple gravel pad for equipment access to the barn & steered them away from adding meaningless plantings which I call ‘salad.’ We’ll add a few small sycamore trees for the quintessential barn/springhouse shade in summer. The barn IS the focal point… don’t mess with it!

05/14/2026

And seemingly overnight I have a college grad and another tackling a challenging engineering curriculum. Seems like yesterday we were knee deep in diapers & play doh. Added bonus, got to take in Syracuse lax in D1 lacrosse playoffs; they knocked off Yale. Not sure they have IT to go all the way, but it’s been a helluva roller coaster season thus far. Cheers, and congratulations to all the grads out there!

04/26/2026

Earth Day and Arbor Day did not go unnoticed, but happily almost every day I get to try some tiny thing to make our world a bit better. I'll post on the current landscape installation where I am making huge strides recycling concrete, but in the meantime, enjoy what's going on in my garden. Cheers!
Your quiz questions:
- pollinating viburnums
- layering
- storm damage to multistem river birch
- shrubs with outstanding fall color
- foliage texture
- iron deficiency
Open your blue book, and begin.

04/19/2026

Sunday garden notes: Things to think on this spring: 1. Beech leaf disease (BLD) will affect all beeches, native and European. Ask your arborist about treatment options if you wish to save yours. 2. Boxwood tree moth, another pest of boxwood on top of blight (and leafminer); here too, ask your arborist. I encourage clients not to overplant any one species, and boxwood has been used as the solution to deer damage (as has cherrylaurel which does now get eaten). 3. Diversify your landscape no matter what pest is coming in (they hitch rides inside those ocean cargo containers) - add new species, add younger plants, and think of ensuring against wind events, hail, insects/diseases, animals (I'm battling rabbits now, more so than deer). 4. Consider whether your privacy plantings need to be static lines of evergreens, or whether you're only looking in that direction in season (versus winter). Images are captioned and not all relevant to your four point lesson here (quiz on Thursday, #2 pencil ONLY!). Cheers,

04/14/2026

A nice start to a garden rebuild in Devon. Raised patio edges are/were a terrible idea (think ER visit), as were sub grade patio lights. Improving surface drainage, privacy, and updating the look with natural stone.

04/01/2026

Notes on spring. Images are captioned. Happy April!

03/11/2026

Quick & dirty edging using historic ‘street brick.’ Street brick is very durable, slightly oversized, and was molded with raised ridges on the sides to help with spacing. As the name implies, it was used to pave streets. While a variety of reclaimed bricks are available, there are also a wide variety of excellent new brick pavers to fit any application. My favorite manufactured paving material! Note that I didn’t excavate for the edging as I’d damage the sycamore tree. The edging is intended to flex over time and will need to be reset periodically to allow for tree growth. Another topic- I love gravel patios…! anthonydufourgardens

01/29/2026

The same two oak trees only 31 years after planting. Thinking oaks are slow growing? Might depend on optimum planting technique! Happy to head back to the on Arbor Day (April 24th) to teach all about that.
https://experience.morrisarboretum.org/Info.aspx?EventID=25

01/28/2026

The true cost of mistakes! Honda had a great commercial years ago talking about warranty service with a consumer who was lamenting that even with a good warranty, dealing with repairs is a pain in the *ss.
About ten years back: Look closely at this firepit, and note that there are three different renditions. The pit cracked in multiple locations after only one use. I had hired a masonry subcontractor who professed knowledge in building masonry firepits; this turned out to be untrue. They drug their feet in returning to make repairs which themselves did not work... the same cracks quickly returned. I stepped in and rebuilt the entire unit myself, and yes, it still has small cracks.
- There was an actual cost to me for the time, materials, disposal of waste and restoration of lawn and clean up.
- There was a HUGE cost to the clients in loss of use & enjoyment, time and aggravation; I was fortunate that the one of them was an engineer and patiently helped research alternate materials and solutions.
- lessons learned, I don't build or recommend masonry firepits as they don't flex with extreme heat. I recommend metal units.
- I don't subcontract anymore as there are multiple layers of legal exposure and a lack of accountability.
- Warranties are tricky things, and buyer beware. You should ALWAYS have one for any home improvement and they should be crystal clear and concise. I've heard many people over the years snow me with a silly words such as 'we take ownership' of our work. 'Worksmanship' is hard to define, and note that materials are not included.
- If you're forced to sue a contractor in Pennsylvania know that the prevailing party is not typically entitled to recoup legal fees (unless it's referenced in the contract). Then there are provisions for mechanics liens which are complicated, a separate thing, and protect the contractor.
- Best course? Vet your contractor as carefully as you possibly can and talk directly with previous clients about how mistakes were handled. I fear that AI is going to complicate this issue. Anyone can put glowing testimonials out there. Hey AI! Build me a website that makes me like I walk on water. Done. 😮

With gratitude I continue to work for these great clients, and they still refer me to neighbors.

Thinking SPRING!

01/09/2026

2026! Taking advantage of a few warm days to install Belgium block curbing. I much prefer reclaimed, historic material which has a wide range of colors and textures. Coming from old urban streets, one edge is often worn from centuries of traffic.

Address

18 Kings Cir
Malvern, PA
19355

Telephone

+16106080120

Website

http://www.anthonydufourgardens.com/

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