A 37-Year-Old Medford Landscape Company, Now Doing Grounds & Snow

American Elm Landscape was founded in Medford in 1989 by Allan Spires, who still owns it, still runs it and still picks up the phone. For most of those 37 years the company has been known for hardscape — patios, walkways, retaining walls and drainage across Somerville, Medford, Cambridge and Boston, under the Boston Patio Design name.

American Elm Landscape Maintenance is the newest division: contracted grounds care and snow & ice management for the property managers, condo boards and multi-family owners who kept asking whether we'd take care of the property year-round, not just build it.

Why a maintenance division now

Two reasons, and we'll be honest about both. First, our hardscape clients kept telling us the same story: the maintenance vendor is unreliable, the snow guy disappeared, nobody documents anything. Second, a hardscape company sits idle from December to March, and a snow operation fills exactly that gap with the same trucks and the same people. It's a good fit for us and a good fit for properties that want one accountable vendor.

What we bring that a mowing company doesn't

• 37 years in these exact neighborhoods. We know which Somerville streets flood, which Cambridge boards care about organic programs, and where the plows can't turn around in Charlestown.
• 4.6 stars across 61 Google reviews — read them. Same owner the whole time.
• NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor. Rare in a maintenance company, and it means chronic wet spots and ice traps get fixed at the source.
• Hardscape repair in-house. Heaved walkways, failing steps and leaning walls get handled by the same company, on the same invoice.
• Organic fertilization as the standard lawn program, not an upcharge.

How we work with property managers

We know you manage a portfolio, not a property, and that your time goes to the boards that are unhappy. So: written scopes, photo reports after every visit, COI and W-9 sent with the proposal, renewals in September with the price in writing, and a direct line to the owner. If a board wants us on a call, we'll get on the call.

We also know these firms all talk to each other. Our goal is to be the vendor you can hand a new property to without thinking about it.

Straight talk on what we are and aren't yet

The maintenance division is new in 2026. We're building routes deliberately in a tight radius around Medford and Somerville rather than taking every property that calls, because route density is what keeps pricing fair and crews on time. We apply organic fertilizer but are not a certified-organic operation. We don't currently offer herbicide or grub treatment because that requires a separate state license. We'd rather tell you that up front than have you find out in July.