Commercial Grounds Maintenance in Somerville, Medford, Cambridge & Boston

Property managers don't lose sleep over grass height. They lose sleep over the board member who emails a photo of the one bed nobody weeded, the vendor who stopped showing up in August, and the certificate of insurance that expired without anyone noticing. Our grounds contracts are built around those problems.

American Elm Landscape has worked on Somerville, Medford, Cambridge and Boston properties since 1989. The maintenance division brings the same crew standards and the same owner to year-round grounds care, and pairs it with snow and ice management so you have one vendor and one phone number all twelve months.

What's included

Organic lawn fertilization

Our lawn program uses organic fertilizers applied on a four- to five-round schedule from spring through late fall. Organic products feed the soil rather than just the blade, which builds a thicker lawn over two or three seasons — and a thick lawn is the best weed control there is. Boards in Somerville and Cambridge ask about this more every year, and it's an easy yes for anyone with children, dogs or a community garden on the grounds.

One thing we're straight about: we apply organic products, but we are not a certified-organic operation, and we don't currently offer herbicide or insecticide application (that requires a separate Massachusetts MDAR license). If a property needs weed or grub treatment, we'll tell you so and help you coordinate it.

Drainage: the maintenance problem nobody bids on

A soggy corner of lawn, a walkway that ices over every winter, a puddle against the foundation — these get mowed around for years because the mowing vendor doesn't do drainage and the drainage contractor doesn't do mowing. We do both. American Elm is an NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor, and every grounds proposal includes a drainage walk-through so you know where the water goes before it becomes an insurance claim. When something needs fixing — a French drain, a catch basin, a regraded swale — we quote it separately and you decide.

Hardscape repairs by the same company

Heaved walkway panels, a leaning retaining wall, crumbling steps at the entry: trip hazards your board will hear about. Our hardscape division, Boston Patio Design, has built and repaired walkways, walls, patios and drainage for 37 years. Grounds clients get first priority on the schedule and one invoice.

Who this is for — and who it isn't

• Condo associations and HOAs in Somerville, Medford, Cambridge, Arlington and the Boston neighborhoods — from 6-unit conversions to larger complexes.
• Apartment and multi-family owners, including two- and three-family owners who want the property kept up without managing it themselves.
• Small commercial: office, medical, retail strips, churches and schools with real grounds.
• Property management firms looking for one dependable grounds and snow vendor across a local portfolio.

What we're careful about: a single small lawn that's far from anything else we service. We price on route density, and a scattered account ends up costing you more and getting less attention. If you're a homeowner close to where we already work, ask — it may work fine.