Landscaping Services in Pooler
Landscaping Services in Pooler, GA
Pooler has grown fast, and a lot of that growth is brand new. Whole neighborhoods have gone up in the last few years, which means thousands of yards in this city are starting from scratch: thin builder sod, a couple of small shrubs by the front door, no shade, and soil that spent last year under construction equipment.
Decker Landscape & Design helps Pooler homeowners turn those blank lots into finished yards - and keeps established properties looking sharp. We handle lawn mowing, new lawn installation, yard and debris cleanup, rock and mulch, bush trimming, hardscape and softscape, ongoing lawn maintenance, and full planting and design.
Contact us for a FREE quote on your project.
Our Landscaping Services in Pooler, GA
Lawn Installation
Builder sod thinning out or never taking hold? We install new sod matched to your lot's sun and soil - and we address what's underneath first, because grass laid over compacted construction fill will fail no matter how good the sod is.
Bush Trimming
Two builder shrubs by the front step don't make a landscape. We trim and shape what's there, remove what isn't working, and keep hedges and foundation plantings neat year-round.
Custom Landscaping in Pooler
Most Pooler properties share the same starting point: a compact lot, a builder-grade landscape package, and a neighbor thirty feet away. The good news is that these yards respond quickly to real work.
Our custom projects include patios and outdoor entertaining spaces, walkways and pathways, privacy plantings along property lines, fire pit areas, custom bed design and edging, and drainage-conscious grading for lots that hold water after a storm.
If your neighborhood has an HOA with landscaping or architectural standards, tell us up front. We'll design around them and give you a plan you can submit for approval.
Landscaping a New-Construction Home in Pooler
If you've just closed on a new build in Godley Station, Savannah Quarters, Forest Lakes, or any of Pooler's newer neighborhoods, your yard has some specific challenges. Here's what we see most often and how we handle it.
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Compacted soil. Heavy equipment runs over a lot for months during construction, and the topsoil that comes back is often a thin layer over packed fill. Water won't soak in, roots won't push down, and the lawn struggles no matter how much you water it. Core aeration and soil amendment make a bigger difference than another bag of fertilizer.
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Thin builder sod. Production landscaping is done to a budget. Sod gets laid on a tight schedule, sometimes in the wrong season, and often over soil that was never prepped. When it starts thinning out in year two, the fix is usually below the grass, not on top of it.
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No shade, no privacy. New neighborhoods are wide open. Getting shade trees and screening in the ground early matters, because a tree planted this fall is meaningfully bigger in five years than one planted in year four. Fall is the best planting window in coastal Georgia.
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Drainage and grading. New lots are graded for the builder's needs, not necessarily for how water actually moves once the whole street is built out. If you've got a corner of the yard that stays soggy for days after a hard rain, that's fixable - and worth fixing before it kills plants or works toward your foundation.
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Bare beds and undersized plantings. The builder package is a starting point. A few well-chosen shrubs, proper bed edging, and fresh mulch will do more for curb appeal than almost anything else you can spend the same money on.
Summer (June - August)
Warm-season lawns wake up from dormancy as the soil warms. Spring is also when live oaks shed last year's leaves and pine trees coat everything in yellow pollen, which makes it prime
time for a thorough yard cleanup and a fresh layer of rock or mulch before the summer heat.
Hold off on fertilizing until your lawn has fully greened up and soil temperatures are consistently around 65°F, since feeding warm-season grass too early can stress it. If you have azaleas, have
them trimmed shortly after they finish blooming, because trimming later in the year can remove next spring's flower buds.
Choosing Grass for a Full-Sun Pooler Lawn
Unlike older Savannah neighborhoods shaded by mature live oaks, most Pooler lots get full sun most of the day. That's actually good news, because it opens up every warm-season grass option:
Spring (March - May)
Bermuda
Zoysia
Centipede
St. Augustine
The best choice for full sun and heavy use. It grows fast, recovers quickly from kids, dogs, and foot traffic, and it loves Pooler's open lots. The tradeoff is that it needs more mowing and more feeding than the alternatives, and it will not tolerate shade as your trees mature.
A dense, carpet-like lawn that crowds out weeds and handles traffic well. It grows slowly, which means less mowing, but also slower recovery from damage and a higher install cost up front. It takes light shade better than Bermuda, which matters as a young yard fills in.
The low-maintenance option. It needs very little fertilizer, does well in sandy acidic soil, and asks for less mowing than Bermuda. It's not the right pick for a yard that takes a beating from kids and pets.
Thick, deep green, and the most shade-tolerant of the four. On a full-sun Pooler lot it's often more grass than you need, but it's the answer for lots with significant tree cover.
Pooler Landscaping FAQs
All of them. We work throughout Pooler, including Godley Station, Savannah Quarters and its surrounding neighborhoods, Forest Lakes, and the newer developments along Pooler Parkway and Jimmy DeLoach. We also serve Bloomingdale, Port Wentworth, Garden City, and Savannah. Not sure if we reach your street? Just ask.
Sometimes. If the problem is watering or mowing habits, that's an easy fix. If the sod was laid over compacted fill with no soil prep, patching it usually just delays the problem. We'll look at what's under the grass and tell you honestly whether you need repair or replacement - we'd rather do the job once.
Georgia's Water Stewardship Act limits landscape watering from public water systems to between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., year-round. Newly installed sod and plantings are exempt for their first 30 days, which is exactly when new grass needs water most. Drip irrigation, soaker hoses, hand-watering with a shut-off nozzle, and private well water are also exempt. Drought conditions can bring tighter rules, so check with the City of Pooler for what's currently in effect.
Yes. Plenty of Pooler neighborhoods have architectural or landscaping standards, and some require approval before hardscape, fencing, or major plantings. Let us know at the quote stage and we'll design something that fits the guidelines and give you what you need to submit.
Fall. Cooler weather lets roots establish over the winter months before summer heat hits, which gives new plantings a real head start. Warm-season sod is different - it goes in best in late spring through early summer, while the grass is actively growing.
Weekly during peak season for most lawns, especially Bermuda on a full-sun lot. Centipede and zoysia often do fine every other week, and everything slows down in the cooler months. As a rule, never take off more than a third of the blade in a single cut.
Once a year, usually in spring. Heat, humidity, and heavy rain break organic mulch down faster in coastal Georgia than in cooler climates. Two to three inches is enough, and keep it pulled back from stems, trunks, and your foundation. Decorative rock doesn't break down, but it benefits from periodic cleanup and weed control.
Possibly. The City of Pooler has its own tree and landscape requirements, separate from Savannah's, and some HOAs add their own rules on top. Check with Pooler's Planning and Development office before removing anything, especially trees the builder planted to satisfy landscape requirements.
