One firm. One vision. One crew.
Cairn & Cedar is a Burlington landscape design-build firm where the registered architect who draws the plan walks the site the morning we lay the first course of stone. Founded on a simple thesis: design and build belong in the same shop.
— Why we started
Most landscape projects fail at the handoff.
Cairn & Cedar exists because the conventional landscape industry separates design from build, and most of the project failures we’d seen in our previous careers happened at that handoff. We built a firm where the handoff doesn’t exist.
Designer disappears after the PDF.
Drawings handed off to a contractor who has never met the designer. Build crew makes 200 small decisions without the design intent in the room. Result diverges from drawing.
Quote isn’t a quote.
‘Estimate’ presented as a quote. ‘While we’re here we found…’ charges arrive monthly. Original number bears no relation to final invoice.
Build crew works around the design.
Plant locations adjusted because ‘easier here.’ Wall heights compromised because ‘looks fine.’ Material substitutions made silently.
Punch list never closes.
Crew leaves at 95% complete. Final 5% drags on for months. Owner stops calling, accepts the unfinished state.
— The firm, by the numbers
— What we believe
Three pillars, every project, no exceptions.
We don’t market ‘sustainable’ or ‘innovative’ — we apply specific principles, every time, on every project.
Designed once. Built right.
One firm. One vision. One crew. The architect who draws the plan walks the site the day we lay the first course of stone — no telephone game between designer and builder. The plan you approve is the plan we build.
Native. Regenerative. Durable.
Plants chosen for zone 4b, our soil, our pollinators. Stone quarried within 60 miles. Naturally rot-resistant cedar. Frost-line footings at 48″. Construction methods that survive Vermont winters — because we live through them too.
Quote it. Then build to it.
Fixed scope. Fixed price. Change orders signed before a single shovel moves. No ‘while we’re here we found…’ upcharges. The number on the contract is the number on the invoice.
What we don’t do
We don’t do mow-and-blow lawn maintenance. We don’t do residential snow plowing. We don’t subcontract design. We don’t subcontract construction. We don’t use Pennsylvania bluestone. We don’t stain cedar. We don’t pretend to be cheap.
What we do well
Master plans. Hardscape (stone walls, patios, walkways, retaining systems). Cedar structures (pergolas, pavilions, fences, gates). Pool surrounds. Naturalistic ponds and water features. Native planting plans for zone 4b.
— The Cairn & Cedar Method
Four steps, every project.
Whether the project is a $25K stone wall or a $400K full estate master plan, the Method stays the same.
Site visit
Two-hour walk with the architect.
Design
Hand-drawn schematic, then full construction documents.
Quote
Fixed-price proposal, line-itemed by trade.
Build
Our in-house crew, on site every working day.
— Recent work
Three recent projects.
Lakefront master plan, 240 ft of dry-laid wall.
Three terraced rooms framed by stone wall and cedar pavilion.
Read project →
Seven dry-stone-walled terraces.
North-facing slope re-graded into seven terraced garden rooms.
Read project →
Bluestone courtyard with cedar screen.
1,400 sq ft contemporary courtyard with reflecting pool.
Read project →— About the firm
What clients want to know about us.
How big is the firm?
Small enough that the architect leads every project; big enough to have an in-house crew. Operations are intentionally lean — we’d rather take 15 projects a year and do them right than 50 a year and lose track.
Where are you based?
Burlington, Vermont. Our shop and crew are in Chittenden County. We service all of Chittenden County and select work in surrounding counties (Addison, Lamoille, Franklin, Washington, Grand Isle).
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Our principal is a Vermont-registered landscape architect. We carry general liability and workers’ compensation insurance. Verifiable; we’ll provide certificates of insurance to any client on request.
What’s the firm philosophy on technology?
We use technology where it helps (CAD for construction documents, project management software for scheduling, weekly photo updates to clients). We don’t use technology where it hurts (we draw schematic designs by hand on tracing paper; we don’t do hyperreal CGI renderings; we don’t use AI to write our copy).
Do you do work outside Vermont?
Rarely. Our supply chain, crew, and design language are tuned for Vermont. We’ve done a few projects in eastern New York and northern Massachusetts on request, but the cost premium for that distance is significant.
How do you price?
Fixed price after design phase. Order-of-magnitude budget at site visit; refined estimate at scope-of-work; firm fixed price at design completion. We don’t bid against other firms on a single quote — clients hire us for the Method, not for being the cheapest number.