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Search "landscape design" in the Portsmouth, NH area long enough and Scott McDermott and Jessica Engle's name keeps turning up next to an award — their Coastal Pollinator Garden took New Hampshire Home magazine's 2026 Outdoor Garden Design prize, and in December 2025 the APLD Virtual Chapter named the firm among its International Landscape Design Awards bronze winners. McDermott Landscape Design describes itself as a boutique studio, founded by Scott McDermott with his wife and business partner, Jessica Engle, built around personalized residential garden design using natural materials and flowering perennials. Scott has worked as a professional gardener since 2008, according to a 2026 New Hampshire Home profile of him; Jessica also co-founded Fleurish, a separate garden consulting practice, alongside running the design studio with Scott. Scott is a professional member of APLD, the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. The reviews back up the recognition. Google shows a 5-star average across 11 ratings and Houzz a perfect 5.0 across 3, and the written accounts are specific rather than generic. In a 2024 review, a client called Jess "incredibly responsive" by email "any day of the week" and noted she came back on-site just to map out the landscape beds for the planting crew. An earlier 2022 review described Scott and Jess hand-selecting plant species together at the nursery, showing up for delivery, and replacing anything that didn't meet their standards — then following up multiple times to check on how the plantings took. There's nothing in the written record here to flag before calling — every review on file, from 2022 through 2024, is five stars and describes the same pattern: attentive communication and hands-on follow-through on the actual planting, not just the design on paper. McDermott Landscape Design looks like the right call for a homeowner planning a serious garden or landscape design project — new construction, a multi-phase property overhaul, or a design that leans on natural materials and native planting — rather than routine lawn maintenance. Given the award recognition and the studio's own emphasis on being hands-on, it's worth asking directly about current project timelines and whether a given job fits their scale of work.
Typical Greater Boston range for this kind of work, from regional averages — not a quote from McDermott Landscape Design. Use it to sanity-check bids, then get the real number in writing.
Estimated range
$50 – $70
Typical landscaping service around $60
“2026 Outdoor Design (Garden Design) Winner: Coastal Pollinator Garden”
“Scott McDermott has worked as a professional gardener since 2008. His work reflects a deep commitment to horticulture, craftsmanship and place-based design.”
“Jessica is founder of Fleurish and co-owner of McDermott Landscape Design based in Portsmouth, NH.”
“✨ Scott McDermott — McDermott Landscape Design (@mcdermottlandscapedesign) ... • Residential #2”
I’m thrilled with the landscape design! Jess effortlessly captured my vision and was incredibly responsive to all my emails, any day of the week. She provided detailed answers to my questions both online and in person, and even came back to map out the landscape beds for my planting crew. Their professionalism and dedication made the process smooth and enjoyable. Highly recommend!
McDermott Landscape Design is the best company I have ever worked with without exaggeration. Scott and Jess are a perfect tag team. They are attentive, kind, professional, and diligent along each step of the engagement. This was the smoothest, most enjoyable home project I have ever embarked upon. I loved nerding out with them about native plants and my plant wishlist to create my own personal botanical garden and expand my veggie garden. They work with likewise kind, professional, and excellent quality companies to during the landscape+ installation. They are communicative, worked hard to source some very difficult to find medicinal herbs, and followed up to make sure the vision came to fruition. I am so in love with my new garden spaces and so deeply grateful to Scott and Jess for everything they did. I'm already saving up for a backyard redesign!
There are landscaping companies, and then there is McDermott Landscape Design. I have never contracted with a company that is higher quality, more reliable, more responsive, and more pleasant to work with. Scott and his team designed and executed a several phase landscape strategy for my new construction home and at every point in the process, I was always exceptionally happy with the results. Always communicating, I knew from the start I was in great hands and I am so pleased with the outcome of my property. You have to experience working with McDermott Landscape Design to truly appreciate how they operate and how beautiful they can make your property look!
I reached out to McDermott Landscape Design for help with landscaping and a driveway concept. Jess was quick to respond and it became clear right away that she has deep and impressive expertise in this space. In addition to her professionalism, two things stood out to me throughout the process of working together: 1) Sincere passion and a real love for the work, which made the whole experience feel more personal and collaborative, and 2) Consistently prompt and thorough communication, which made everything easier, clearer, and more efficient. Communication is always the most important thing to me, no matter who I'm working with, and McDermott Landscape Design really sets the bar higher in this area. I couldn't be happier with the overall experience, and we now have a driveway design that is both functional and beautiful. I would absolutely recommend McDermott and look forward to working with them again.
Easy choice … the duo of Jess and Scott McDermott delivers double value - two sets of eyes/ears and perspectives. They really listened to what we wanted. They offered options, rationale and clear communications- no jargon. They collaborated well with our builder and landscaping install team. They hand-selected species at the nursery, they were onsite for delivery and even replaced what did not meet their standards. They followed-up multiple times and came back on-site to check on growth. I will add pics after young plantings bloom. HIGHLY recommend with no reservation.
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Certified attributes are verified against the public registry. Others are the business's own statement.
2 changes recorded — last scanned Sep 11, 2026.
Detailed craftsmanship5.0
Responsive communication5.0
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