Morristown, New Jersey

Landscaping and Personal Gardener Services in Morristown, NJ

I’m Russel Gebhard — sole operator, and the person who both quotes your job and does it. Since 1987 I’ve looked after gardens across Morris County, including the shaded, canopy-covered properties that make Morristown its own kind of planting problem.

Morris County since 1987

Nearly four decades caring for gardens in this county.

One gardener, start to finish

Russel is the sole operator and handles every detail himself.

Licensed pesticide application

Eco-friendly treatment, applied in person.

Free estimates

Call (973) 985-2369 or send the form. No cost, no obligation.

Gardening in Morristown

Landscaping in Morristown starts with knowing which trees you own

Most Morristown properties sit under an established canopy, and that single fact drives nearly every planting decision. The Shade Tree Commission manages street and ornamental trees on public property under Chapter 17 of the Town Code, so the light budget on your beds is set by trees you do not control and cannot prune yourself.

So a plan that works here is one built for the light that is actually there. Shade-tolerant underplanting, species chosen for a canopy that thickens each year, and beds positioned around root zones rather than through them. Morristown is one of the Morris County towns I work across, and it is the one where getting the light budget wrong is most expensive.

The first visit is a walk around the property rather than a quote over the phone. Two beds on the same street can sit in completely different light depending on what is overhead, and that gap decides whether a planting plan holds up past its second season.

Where Morristown sits

A short drive from Mount Arlington

The business is based at 109 Ondish Ct in Mount Arlington, about twenty minutes from Morristown. That covers the town centre, the residential streets off South Street and Madison Avenue, and the properties bordering the Loantaka and Patriots’ Path green space.

What I do

Garden and landscaping services in Morristown

Eight services, all carried out personally. Most Morristown properties need two or three of them working together, and part of the free estimate is telling you which ones you actually need rather than selling you all of them.

Planting plans for shaded Morristown lots

Custom planting plans built around your property’s light, soil and how you use the space. In Morristown the light budget is usually set by trees you don’t control, so plans are made to work with the canopy that’s actually there rather than the one you wish you had.

Mulching under a mature Morristown canopy

Mulch holds moisture through a dry August, moderates soil temperature and suppresses weeds. Under a mature Morristown canopy it does one more job: it keeps a bed workable through the leaf load that comes off town-owned street trees every October. Weeding is done by hand around plantings so nothing worth keeping gets pulled with it.

Shrub trimming on established Morristown gardens

Trimming timed and cut to encourage healthy growth rather than just reduce size. Worth knowing where the line falls: the Shade Tree Commission regulates trees and shrubbery on public property, so the street tree is the town’s. Everything inside your property line I shape myself, cutting to open air circulation through the plant, which is the best defense against the fungal problems that follow a humid New Jersey summer.

Overgrowth removal on older Morristown properties

Careful clearing of overgrowth, invasives and shrubs that have outgrown their spot. Worth knowing: New Jersey required every municipality to adopt a tree removal and replacement ordinance by May 2024, and it applies to private property. Removals get checked against the rules before anything is cut.

Seasonal cleanups and Morristown's October leaf load

A spring cleanup in Morristown clears winter debris, cuts back perennials and opens beds before growth starts. Fall is the heavier half in Morristown, because a street canopy the town plants and maintains drops a volume most properties underestimate. Leaves handled, crowns and roots protected ahead of the freeze, and the garden left in a state that makes spring far less work.

Targeted licensed treatment in Morristown

Licensed treatment applied in person and targeted at the actual problem rather than sprayed across the property. Eco-friendly options are available. Say so when you call and the plan is built around it.

What gardens face here

Three things that shape a Morristown garden

Every town in Morris County has its own conditions, and a planting plan that ignores them disappoints you inside a season or two. These three come up on nearly every Morristown property, and all three are things the town itself sets rather than the homeowner.

Morristown's street tree canopy and Chapter 17

The Shade Tree Commission regulates the planting and care of shade and ornamental trees and shrubbery on public property under Chapter 17 of the Town Code. In practice, the tree setting your front bed’s light budget is the town’s, and a bed built for four hours of dappled light is a completely different growing environment from one in open sun. Sun-loving perennials planted there stretch, flower poorly and give up. The fix is not more fertilizer, it’s choosing plants that want those conditions. Hellebores, ferns, astilbe, hosta and heuchera all perform in real shade and look deliberate rather than compromised.

Morristown's spring and fall tree planting program

Morristown runs both a spring and a fall tree planting program, with species chosen by a consulting arborist, which is worth matching with native plants in your own beds as site-appropriate, weighing hardiness and species diversity across the town’s forest. That’s good management, but it means the canopy over your property is a moving target. A tree comes down, a bed that has been in shade for twenty years is suddenly in sun, and a planting designed around the old conditions cooks. I plan beds with that in mind and stage them so a change in light is a pruning problem rather than a replanting bill.

Morristown's invasive species ordinance update

In February 2026 the Shade Tree Commission proposed an update to the town’s invasive species ordinance, and separately New Jersey required every municipality to adopt a tree removal and replacement ordinance by May 2024, covering private property as well as public. If your property has bamboo, knotweed or a wall of tangled vine, clearing it is no longer purely a question of taste. It’s worth checking what the current rules say before work starts, which is part of what I do on the site visit.

The Morristown gardening year

What a Morristown garden needs, season by season

Timing matters as much as technique. This is roughly how the year runs on the properties I look after in and around Morristown.

Spring under the canopy, March to May

Cleanup first. Winter debris off, perennials cut back, beds opened before growth gets going, then edging, fresh mulch and any structural pruning that has to happen before leaf-out. This is also when Morristown runs its spring planting program, so the light reaching your beds can change in the same season. Tender planting waits for the frost risk to pass, which here means the back half of May, not the first warm weekend in April.

Summer in the shade, June to August

Maintenance season. Weeding before anything sets seed, deadheading to keep perennials flowering, watering guidance so beds get a deep soak rather than a daily sprinkle, and watching for the fungal and insect problems that arrive with humidity. Light shaping of shrubs happens now. Hard pruning does not, because growth pushed out late in summer won’t harden off in time.

Fall and the October leaf load

The most valuable season of the four and the one most often skipped. Fall is the best window for planting shrubs and perennials, because roots establish in warm soil while the top winds down, and it is when the town runs its second planting program of the year. Then cleanup, which under a mature Morristown canopy means real leaf volume: beds cut back where it helps, left standing where it shelters wildlife, and protection in place before the ground freezes.

Winter, and Chapter 17 planning time

Quiet, but not empty. Dormant pruning on the right species is easier and far more accurate with the leaves off. Structural problems in a garden are visible now in a way they never are in July. And it’s the sensible time to plan a redesign for spring, so the work is booked before the season fills up.

Book a free estimate in Morristown

Free estimate, no obligation, and you’ll be talking to the person who does the work.

Before you call

Frequently asked questions

Do you work in Morristown?

Yes. Morristown is one of the towns I serve across Morris County, along with Denville, Parsippany, Rockaway and the surrounding area. The business is based in Mount Arlington, a short drive out, so scheduling a visit is rarely a problem.

Who actually does the work?

Russel Gebhard, personally. He is the owner and sole operator and handles every detail himself, from planning through to execution. There are no subcontractors, no rotating crews and no handoff between the person who quotes the job and the person who does it.

Can you prune the tree in front of my house?

Often not, and it’s worth knowing why. The Town of Morristown owns and maintains most trees planted between the curb and the sidewalk, and on streets without a curb or sidewalk there is still a town right of way that may contain town trees. Trees on county roads belong to Morris County. For anything in that category the town’s Department of Public Works is the right call. Everything inside your property line I can handle.

My beds get almost no sun. Is there anything worth planting?

Plenty. Shade is a growing condition, not a problem to be fixed. Hellebores, ferns, astilbe, hosta and heuchera all perform well in genuine shade and can be composed into something that reads as designed rather than as a compromise. What doesn’t work is planting sun-lovers in shade and trying to feed them out of it.

I want to clear out some overgrowth. Is there anything I should check first?

Yes. New Jersey required every municipality to adopt a tree removal and replacement ordinance by May 2024, and it applies to private property as well as public. Morristown’s Shade Tree Commission also proposed an update to the town’s invasive species ordinance in February 2026. I check what applies before anything comes out, so a cleanup doesn’t turn into a replacement obligation you weren’t expecting.

How often should a garden be visited?

It depends on the size of the garden and how much planting there is. As a general rule, regular upkeep at least monthly keeps a garden in good order, with more frequent visits through the peak growing season. Some properties only need the two seasonal cleanups done properly.

Are eco-friendly or pet-safe treatments available?

Yes. Pesticide application is licensed and eco-friendly options are available. Mention it when you call and the treatment plan is built around it.

How do I get a quote or book a consultation?

Call (973) 985-2369 or complete the contact form. Estimates are free and there is no obligation to book. Most jobs can be scoped from a short conversation and a walk around the property.

Services in Morristown

Nearby towns we serve

Denville
Randolph
Parsippany
Rockaway
Roxbury
Chatham
Mount Arlington

Get in touch

Contact Gebhard Horticulture & Design

Gebhard Horticulture & Design
109 Ondish Ct, Mount Arlington, NJ 07856

Phone: (973) 985-2369
Email: rbgebhard@optonline.net

Hours:
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm
Closed weekends

Serving Morristown and the surrounding Morris County communities.

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