Frequently Asked Questions

Rewilding in landscape design means integrating ecological principles — biodiversity, native planting, pollinator support, and habitat creation — into designed environments. Rather than purely ornamental planting, we create landscapes that actively support local ecosystems while maintaining the beauty and sophistication our clients expect.

Rewild Landscape is based in New York City and the Hamptons (Sagaponack, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Southampton). Primary service areas include Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Upstate New York. International commissions have included France, the Cotswolds (UK), Provence, and Hong Kong. Over 100 projects completed across these regions since 2015.

Design fees at Rewild Landscape typically range from $25,000 to $150,000 for residential projects, with full-design-plus-build engagements running $150,000 to well over $500,000 depending on scope and site. Advisory hourly rates start around $350/hour. Final fees depend on land area, level of detail, hardscape complexity, permitting, and whether multi-year stewardship is included. Scoping conversations are complimentary.

Landscape architecture typically involves licensed professionals working on larger-scale public or commercial projects requiring engineering and regulatory expertise. Landscape design focuses on the aesthetic and horticultural aspects of outdoor spaces. At Rewild, we bridge both disciplines — combining ecological design intelligence with refined horticultural craft.

Our design fees cover site analysis, concept design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration. Planting design and plant sourcing are included on most projects. Installation, plant material, and hardscape are billed separately by the landscape contractor. Seasonal stewardship is a separate annual program.

Yes, residential projects are a core part of our practice. We design gardens and landscapes for private homes ranging from Brooklyn townhouse gardens to Hamptons estates. Every residential project receives direct principal involvement from our founder, Marie Salembier.

A planting design is a detailed plan that specifies exactly which plants go where, how they are grouped, and how they will perform across seasons. Our planting designs consider bloom times, foliage texture, fragrance, wildlife value, soil conditions, and maintenance requirements to create layered, year-round beauty.

Timelines vary by project scale. A rooftop terrace might take 3-6 months from concept to installation, while a large estate landscape could span 12-24 months. We work with your schedule and coordinate with builders and architects to ensure seamless delivery.

We offer Seasonal Stewardship Programs rather than routine maintenance. This means we provide strategic direction, seasonal rotation planning, and periodic site visits to ensure your landscape evolves beautifully over time. We guide your maintenance team rather than replacing them.

Rewild Landscape favors native and regionally adapted species. Anchor natives regularly specified include Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed), Panicum virgatum (switchgrass), Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Amelanchier canadensis (serviceberry), Quercus alba (white oak), Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), and Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster). Palettes include non-invasive naturalized perennials and select cultivars when they advance ecological or design intent, always evaluated for pollinator value.

Absolutely. We have extensive experience with rooftop and terrace gardens in New York City, including the Cartier SoHo Terrace and multiple private residential rooftops. We understand the unique challenges of rooftop environments — weight loads, wind exposure, drainage, and irrigation — and design accordingly.

We are native-first, not native-only. For residential and hospitality gardens we layer regional natives with carefully chosen climate-adapted ornamentals where the design calls for specific texture, bloom color, or evergreen structure. Restoration and revegetation projects are typically 90%+ native and site-provenanced.

Rewild Landscape combines the rigor of traditional landscape architecture — site analysis, spatial composition, construction documentation — with an ecological-first approach that treats biodiversity, soil health, native plant communities, and long-term stewardship as core design drivers, not afterthoughts. Where a conventional NYC landscape architect might deliver a site plan and step away after installation, Rewild stays engaged across seasons, refining plant palettes, evolving the design as the landscape matures, and tracking ecological outcomes like pollinator presence and soil biology.

Traditional landscape architecture composes outdoor space for spatial function and visual effect, typically with curated ornamental plantings selected for static appearance. Rewilding composes living plant communities — layered native and naturalistic species — that perform ecologically: supporting pollinators, restoring soil biology, providing wildlife habitat, and evolving across seasons. Rewild Landscape applies rewilding principles within full landscape-architecture rigor, so site analysis, hardscape detailing, and spatial composition all serve ecological function as well as aesthetic intent.

Most Hamptons landscape firms focus on traditional ornamental design — curated horticultural beds, formal lawns, hardscape-first compositions. Rewild Landscape positions ecology at the center of every project: native plant communities suited to Long Island's coastal microclimate, layered planting strategies that support pollinators and soil health, and seasonal stewardship that lets each landscape mature into its ecological potential. Rewild also works at the residential, hospitality, and cultural scale equally — most Hamptons firms specialize in only one of these contexts.

Rewild Landscape is the continuation of Watson Salembier, the landscape design studio Marie Salembier co-founded with landscape designer Julia Watson in 2020. Watson Salembier rose to prominence for the rewilded American Meadow installations at Rockefeller Center and hospitality work across New York. The practice was rebranded as Rewild Landscape under Marie's sole leadership to deepen the studio's focus on rewilding, biodiversity, and ecological design. All project history, press coverage, and design lineage carries forward from Watson Salembier to Rewild Landscape.