Backyard Design & Build in Charlestown, MA

Charlestown has some of the oldest, tightest, and most characterful yards in Boston — brick courtyards behind Federal and Greek Revival rowhouses, steep slivers of ground running up toward the Monument, and small terraces with a view of the harbor. American Elm Landscape designs and builds these yards from start to finish: one plan, one crew, with Allan on the job. If you've been looking for someone who actually understands a Charlestown lot — the grade, the access, the history next door — that's us.

A Charlestown yard is rarely a blank rectangle. The neighborhood climbs over Town Hill, Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill, so grade changes are the rule, not the exception. Streets are narrow, driveways are rare, and parking is famously tight. The reward for getting it right is a private outdoor room in one of the most beautiful historic neighborhoods in the country — and getting it right is what we do.

Charlestown yards: small, historic, and often on a slope

Most of the homes we work behind are 19th-century rowhouses — wood-frame and brick, Federal and Greek Revival, built shoulder to shoulder on streets like those around Monument Square, Cordis Street and Main Street. The yards behind them tend to be small, enclosed, and sloped, and many have no gate a machine can fit through. That's routine for us. Over 37 years in Greater Boston, tight historic lots are exactly the work we've built our name on.

In a small Charlestown yard, the design does most of the work:

• One or two materials — brick and bluestone sit right at home here — so the space reads as a single room, not a patchwork
• Steps and a low wall to turn a slope into level, usable ground
• Built-in seating and planters instead of bulky furniture
• Privacy placed where you actually sit, and lighting that makes the yard part of the evening

What we design and build in Charlestown

Backyard & courtyard design. A plan for the whole space, built around how you want to use it, tying hardscape, planting, privacy and lighting together.

Brick & bluestone patios and courtyards. Set on a properly compacted base so they stay flat and drain right. For patio-specific detail, see our Charlestown patio page.

Steps, walkways and retaining walls. The answer to Charlestown's hillside grades — safe steps between levels and walls that hold the slope back and create flat, usable space. See retaining walls.

Drainage. Allan is an NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor. On Charlestown's older, partly filled ground — especially toward the waterfront — keeping water moving away from the foundation matters. See yard drainage.

Planting & privacy. Shade-tolerant and native plantings and screening for close-quarters city yards. See backyard privacy for city yards.

Lighting. Low-voltage landscape lighting so a small yard works after dark and feels like part of the house.

Access and parking: we plan for it, not around it

This is where Charlestown jobs are won or lost. Narrow one-way streets, resident-permit parking, and no driveway mean materials often come in by hand or with compact equipment, and the crew has to stage carefully so your neighbors can still get by. We plan the access route at the first visit — where the truck sits, how the stone and pavers get to the back, where the spoils go — and we leave the street and the walk-through clean at the end of every day. Tight access can add to the labor on a job, and we'll tell you that up front rather than spring it on you.

Historic rules in Charlestown: what actually applies

Here's something many homeowners get wrong, and it's good news. Unlike Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the South End, Charlestown has no neighborhood-wide local historic district, so backyard work — a patio, a wall, a fence, planting — generally goes through standard City of Boston permitting rather than an exterior design-review board. Two things to know:

• The Charlestown Navy Yard has its own preservation review tied to its status in the Boston National Historical Park, so projects there follow those rules.
• A Monument Square Landmark District has been under study by the Boston Landmarks Commission since 2022. It isn't in force as a neighborhood-wide rule, but if you're right around the Monument, it's worth checking the current status.

We confirm exactly what applies to your address before we design, and we handle the permitting that a given project needs. For the wider picture, see our guide to patio and wall permits in Massachusetts.

Charlestown areas we work in

All across the neighborhood — City Square, Thompson Square, Monument Square, the Training Field (Winthrop Square), Town Hill, Main Street, and the Navy Yard, plus the residential streets climbing around Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. Not sure if you're in range? Ask; you very likely are.

How it works

Free design visit. We walk the yard with you, talk through how you'd like to use it, and check access, grade, drainage, sun and any rules specific to your spot.

Design and written estimate. You get a clear plan and a written estimate. No vague ballparks. If the budget calls for it, we can split the plan into phases.

We build it. One crew handles the base, drainage, hardscape, planting and lighting, with Allan overseeing the work.

You use it. We walk you through the finished yard and how to care for it.

Common questions

Do backyard projects in Charlestown need historic district approval?

In most of Charlestown, no. Unlike Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the South End, Charlestown has no neighborhood-wide local historic district, so a backyard patio, wall, fence or planting generally follows standard City of Boston permitting. Two exceptions: the Charlestown Navy Yard has its own preservation review tied to the National Historical Park, and a Monument Square landmark district has been under study since 2022. We confirm the current rules for your exact address before we design.

Can you build in a tiny rowhouse yard with no driveway?

Yes. Small rowhouse courtyards with no vehicle access are most of what we do here. We carry materials in by hand or use compact equipment, stage the work on narrow streets, and keep the block and your neighbors in mind the whole time.

My yard is on a slope near the hill. Can you make it usable?

That's one of our specialties. Steps and a retaining wall turn a steep, awkward grade near Bunker Hill or Town Hill into level, usable space, built on a proper base with drainage so it holds through our winters.

Do you handle drainage on wet Charlestown lots?

Yes. Allan is an NDS Certified Professional Drainage Contractor, and drainage is built into every yard we design. On the older, filled ground toward the waterfront, that matters even more.

What does a Charlestown backyard project cost?

It depends on size, materials, access and grade. For straight numbers, see What a Small Backyard Makeover Costs in Greater Boston. Every project gets a free written estimate after we've seen the yard.