East Texas landscapes fail in predictable ways: the wrong plant in the wrong sun, beds that wash in the first gully-washer, mulch volcanoes around trunks, and color that quits by July. Mora Property Service designs and installs landscapes for how this region actually behaves — acid sandy loam and red clay, pine shade and brutal August sun — and has done it for more than 30 years. For beds, plantings, and outdoor spaces that mature instead of merely survive, call 903-279-1868.

What design and installation covers

Landscape design.Scaled plans for the whole property or a single problem area: bed lines, plant palettes, focal points, and phasing so the work can happen in stages. Designs respect mature size, sun patterns, and drainage — no ten-foot shrubs under three-foot windows.

Plant selection and installation. Proven East Texas performers — natives and adapted varieties that handle heat, clay, and shade — planted at the right depth with amended backfill and mulch rings. Privacy plantings, foundation beds, and specimen trees sized to the space they will fill.

Mulch and bed care. Proper depth, kept off trunks and siding, with bed edges re-cut so mulch stays where it belongs. Seasonal refresh keeps beds insulated and weed pressure down.

Seasonal color. Rotation plantings for spring and fall impact in high-visibility beds and entries, chosen for heat tolerance and bloom duration rather than greenhouse looks.

Privacy plantings and screens. Layered evergreen screens for fence lines, road noise, and neighboring windows — planned for mature height so they screen without swallowing the yard.

Erosion control. Slopes and washouts planted and armored with the right combination of grading, groundcover, and edging so soil stays during storm season. Structural slopes pair with our hardscape crew for walls and drainage.

How installations run

Every project starts on site, not on paper: sun mapping, drainage reads, soil feel, and how you actually use the yard. Planting days are sequenced — prep, soil work, planting, mulch, water-in — and every plant leaves with a watering plan through establishment. Commercial sites get phased installs that keep entries open; see commercial property service.

Plants and seasons in East Texas

Acid sandy loam suits azaleas, camellias, and pines; red clay demands amended planting holes and plants that tolerate wet winters and baked summers. Crape myrtles earn their reputation but must be thinned, never topped. Fall is prime planting season for roots; spring is for color and warm-season installs; summer installs survive only with disciplined watering. Pine needle litter is free mulch for acid-loving beds — raked where it falls, used where it helps.

Beds that survive August

East Texas August kills landscapes designed for April. The survivors share traits: deep infrequent watering that trains roots down, three inches of mulch that never touches a trunk, drip lines under the mulch instead of sprinklers over it, and plant palettes weighted toward heat-tested performers — lantana, salvia, natchez crape myrtle, dwarf yaupon, muhly grass — with thirsty accents grouped on their own zone. Our irrigation crew zones beds separately from turf for exactly this reason, and establishment watering tapers on a written schedule instead of ending the day we leave. Design for the worst month and the other eleven take care of themselves.

Commercial landscape

Entries, beds, and color programs for retail, medical, office, and HOA properties run on contract: install once, maintain on schedule, refresh color by season. Full scope under commercial property service.

Drainage-first design

Every East Texas landscape plan starts with water because water starts every failure: roof valleys that dump into beds, slopes that sheet across walks, clay that ponds for days. Design reads the flow first — where water lands, where it runs, where it sits — then grades, berms, swales, and drains route it before a single plant goes in. Dry creek beds turn necessary channels into features; French drains hide under lawn edges; downspout extensions disappear into mulched runs. Planting into undrained ground is decorating a problem. Drainage work pairs with grading and wall construction from our hardscape crew where slopes need structure, not just plants.

Phasing across seasons

Few properties need everything at once, and phasing keeps budgets sane: bones first (drainage, walls, trees, irrigation backbone), then beds and privacy screens in fall planting season, then color and finishing touches in spring. Each phase stands alone and looks complete, so a pause between phases never looks half-done. Commercial sites phase around business hours and tenant impact; residential around family calendars and weather windows. The master plan shows all phases from day one, so phase three never rips out phase one.

Service areas

Design and install crews work across 19 East Texas counties. Find your community below for local landscaping pages:

Landscaping questions we hear

What plants actually survive East Texas?

Proven natives and adapted varieties matched to your sun, soil, and drainage — we plant for mature size and water needs, not nursery looks.

When should I plant?

Fall for trees, shrubs, and perennials so roots establish over winter; spring for warm-season color and turf-adjacent work; summer only with a real watering plan.

Can you fix washing beds?

Yes — regrading, edging, groundcover, and mulch depth fix most washouts; structural slopes get hardscape walls and drainage.

Do you maintain what you install?

Yes. Installs roll into seasonal bed care and color rotations so the design matures instead of declining.

What does landscaping cost?

Beds price by prep, plant size, and access; walls and drainage by footage and depth. Phased plans let you approve stage one now with later stages priced and waiting — most residential projects land in stages, not all at once.

Will deer eat everything?

In rural corridors, pressure is real. We weight palettes toward deer-resistant performers, concentrate vulnerable color near the house, and say plainly where repellents or exclusion are the honest answer.

Start with a walk

Design starts with a site walk — sun, soil, drainage, and how you live in the yard — then a scaled plan with phased pricing. Call 903-279-1868 or request a quote — most jobs schedule within the week they are accepted.

Mora Property Service, 3557 Hwy 135 N, Jacksonville, TX 75766. Mon–Sat 7:30–6:00.

903-279-1868

Landscape Design & Installation in East Texas