Kennebunk’s coastal light, salt-tinged air, and four honest seasons give local yards a character you won’t find anywhere else in New England. Over time, Kennebunk landscaping styles have shifted from tidy, Colonial-inspired plantings to more contemporary, low-maintenance, eco-forward designs. If you’re weighing whether to keep a classic look or lean modern, here’s how the two approaches compare, grounded in Maine-specific horticulture and local considerations.

What “Traditional” Means in Kennebunk

When people talk about traditional landscaping in Kennebunk, they usually picture symmetry, straight walks, tidy hedges, and heritage plants that suit an antique Cape or Federal home. Think boxwood structure, hydrangeas for summer drama, lilacs by the door, and gravel or brick for paths and aprons.

That Colonial/Colonial-Revival vocabulary has deep New England roots and still looks right at home along our historic corridors. (For a taste of the region’s Colonial-Revival garden language, see examples from New England heritage properties and landscape history write-ups.)

Traditional planting palettes in southern coastal Maine also work because they respect our climate realities. Plant choice starts with hardiness zones: Kennebunk sits around USDA Zones 5b–6a in the updated 2023 map, which nudged many places a half-zone warmer than a decade ago. That opens options for certain borderline perennials and shrubs, so long as they still tolerate coastal conditions.

Climate & Site: Why Maine-Specific Guidance Matters

Whether you go classic or modern, design lives or dies by right-plant/right-place. University of Maine Cooperative Extension maintains accessible, practical guidance on plants that thrive statewide (and which invasives to avoid), plus how to interpret the USDA hardiness zones that guide your selections. If you’re planning beds, hedges, or a shorefront buffer, start here.

Coastal properties introduce extra variables: wind, salt spray, sandy or shallow soils, and, for bluff-side homes, erosion risks. Several Maine coastal guides recommend salt-tolerant natives and “living shoreline” vegetation where appropriate, both for beauty and for stability.

Local Rules & Good Citizenship

Design also touches policy. Kennebunk’s zoning, tree, and community garden guidelines won’t dictate your perennial border, but they signal the town’s priorities, tree protection, sensible planting, and neighborhood stewardship. Before major changes, it’s smart to peek at the Kennebunk Zoning Ordinance and the Tree Ordinance. Waterfront or near-water projects may involve buffers, stormwater, or DEP best practices such as vegetated strips and low-impact development (LID) features like rain gardens or permeable surfaces.

Rain gardens sized and planted for your soil can slow and filter roof and driveway runoff while adding seasonal color, exactly the kind of “pretty-with-purpose” feature that fits both older homes and modern landscapes.

Traditional Kennebunk: The Case for Classic

Pros

• Timeless curb appeal. Symmetry, hedging, and orderly beds harmonize with historic architecture and neighborhoods.
  
  
• Four-season structure. Evergreens and woody shrubs (boxwood, inkberry holly, yew) deliver year-round form against snow and gray skies.
  
  
• Local plant heritage. Many traditional picks overlap with hardy natives or long-adapted classics, making maintenance predictable.
  
  

Design cues

• Framed entries (simple picket or field-stone walls, brick or gravel walks).
  
  
• Layered borders: spring bulbs, summer hydrangeas/phlox, fall asters, winter structure.
  
  
• Clipped hedging with a looser, pollinator-friendly inner layer so the garden isn’t all “haircut,” no habitat.
  
  

Watch-outs

A purely formal garden can turn into high-maintenance (frequent pruning, irrigation for non-native prima donnas). When in doubt, blend structure with tough, Maine-appropriate plants from Cooperative Extension lists.

Contemporary Kennebunk: Clean Lines, Climate-Smart Moves

Contemporary coastal Maine landscapes aim for clarity, ecology, and lower upkeep, without feeling sterile. Expect open lawns scaled down to what you actually use, native/meadow-style plantings, and hardscapes that manage water instead of shedding it.

Core ideas

• Right-sized lawn + native layers. Replace seldom-used turf with beds that mix shrubs, grasses, and perennials for four-season texture and pollinator value. (Native plantings support local ecology and tend to handle Maine’s site stresses better.)
• Permeable and practical. Use permeable pavers or gravel for drives/walks where feasible, direct roof leaders to rain gardens, and keep vegetated buffer strips near water. These LID moves are widely recommended in Maine guidance.
• Materials that weather well. Untreated granite, cedar, steel edging, and simple lighting read modern but stay honest to New England.
• Plant for the 2023 zone reality. A zone 6a pocket lets you trial slightly less hardy selections, but anchor the design with proven coastal-tolerant species.
  
  

Look & feel

• Broad, simple shapes (a single, wide bluestone walk vs. a winding narrow path).
  
  
• Repetition of grasses and shrubs for rhythm, punctuated by seasonal perennials.
  
  
• Multi-functional spaces: a compact patio, a gravel fire-pad that doubles as overflow parking, a kitchen-garden strip close to the door.
  
  

Where Traditional and Contemporary Overlap (Beautifully)

The best Kennebunk landscapes often blend eras: a classic front elevation that respects the home’s lines, paired with an updated, ecological backyard. Mix a clipped front hedge with a looser pollinator border inside it. Keep the brick walk, but drain it into a rain garden tucked near the downspout. Edge the lawn crisply, then let a native meadow or shrub island take the wind off the house. These are not only good design moves; they track with Maine guidance on stormwater, buffers, and native planting.

Planting Notes for Coastal Kennebunk

• Start with site reading. Sun, wind, salt exposure, soil texture (sandy? compacted?), and drainage. Coastal guides emphasize salt and wind tolerance on exposed sites and root strength where slopes or bluffs are present.
  
  
• Build resilient layers. A shrub/grass backbone (inkberry, bayberry, rugosa rose, little bluestem, switchgrass) with perennials for color. Use Extension bulletins to cross-check natives and avoid invasives.
  
  
• Mind the zones. The 2023 map’s local shift can expand choices, but winter extremes still happen; anchor with dependable Zone 5b–6a performers and site them for wind and drainage.
  
  

Hardscape & Water: Do the Smart Things Once

Kennebunk sees freeze–thaw cycles, nor’easters, and heavy downpours. That means base prep, pitch, and drainage aren’t optional. Maine’s stormwater and LID manuals keep stressing the same themes: slow it, spread it, sink it (on your property), and protect vegetated buffers where they matter. Even small choices, like a permeable apron at the garage or a shallow swale along a drive, can prevent rutting and ice issues while keeping runoff out of the street.

Putting It All Together: Sample Scenarios

• Historic in front, habitat in back. Maintain your symmetrical front beds and brick walk for that Kennebunk postcard look. In the back, carve out a bluestone terrace with crushed-stone joints, add a native shrub border to block wind, and seed a small meadow strip where the sprinkler never reaches. Add a discreet rain garden near the downspouts. It reads traditional from the curb, contemporary from the deck, and it tracks with Maine water-wise guidance.
• New build with coastal exposure. Keep the forms simple (rectilinear patios, straight walks) and specify salt-tolerant natives and tough ornamentals. Use a permeable drive, plant a windbreak island, and rely on ornamental grasses for movement. Confirm your choices against the 2023 hardiness map and UMaine lists before ordering.

How to Choose Your Direction

Ask three questions:

1. What story does the house tell? A shingled Cape may deserve a classic face even if the backyard goes modern.
   
   
2. How much maintenance is reasonable? If time is tight, scale the lawn down and lean on native layers. UMaine’s resources are gold for low-input choices.
   
   
3. Where will water go? Maine guidance is consistent: integrate infiltration and buffers. It’s easier to design in permeable surfaces and rain gardens now than to retrofit later.
   
   

Ready to Refresh Your Kennebunk Landscape?

Whether you favor crisp traditional structure, clean contemporary lines, or a blend of both, you don’t have to choose between beauty and resilience. One Mow Co. designs, installs, and maintains landscapes that fit Kennebunk’s homes, climate, and coastal realities, from heritage gardens to modern, low-maintenance yards with smart drainage and native plant layers.

Let’s walk your property and map a plan you’ll love year-round.  Book a consultation with One Mow Co.