A few years after starting CLC Landscape Design, Rich Cording Sr. put down on paper the core values he wanted his entire staff to adhere to, which would ultimately help turn it into one of the premier design-build firms of its kind in the region. At the top of the list were service, knowledge and honesty, because Cording wanted to be customer-oriented and transparent on every project.

Fourth on the list, but just as important to the company's tremendous success over the ensuing decades, was synergy, particularly during the design phase that sets the tone for each and every job. To this day, collaboration behind the scenes helps CLC stand apart from its competitors, and the great ideas that come from open dialogue leading to stunning outdoor living spaces. "When you work together, you're always going to come up with something bigger and better than one person could do alone," Cording says. "I cannot do what we do by myself. There's no right or wrong in our company—everybody throws ideas out there and everybody feels safe to say whatever they want to say."

Cording is a licensed landscape architect with 50 years of experience, and his team includes eight other employees with similar certification. He oversees design, while his son Rich Jr. manages the construction side of the business and his son Eric is in charge of sales. All three will give input into each project, such as the one featured on this page, in which Eric suggested the removal of a tennis court in favor of a large putting green, Rich Jr. recommended a beautiful Norwegian buff stone for the patio and Rich Sr. designed a breathtaking water feature. "A synthesis of ideas is always better than just one person having to come up with everything," Cording says. "We believe that if you want a great landscape, it starts with great ideas."

CLC Landscape Design
Ringwood, N.J.
(973) 839-6026
CLCDesign.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 23, Issue 9 (July 2023).
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