Featured Project: Perpetual Bloom at Makoto in South Portland
When a restaurant’s design is rooted in restraint, craft, and natural beauty, every detail matters. At Makoto, the new Japanese grill and sushi restaurant in South Portland from Yosaku owners chef Rattanak Tray and Hope MacVane-Tray, the exterior and interior planting design needed to do more than decorate the space. It needed to quietly support the atmosphere of the renovation.
Located at 448 Cottage Road in the former Elsmere BBQ building, Makoto brings a refined, seasonally driven dining experience to South Portland, with a menu centered on wood-fired dishes, sushi, and an intimate service model.
For this featured project, Perpetual Bloom helped transform Makoto’s exterior and interior spaces with a plant and garden design that complements the restaurant’s Japanese tones: simplicity, balance, natural materials, and a deep respect for form.
A Garden Language of Simplicity and Intention
Japanese-inspired design often relies on what is left unsaid. Rather than filling every corner, the most effective spaces allow materials, plants, and negative space to breathe. At Makoto, Perpetual Bloom approached the garden and plant design with that same sense of restraint.
The plantings were selected and placed to support the architecture rather than compete with it. The result is a landscape that feels calm, intentional, and grounded. Soft foliage, sculptural trees, evergreen structure, seasonal bloom, stone, wood, and water all work together to create a quiet transition from the street into the dining experience.
This approach reflects Perpetual Bloom’s broader design philosophy: creating gardens that feel like a natural extension of the home, business, or surrounding landscape, with thoughtful planning, resilient plant choices, and long-term vitality in mind.
Before
After
Natural Elements That Echo the Renovation
The renovation at Makoto introduced a refined exterior presence, and the garden design helps soften and deepen that transformation. Stone, wood, evergreen structure, and seasonal bloom create a living frame around the building.
Rather than relying on bold color or ornamental excess, the design emphasizes texture, silhouette, and material harmony. The garden becomes part of the restaurant’s identity: understated, welcoming, and connected to nature.
Inside, the plant design continues that feeling. Interior plantings bring life and warmth into the space while maintaining the same sense of simplicity found outdoors. The greenery adds softness to the built environment and helps connect the dining room to the garden beyond.
Craftsmanship at the Entrance: Bench and Stone Fountain
One of the defining features of the project is the custom work created by Tim Lessard, including the custom bench and the stone fountain at the front of the restaurant.
These elements give the entry a sense of permanence and craft. The bench offers a moment of pause, while the stone fountain introduces movement, sound, and reflection. Together, they create an arrival experience that feels grounded and intentional.
The fountain is especially important to the overall composition. Water brings a subtle sensory layer to the entrance, reinforcing the Japanese-inspired themes of balance, calm, and natural rhythm. Paired with stone and planting, it helps create a threshold between the pace of Cottage Road and the more intimate atmosphere inside Makoto.
Tim’s background in arboriculture, tree care, landscape work, and creative outdoor craftsmanship is central to Perpetual Bloom’s ability to blend technical expertise with artistry.
Hinoki, Weeping Cherry, Japanese Maple, Dwarf Ginkgo, and Azalea: Structure, Grace, and Seasonal Beauty
The plant palette for Makoto’s front exterior was chosen to bring structure, movement, texture, and seasonal interest to the space. Hinoki, Weeping Cherry, Japanese Maple, Dwarf Ginkgo, and Azalea each contribute something distinct while supporting the quiet, Japanese-inspired character of the design.
The Hinoki offers evergreen presence, texture, and sculptural form. Its quiet strength makes it especially well suited to a Japanese-influenced garden, where evergreens provide year-round architecture and a sense of permanence.
The Weeping Cherry adds contrast through softness and seasonal drama. Its graceful habit brings movement to the entry, while its spring bloom creates a memorable moment of beauty. The Japanese Maple introduces delicate foliage, layered branching, and refined color, adding a sense of elegance and calm throughout the growing season.
The Dwarf Ginkgo brings another layer of structure and interest, with its distinctive fan-shaped leaves and compact habit. Its foliage adds texture during the warmer months and a beautiful golden note in fall. Azalea completes the planting palette with seasonal bloom, softness, and a low, graceful form that helps tie the garden together at the ground level.
Together, these plant choices create a front exterior that feels balanced and intentional through every season. The Hinoki anchors the design, the Weeping Cherry and Japanese Maple bring movement and grace, the Dwarf Ginkgo adds texture and fall color, and the Azalea contributes bloom and softness. Each plant supports the larger goal of creating an entrance that feels calm, natural, and carefully composed.
A Commercial Landscape With a Sense of Place
Makoto’s garden design shows how commercial landscaping can be more than curb appeal. For restaurants, hospitality spaces, offices, and retail environments, thoughtful planting can shape the way people feel before they ever walk through the door.
At Makoto, Perpetual Bloom created an exterior and interior plant experience that supports the restaurant’s identity. The garden does not overwhelm the architecture or distract from the food. Instead, it sets the tone: refined, natural, welcoming, and carefully composed.
This is where Perpetual Bloom’s work shines. Their team combines garden design, installation, maintenance, ornamental pruning, seasonal planters, interior planting, and tree and shrub care for landscapes throughout the Greater Portland area.
Perpetual Bloom Garden Design & Planting Services in Greater Portland, Maine
Perpetual Bloom provides professional garden design, installation, and maintenance services for both commercial and residential properties throughout the Greater Portland, Maine area. Since 2011, the company has served local gardens with thoughtful design, skilled installation, and long-term care.
Their services include custom garden design, planting installation, seasonal maintenance, ornamental pruning, tree and shrub care, rotating planters, estate care, interior planting, and site-specific landscape solutions. Perpetual Bloom also specializes in working with natural stone, ledge, and custom rock foundations, creating gardens that feel rooted in the existing landscape rather than imposed on top of it.
For restaurants, businesses, and homeowners looking for commercial landscaping in Portland, Maine, residential garden design, custom stone garden features, interior plant design, or fine gardening services, Perpetual Bloom offers a careful balance of horticultural knowledge, craftsmanship, and natural beauty.
