From pruning trees to laying chimneys, our services transcend trades. You can’t put our work in a box and that’s how we like it. We are arborists and masons, landscapers and hardscapers, carpenters and designers. We help beautiful things last (your treasured white oak tree) and make beautiful things that will last (your new flagstone patio). We work primarily with stone, brick, wood, and dirt to renew, restore, rebuild, and reimagine your space. Based in Harrisonburg, Virginia, our team mainly serves the Shenandoah Valley corridor.
You dig? Let’s get to work.
YOUR SPACE IS
ABOUT TO LOOK
A LOT COOLER
ADAM RITTER
We work with many contract tradesmen here in the Shenandoah Valley, but the main man behind our brand is Adam Ritter. Adam founded Sherwood Designs in early 2023 after working for over a decade as a stone mason and an arborist. Adam comes from a long line of craftsmen, a lineage he is proud to continue. The name Sherwood Designs pays homage to his pap Ron Sherwood Messinger, a master carpenter who first showed Adam the meaning of a creative life.
Adam’s favorite projects are circular in nature: a patio made from rock sourced on the property; a dining room table built from a tree he removed and milled; a chimney repaired and repointed using the original brick. He treats every tree, every rock, every piece of lumber, as if it has a story to tell and considers it is his job to preserve those stories.
When Adam is not elbow-deep in mortar or 30 feet up a tree with a chainsaw, he can be found (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the woods. Originally from Pennsylvania, Adam was raised in a home that was less than a mile from the Appalachian Trail. He always knew he would hike the A.T., and in 2014 he completed his northbound thru-hike in 100 days. Since then, he has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (2015) and ridden his bike thousands of miles throughout North America, from the 2,700-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (2017), to the Baja Divide (2019), and the Colorado Trail (2021).
Our Services
ARBORICULTURE
Tree and shrub services include, but are not limited to,
• planting
• pruning
• removals
• onsite milling
• structural inspections
• storm damage cleanup
ROCK WORK
Using locally sourced stone, we create naturally inspired landscape features that include, but are not limited to,
• steps
• patios
• garden beds
• retaining walls
• walkways & trails
“Adam Ritter did six projects for us; Three retaining walls, a patio, and two sets of stone steps. These projects are stunningly beautiful. Adam has the eye of an artist and the passion and efficiency of a craftsman who knows and loves his trades. He is a pleasure to have on site.”
— Tom Beebe // Rockbridge County, VA
“Adam is able to visualize a project and plan it to be incredibly efficient, safe and thoughtful with the final outcome in mind. He is talented and flexible enough to tailor a project to address the needs of the customer.
As an arborist, he was able to safely and carefully scale and dismantle a dead tree without damaging any branches of nearby living trees. As a mason, he is gifted in reclaiming stone, picking stone, and always keeps his joints tight and corners sharp!
Adam is upfront and honest as the day is long.”
— David Frazier // Harrisonburg, VA
