We often have the pleasure of being invited back by clients to review the landscape we’ve designed, especially in the first few years. Usually on our visits, the plants are thriving, and all is well. We have designed your garden to be in harmony with our climate, using trees, shrubs, perennials and succulents either native...Read More

I recently posted the image at left on Instagram, and my normally quiet followers expressed all kinds of interest about the preserved lemon recipe. This was not really a surprise, since for the past five years or more, our clients have consistently requested fruit trees and vegetable beds in their gardens. In response, we’ve developed...Read More

Are you longing for a garden that hums with life? My garden reading this winter has been highlighted by California Bees & Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists.  Drawing from years of research at the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab, the book outlines how to transform an urban or suburban garden into a bee-friendly...Read More

Yesterday my husband and I welcomed over 400 people to our garden, which was one of seven featured on the free, annual South Pasadena Beautiful Garden Tour. Each garden displayed principles of sustainability–including California native and Mediterranean landscaping, planting for wildlife, bioswales, permeable paving options and recycling organic waste. In front of our house was...Read More

It seemed like a hopeful way to start the new year: Two years ago, my family and I planted a meadow in our front yard. No longer a play space for our children, the lawn had outgrown its usefulness.  After a debate between my husband and me about the merits of gravel and native shrubs...Read More