Drought Tolerant Landscaping Services in Emeryville, CA

“We hired Rani to design our yard a year and a half ago and have been so happy with it! (See photos for San Mateo Redwoods.) It's perfect for entertaining, as well as family time. She listened to what we wanted, came back with several designs to show us some options and worked with us to get the perfect planting plans, too. She is very knowledgeable about plants and knew what would work in our shady backyard, and what would do better in the sunny front yard. We thought she did a great job at a reasonable price and have recommended her to many other friends and neighbors.”

“It’s been a little over two years since Christine and Sonya came into our lives and transformed our entire property to the zen-like oasis we wanted. In short, GardenWise did an incredible job for our outdoor project from conceptual design, detail design, materials and color consultation, to planting selection and oversight of project implementation through completion. We wanted to create an outdoor space that melded two different personality types into a space we would both love....NAILED IT! Christine quickly grasped the challenges of blending a very traditional exterior home with the contemporary art and look we wanted to achieve, addressing limitations by our city’s very strict low tolerant plant guidelines, and while also incorporating privacy. We were very specific in the type of design and plants we wanted in our project. Christine took it from there and was back to us shortly with a rough conceptual we found amazingly responsive to our tastes. While we had a very different budget at the onset, the vision we had would not have been accomplished. In the end, we were well-over our planned budget but through the entire process, Christine was transparent and offered many alternative ideas to reduce cost. In the end, can you really put a price on art? We would recommend GardenWise to anyone without hesitation. In the process of detail design, we collaborated well together and Christine was always professionally polite, yet sensitive to any views we had on colors and material options. She recommended many choices of materials to choose from, and arranged for us to have samples we could hold onto for a few days to think about so that make our selections, yet politely opining if she thought our choice would not work. Her planting design and selection was even more difficult for us to fully grasp yet she led us through this with aplomb and we bought into the flow and form nicely. Throughout the construction process, Christine remained actively involved to ensure that the design in its reality would meet our expectations. As in any project, there arose issues that she made sure were addressed to our satisfaction. From a brief first meeting, tour of our yard, and regular access to our online inspiration photos folder, Christine created for us an oasis of outdoor space and architecture that transitioned so well from the traditional exterior to our more contemporary style. Not having met Christine before this project, today we hold her personally and professionally in the highest regard. She truly creates artistry in her design. What more can we say? Thank you so much for transforming our property into the beautiful space it is today. We believe our front yard is the neighborhood favorite (if they could only see the backyard!) but certainly to all our friends and immediate neighbors. I’m glad we took the time to research local and accredited landscapers and that you were willing to take us on as clients.”

“Root Volume Cooperative was so great! from our first meeting i knew i could trust them and that they were very knowledgeable about water management and design. they really listened to my hopes and ideas for my new garden. that allowed me to let go and allow them to be their creative selves. what i got was way beyond what i could have imagined. they were able to incorporate my wish list (lavender, water chain, lighting, my daughter's hope for plants she could use for her herbal remedies) into their plans for a bio-swale, some natives and some water plants, a boardwalk made from a local arborists wood (he comes to trim my trees now), as well as reuse of existing materials, like the original concrete walkway. they were able to move one tree and keep the other 2 in place. Dante is such a joy to work with: he is calm, an artist, really listens (to me the most important part of any creative collaboration), was willing to work with my budget and how much i could handle at one time. we did some things in stages which really worked for me. i have and will recommend them to anyone. my project is on the website as marcy's garden. i have some before pictures of the previously totally wild meadow garden that had gotten out of control if anyone wants to see.”

“Monica Perrone was wonderful to work with. She helped our group from start to finish in achieving our landscape goals. Monica drew out samples and explained in detail what our thoughts would look like in reality. She made knowledgeable suggestions of what types of plants would work best for our project and the reasons for these ideas. The plan even detailed the projection of long term water use needed for the area and the plants. Our project looks beautiful and we are very happy with the end result, all thanks to Monica Perrone's expertise.”

“Ferdi Castillo is an amazing talent with landscape design, who also happens to be kind, warm and funny too. A delight to work with and I couldn't be happier with the finished product. Our home has a very difficult site, a huge elevation gain/drop, limited space, just a weird, bizarre site. What he created surpassed anything I could ever come up with and he was very flexible with our limited budget. We now are using our space so much more efficiently than ever before. He is so easy to talk to and work with, we were sad when our project ended with him. I would absolutely recommend him. Friends of ours, neighbors, etc. come over and notice our big changes and ask who the genius is behind it: Ferdi Castillo. Hire him, your yard (and family) will thank you!”

“Kristen designed a beautiful makeover for our yard - front, back and sides. She asked lots of questions before designing anything - what we wanted (pavers, pretty flowers), what we didn't want (water feature, yellow flowers) and in general, how we wanted to use our yard. She came up with lovely, detailed plans for a traditional looking garden (with our traditional looking house) - that were revised slightly with discussion, then found a couple of contractors to bid on the work. She supervised the work of the one we chose, making sure they followed the plans. She recommended a new gardner - good choice. About a year later she replaced the few plants that hadn't made it (for no charge), and now almost two years later the place is absolutely beautiful! I can't tell you how many complements we have received ever since the job was originally completed - and they continue to this day!”

“Andrea designed a complete backyard remodel for us that involved extensive grading, hardscape and landscaping. The job turned out even better than expected and we constantly get accolades on the design. She chose the plants beautifully and 5 years out the yard looks better than ever and the plants have maintained and grown in even with restricted water use. I would highly recommend her and we plan to use her services again!”

“Bonnie designed my backyard landscaping and it turned out better than I could have imagined. She designed a beautiful paver patio surrounded with a lush garden of plants. She is committed to low water, low maintenance, and organic gardening.”

“Sue Miller of Miller Landscape Architecture took our weedy, uneven, unusable backyard and transformed it into a beautiful terraced garden perfect for relaxing and entertaining. She patiently listened to our thoughts and concerns, and designed and developed a plan that reflects our lifestyle. We now have expansive outdoor living space that fully suits our needs, including native plant gardens, lawn, horseshoe pit play area, deck/pergola, multiple flights of custom cut flagstone stairs, and a flagstone patio. We benefitted from Sue's design talent and construction experience, as well as her ease in working with contractors. She kept us updated throughout a multi-phased construction process, while providing suggestions and soliciting our input. We highly recommend working with Miller Landscape Architecture.”

“Lisa and her team designed and installed a garden in front of our house that had previously been a dead zone. Lisa had great ideas and seemed very knowledgable. He installation team and great and very professional.”