Testimonials
“Darlene recently landscaped our front yard in San Leandro. She replaced our low water use plants with an all native landscape. We anticipate that our (nearly) no water yard, filled with pollinator and bird friendly plants, will be glorious by late spring. We hired Darlene to redesign our front yard after she did our annual cleanup. We knew that she was attuned to our interests in a wildlife friendly environment when she collected poppy seeds from our garden for sowing elsewhere. Darlene worked with us on the price and timing of our phased planting. She is receptive to our ideas and answers our many questions quickly. Unlike other landscape professionals, Darlene has returned to our home frequently to check on the health and progress of the newly planted garden. She has a strong work ethic and meets all of our expectations.”
— Maureen F. (San Leandro)
“Darlene designed and installed a native garden for me, and is doing ongoing maintenance and improvements. She has an artist’s eye in design, and is deeply knowledgeable about the requirements of native plants. She met the challenge of designing for a small, narrow site well. She’s resourceful about balancing the plants’ needs with aesthetic and practical considerations so they will thrive. The garden already looks lovely after a year, and with its strong design, will only get more beautiful. I highly recommend her work.”
— Kitty L. (Albany)
“Darlene helped us take our desired aesthetic and functional requirements and instead find native plants for our garden. Her knowledge and love of native plants were paramount in creating a habitat for local pollinators and butterflies. I highly recommend Darlene, she will make an excellent addition to any garden design team.”
— Zack L. B. (Berkeley)
“Darlene provided both hardscaping and landscaping for me, transforming my yard from ‘this and that’ into a structured garden in which I find respite. Before Darlene, there was no sense of design or flow. Darlene created cohesion with foundation plants that are locally appropriate and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife, which she understood to be important to me. Darlene creatively designed and installed a circular stone patio with radiating paths, which softened the long rectangular shape of my yard and made individual intimate settings that contribute to the whole. A bonus is that the design allows for easier maintenance and flexibility for future changes and landscaping.”
— Nita S. (El Sobrante)
“Darlene designed and installed two California native gardens that included a substantial flagstone walkway, stepping stone paths, large boulders and a bird bath basalt water feature. I am delighted with both gardens and the plethora of bees and butterflies that frequent us now for the blooming flowers during much of the year. The very first spring was such a delightful surprise of blooms and greens. Darlene is conscientious, a hard worker and a good communicator. But moreover, her passion for creating native gardens infuses them with a lot of heart. Darlene has extensive knowledge of native plants and a beautiful artistic eye for design and flow of space. She visits two or three times a year to check in, fine-tune and maintain. I am so pleased that I had our native gardens dreamed and manifested by her.”
— Monica L. (Richmond)