Garden Design

Garden design gets undervalued early and regretted later. The plants are what make a property feel inhabited rather than constructed. Done well, the garden improves every year for a decade before settling into maturity. Done poorly, it dies in pieces by year three.

Styles we work in

Formal gardens. French and Italian-influenced parterres with axial layouts, clipped boxwood and yaupon, formal pleached trees, and integrated water features. The look fits Preston Hollow and Highland Park traditional estates.

Native Texas plantings. Texas sage, blackfoot daisy, native grasses like muhly and little bluestem, gulf muhly, agarita, and mountain laurel. Low water use, ecologically sound. As Dallas water restrictions tighten and homeowners want their gardens to look intentional rather than thirsty, this palette is increasingly the right answer.

Mediterranean. Olive, Italian cypress, lavender, and rosemary, plus citrus where microclimates allow, with gravel beds and cypress alleys tying the planting together. Pairs with Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean architecture. Ages well as the trees fill in.

Tropical and Bali-inspired. Palms in windmill, sago, and sabal varieties, plus elephant ears, banana trees, clumping bamboo (not running), and specimen agaves for structural moments. Texas has microclimates that support this look. We'll tell you honestly whether yours is one.

Cottage and English gardens. Perennial-heavy with roses, lavender, salvia, English boxwood, and climbing hydrangea, plus peony where shade and chill hours allow. Reads correctly with Tudor and Cotswold architecture. Rewards homeowners who watch the garden change month over month.

Modern. Restrained palette. Repeated forms. Architectural specimens like yucca rostrata and tree-form yaupon. Gravel and decomposed-granite beds, with single-color plantings that read as composition rather than collection.

Planning

Every garden plan we draw shows every plant's mature size and spacing at scale. We design for fifteen-year maturity rather than day-one impact. The garden peaks at fifteen years, and what we plant on day one needs to grow into that peak rather than crowd it. Plants start smaller than most owners want on day one. We explain why. Seasonal interest gets planned carefully: what blooms when, what holds winter structure, what carries fall color, and what scents the patio in May when the family is starting to spend evenings outside.

Soil and watering

Dallas heavy clay soils need amendment depending on the plant palette. Compost, expanded shale, and gypsum each play different roles. We zone irrigation by water need rather than aesthetic zone, so lush parts of the garden get the water they need and dry parts don't get drowned. The irrigation plan is drawn alongside the planting plan, not added as a contractor afterthought.

Frequently Asked Questions