Dowson Design

We used Dowson design for our backyard. Donna came up with great ideas that I had not thought of. The design and final project came out even better than I expected. We chose to have Donna oversee the project and I’m so glad we did. She helped us get estimates and met with the contractors throughout the project. We had a small problem with how the stone facing was turning out on a retaining wall. When I called Donna she came to our home immediately to talk to the contractor to make sure the wall came out right. I couldn’t recommend Donna and her designs highly enough.

Donna did a great job of translating our ideas to blueprint and adding some of her own. Working with Donna was a pleasure and we're delighted with the outcome.

We had a small project compared to most done by Dowson Design but they treated us like we were important. A beautiful design was set up and laid out for us a customized to do exactly what we wanted. I would highly recommend this company and their services.

Donna is a fabulous landscape designer. She has great vision, and works within your budget. She used her time efficiently and produced a beautiful yard. I would recommend, and use her again!!

Donna is very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. She obviously knows her business and came up with some great ideas for our 3 acres!

Amazing visionary. Very personable, professional and creative. She turned our tiny dirt lot into a beautiful backyard sanctuary!

My wife and I highly recommend Donna Dowson of Dowson Design. We worked with Donna last year to landscape our front yard. She provided us with preliminary drawings and listened to our input and made a few changes for the final design all at a fair price. Donna is very creative, and we’re glad she convinced use grass between the driveway slabs and to remove our courtyard wall. Our yard/house is so much more open and inviting now. We used Donna full-service option where she acted as the Project Manager and lined up the landscape contractor. We couldn’t be happier with how the whole project turned out from the planning, design, contractor and cost. It’s been over a year and we are still getting compliments from the neighbors.

My overgrown front yard needed a makeover, and I saw a landscaping project in the neighborhood that would perfectly fit with my little 1941 house -- and that led me to Donna. She easy to work with and has great ideas, such as using black bark to match the house trim and covering the old fence with bamboo. Her work on the front yard led to a host of plantings out back, all with the cool bamboo backdrop. Cannot recommend her highly enough.

Donna designed a complete renovation of front and back yards of my 1/3 acre lot in Elk Grove. It was a pleasure working with her. Her ideas all worked out wonderfully. We now have a beautifully lit, low water usage, elegant landscape of stamped concrete, bark mulch, decorative plants and trees, raised garden beds, recreational equipment and dining area with built-in BBQ that we want to spend time in every day after work.

Donna worked with my Husband and I to finish a major pool project, its surrounding outdoor living areas, and landscaping. She assisted us in working with another contractor's unfinished project and was responsive and intuitive in turning our ideas (as well as her fresh ideas) into a beautiful reality. Starting with raw concepts, preparing drawings, selecting contractors, plant choice design, lighting, colors and textures, Donna made it all happen! She has great professionals working with her to carry out plans to conclusion. We continue to get compliments on how beautiful her design turned out. We will continue to work with Donna on future projects and recommend her services highly.

We hired Dowson Design to do our landscaping plans for our new build in El Dorado Hills. This was a referral from friend through a friend. Donna was super engaged from the first time we met her. She did a terrific job asking a ton of questions about our personal taste, took time to look at pictures of our yard and style from our previous home and gave us several suggestions give this information and our new property layout. She is super energetic and very responsive. If you want an average landscaping design go to someone else, if you want something that is spectacular you have to get Dowson Design! Now we are just waiting for the weather to cooperate to start the landscaping transformation Donna has designed!

Donna is professional and creative, She has transformed more than one of our backyards over the years. Both yards were very different in size and challenges. Donna's ability to design from a blank canvas or redesign an existing area is amazing!