Landscape Architects and Garden Designers in Larkspur, CA

“Following the recommendation of a friend, I hired Stephanie Wondolleck and her design firm, SW Design, for a much-needed and long-delayed landscaping project for the front of our home in Marin County, California. Stephanie was very good at figuring out what we would like (given our tastes and cost constraints), even though we were not very sure what we wanted. She did everything she said she would do, including using only deer-resistant plants and bringing the project in on budget and on-time. Meeting the deadlines required careful coordination of various contractors, at which she was very adept. Stephanie is professional, creative, thoughtful--and a pleasure to work with. We would (will) happily and confidently hire her and SW Design again.”

“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.”

“Neli, Stan, Todd, and others at Interactive Landscapes are fantastic. Interactive completely remodeled our front and back yards, installed a large Batu (wood) deck, a hot tub, a BBQ island with built-in plumbing and gas, artificial grass field, concrete and tiles, and beautiful landscaping/plants, automated drip and spray irrigation, and automated and manual LED lighting. They had great and tasteful ideas provided 3D, color/textured computer drawings to help us visualize the design. They suggested strategies to save money on the design. They led and personally worked on every detail. They instantly respond to questions verbally, in text, or email. We have put a lot of work on our house and hired more than 15 contractors for a large amount of work inside and outside. Interactive Landscapes is by far the best contractor with which i have ever worked. Their prices are highly competitive and their quality is just top notch.--the best i have seen. I cannot say enough. They can do it all.”

“I am a Landscape Contractor and have installed many of John's designs. His plans are detailed and easy to follow. He is one of the few Landscape Architects that designs to a budget. The client will know the construction costs prior to receiving my written proposal. I enjoy working with John and his staff. Very professional and talented One of the best custom residential Landscape Architectural firms in the East Bay.”

“After moving into a new (for us) house, we hired Darren to come up with a Master Plan for our landscaping which would be compatible with our house renovation plans. He was precise and methodical in his approach and after several discussions and plan iterations we had a Master Plan we will be able to use going forward. We knew we couldn't do everything at once, so it's nice to have guidelines for what we can do now and know they will fit in as projects are completed.”

“Rafat was a pleasure to work with and is not only very knowledgeable but has wonderful taste in design. We are delighted with our garden.”

“Gary was exceptional in all facets of our deck project. As designer, Gary worked with our ideas and constraints, but then applied creativity and style to design a deck that is very functional and extremely beautiful - wonderful flow, beautiful lines that are unique but not distracting. Gary also acted as contractor on our project, a rare and invaluable combination having the designer actually build the structure. Gary was a great communicator throughout the project and always helped us find the right blend between "fix it" and "move on - you can't pull the string on every inherited problem." It was a joy to watch the project and see the highest quality craftsmanship from foundation and structure to finishing touches. We couldn't be happier. We loved working with Gary and love our new deck!”

“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.”

“My garden had good bones but the plants were all wrong. I wanted a garden that looked natural but well-kept, a tough aesthetic to pull off. I wanted lots of birds and butterflies. Mariposa Gardening has taken care of my garden for a few years now. The principal, Andrea Hurd, started by editing the original sorry collection of misplaced plants, replacing the losers with absolute winners. I now have a beautiful variety of textures, colors, shapes and sizes. Something is in bloom in all seasons. We are overrun with birds and, in season, with butterflies. Her maintenance crews have done a great job of keeping her work looking good. The trees are elegantly pruned; each one displays that gold standard "looks like it grew that way" look. Any special request that I make is quickly taken care of. Sometimes I get treats, in the form of new flowers or vegetable starts (I love foraging in my own back yard). In short I am completely happy with Mariposa Gardening and Design.”

“Audrey is great! Creative, knowledgeable and fun. She will work with you to create something unique and lasting. She has done two projects for us and continues to do the on-going maintenance to keep the garden fresh and lively. She cares about soil health, plant growth and is also knowledgable about water systems and the latest in drought irrigation technology.”