Garden Design Professionals in Sonoma, CA

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“We heard about Susan’s work from our son. He had hired her to do the landscaping for his front and back yards and was very pleased with her work. We met with Susan in October of 2011 and found her to be a wonderful, easy going and a comfortable person to be around so we moved forward with asking her to design our front yard. We didn’t have a specific plan in mind but we did want a front yard without have any grass. We wanted a low maintenance yard with drought resistance plants. Beyond that, we weren’t really sure what we wanted. Susan didn’t ask many questions but through conversations with us, she came up with a concept that was fantastic. As an example my husband mentioned that as a child he remembered homes that had front porches and neighbors sat on their porches and watched the world go by. I mentioned I liked places that were serene. From those conversations, Susan came up with a beautiful design that had a front porch and a fountain. We had never considered either of those items but were tremendously pleased with the idea. We didn’t change a thing in Susan’s final design and we couldn’t be more pleased. We love our front yard and neighbors have stopped by to admire Susan’s work As the work began, Susan frequently checked in with the landscape owner and crew to ensure they were following through with her design. When the landscape owner went on vacation, Susan was here daily to check on the crew. Susan was very fast to respond to questions or concerns we had and she was available to assist us with picking out the pavers for our driveway as well as the tiles for the walkway leading to the front door. She was extremely patient as we took forever to make a decision I would highly recommend Susan to anyone looking for a landscape architect. She is extremely easy to work with; has a lot of patience and comes up with beautiful designs incorporating childhood memories and lifestyle choices. When we are ready to start on our backyard Susan will definitely be the person we hire to work on a design for that.”

“I just completed a remodel of my pool and landscaping with the Alder Group, and simply stated I could not be happier. From the first meeting until the project was completed, Don always looked for ways to improve the project and at the same time ways to minimize the cost of the project. His keen eye for design saw needed simple improvements that were relatively inexpensive but had a massive effect on the overall beauty of the project. Perhaps most importantly when the manufacturer delivered the wrong custom coping, and I worried that we would not be able to meet the deadline of a large party that was planned for my backyard; Don found a way to resolve the issue and keep the job on schedule. Don is truly one of the good guys.”

“Designed and coordinated landscaping which included a retaining wall, plants, sprinkler/ater system, and cover for back yard. Excellent on design and coordination, easy to work with, timely, knowledgeable.”