Nana's cottage garden is something she works on every day.  This is not a garden you can just leave alone, this is a garden you need to always be watching, watering, weeding, dead heading, cleaning up and planting, removing plants and so on and so on!  This is not a garden for someone without the time to love it and take care of it!  This is not a garden for anyone that is lazy or doesn't like to work in the yard!  I watch her out there every single day taking care of it.  She covers her flowers nightly so that the deer do not eat them.  She babies each and every single plant and flower out there.  She cherishes her garden.  This is her happy place!  This is something she has made from the ground up!  She is very proud of it, as she should be.  Just going down there, being in this beautiful outdoor space gives you a sense of peace and relaxation.  It is an amazing thing that a garden can bring you to such a peaceful place!  I think that is why we all love being there and our friends love it also.  I have never found a person who has not enjoyed being in this beautiful place!  I want my kids to be there everyday so that they can grow up learning from them and a love of the outdoors! 
She has obviously passed on her love of the outdoors and gardening to Austin and he has taken it to a whole different place by making money and having a business doing it.  It is a wonderful thing to see families and generations pass down things like this! 
A love of outdoor beautiful spaces! 
Check out this beautiful space in these pictures.  I'm sure you will agree that this is a garden belonging to someone who knows her landscaping and it just so happens to be my wonderful Italian Mother-in-Law that I am so thankful for!

Garden pathways and walkways are such a welcome addition to any landscape.  They make landscapes look so welcoming and the pathways coax you into meandering through the garden to enjoy it fully!!  Whenever I see pathways in a yard it makes me want to investigate everything in the yard.  I also like the fact that it is very low to no maintenance and adds so much beauty to a yard.
The one thing that I can see when a person is thinking of designing a yard they often overlook walkways in their designs but as you can see from the picture to the left what a walkway can do for a yard and how it can enhance it.  People often concern themselves with plant selections and patios and then forget how to connect the different spaces in the yard.  By ignoring pathways the yard can become disjointed because of lack of thought put into the transitions and connections throughout.  Not only do the walkways guide people through the yard, they can also be used to create a mood or atmosphere.  Before deciding on what type of pathway you would like, you need to think about your landscaping and if its a formal type landscape or informal.  Then comes the decision of what type of path you will want, and what materials will be used.  Shape, dimensions and materials are all things to think about.  They are so many various types of paths, from simple DG and gravel to flagstone, brick and decorative stamped concrete.  Other things to think about is how much your pathway will be used, safety, budget etc. 
When Austin designs a landscape he will take all these things into consideration when adding a pathway through your landscape if that is a choice that you would like to make. 

Austin will incorporate a beautiful walkway within his landscape design for your yard, just ask him.  He has so many ideas and could make this dream for your yard a reality.  He has experience with every type of material used for the walkways and will let you know the perfect one for your landscape. 
Below I have added many pictures and design ideas for any walkway you could think of.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe and the beautiful natural landscaping that grows in this area is just amazing! 
Austin and I love the design of the homes and the landscaping that comes along with it.  Very very green and unbelievable lawns, beautiful natural designs along with the beauty of Lake Tahoe in general!
Many of our customers ask about having similar designs to the Tahoe style of landscaping.  We can definitely make it happen with a much more natural look to your landscape.  The only thing that can't be added to a new landscape is the enormous evergreen trees.  There are also many plants that may not grow in our area and you will need to think about that also when choosing a style such as the look in the picture above.
Natural landscapes can be incorporated to every property, but you should first take into consideration the architecture of your home and the naturally existing surroundings to ensure that a natural style landscape will be conducive.  We are lucky to live in the foothills with beautiful natural surroundings to incorporate a landscape that will fit with a Tahoe style and feel.  Material plays a large part in creating a natural landscape.  You will typically find indigenous materials being chosen in various ways throughout the design.
A natural design should be one that's somewhat simple in blending shapes, colors and patterns.  You will also use a more organic shape for walkways, patios and bordered areas.  Usually in the bordered areas we use mass plantings of perennials or shrubs to create a simple but striking impact. 
Different types of natural landscapes are:

You should definitely look at the style of your house and surroundings before choosing this design.  If your house is more formal but your surroundings are natural you could still designate an area for a natural garden.  Don't be scared to mix a little formal with natural looks.  The look could be quite unique if done correctly. 
Material styles for natural landscapes are usually somewhat indigenous to the area, but there are exceptions.  For the most part, natural style and native plants go hand in hand but its smart to incorporate specimen plants also that may or may not be native.  Its important to use a mixture of sizes when first installing the landscape to achieve some instant impact. 
With natural landscaping just like any landscaping design the goal is to create a connection with the home, naturally existing elements and the landscape itself.
Austin can definitely make this happen with your landscape!  Have him come out to your home and go over your dreams and wishes for your landscape and he will design something amazing for you!

Everyone is talking about it, here in California unfortunately we are living in a drought.  What does that mean for landscaping?  There are many customers that have called requesting a change in their landscapes to be more drought tolerant or requesting drought tolerant landscaping with new installations.  That means choosing plants that do not need to be watered as frequently and also less if no lawn.  We have done many landscapes like this because they are low maintenance and really appeal to the consumer.  Some ways that we have made our landscape installations more drought tolerant and less maintenance is as follows:

• One way to use less water is to find plants that don't need quite as much to survive, like Lavender for instance.

• Another way to conserve water is by building your own raised bed for flowers and vegetables.

• Hardscape elements step up to the challenge of a drought tolerant landscape.  Plus they add so much extra to any landscape and require little to no maintenance to keep looking beautiful for years.
  

• Groundcovers are a good way to catch water that might be lost on a slope for instance.

• We always recommend adding mulch to any landscape we install.  Mulch is essential to conserving moisture and it helps cut down on weeds.

• Showy flowers usually require a lot of water and we try to add hardscape elements like boulders and small rock walls to add special touches without always having to use flowers.

• Once established, shrubs and evergreens need very little water, except in extreme droughts and they provide plenty of color.

• Drought tolerant plants offer less showy blooms but make up for it with interesting foliage.  One such plant is Japanese Blood Grass, although it could become a bit invasive, if taken care of properly it is beautiful and adds a lot of color.

• We also like to use oversize boulders to fill in gaps in a drought tolerant landscape by adding unexpected focal points
  
  • Another way we strive to ensure good growth for drought resistant plants is by adding the proper soil amendments.
  • Different varieties of evergreens also provide structure and color to a landscape without the use of a lot of extra watering.
    
  • Also using a drip system wastes less water by delivering water directly to your plants with little to no waste.
    
• By adding walkways without concrete but instead using things such as water permeable pea gravel or DG it can offer another solution to water run off.  
• Planting a drought tolerant landscape does not mean you need to give up and eliminate high need plants.  It just means that you will need to limit those plants to use as dramatic accents. 
• Below are some pictures of ideas of drought tolerant landscapes we can help you achieve.  We believe that a beautiful landscape is still very achievable even living in our drought.