What clients are saying
We just want to reiterate how glad we are that you came into our lives, we continue to marvel at our beautiful yard and appreciate it daily, we’re so grateful for your wonderful creation.
Marcia, Del Mar, CA
Great work and a great price
-R.Ranztow, Solana Beach, CA
I returned yesterday afternoon and went right to the herb garden. It looks so much better. In fact the whole landscape seems to be responding positively to the TLC it is now getting
-G. Muller, La Jolla, CA
Services Performed
Nathan turned our vision into a reality!We wanted to transform our rundown backyard into a tropical setting, complete with Balinese gazebo, while being reasonable regarding water requirements.Nathan worked with us on the design, including specifying a wide range of plants (over 25 varieties).He then brought to us reliable contractors, with whose work he was familiar, to implement $30,000 of work, with Nathan supervising the process. The work included scraping to bare earth, installing drainage and irrigation, installing many varieties of plants of all sizes, landscape lighting, sod, concrete staining, fence painting and repair, installing the Balinese gazebo, tree trimming, etc. Nathan also designed a shade structure which used shade cloth, and whose wooden support framework was elegant in its clean lines. Nathan also took us to plant pot vendors to select pots for the patio, and we got some really, really nice ones.Nathan supervised the process, and worked with us and the contractors to find solutions as issues popped up. He also did some of the actual planting of additional smaller plants and plants in large pots since he enjoys keeping his hands in the soil.We enjoy our yard every day and evening – and it isn’t even yet fully grown!We have received a number of “wow….” comments.
Member comments
We were very fortunate to link with Nathan, who had just moved to the Encinitas area after years as Museum Scientist/Arboretum Manager at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley.Our emphasis was the plants – and Nathan really knows his plants from being curator of the Botanical Garden’s 14 acre collection of California native plants.
Nathan first worked with us to turn our vision into drawings, including how things would look in a year.He selected a wide range of plants, with a focus on reduced water requirements while maintaining a tropical feel.Nathan brought contractors to us (we contracted directly with them) with whose work he was familiar and comfortable.These included a excellent general landscaping contractor who did the bulk of the work and did it very well, a concrete stainer who did a good job, plus a tree trimmer who did a very thoughtful pruning of a long neglected olive tree.
Nathan understood our vision and went “out of the box” when needed to achieve this vision. We originally talked to a landscape architect, but his interpretation of our vision and his approach was too conventional for us, as we wanted something special. Nathan was easy going throughout the process, and we had an excellent working relationship.We were particularly impressed that he listened carefully – both to us, but also to the ideas and observations of the contractors regarding various issues, especially with an eye toward long term operation and maintenance.
We highly recommend Nathan Smith for both his design, plant knowledge, and implementation supervision skills.
And, of course, we must mention Rudy the Wonder Dog, who is actually the driving force behind the operation, including having a good sense for giving approval or disapproval to various plants.
R. Blumberg, Cardiff, CA
