Design Elements · Planting Design

Planting Design: 18 from real Napa & North Bay projects

I design the feeling first, then choose the plants. Before a single species is named, I know what each space should feel like — shaded and quiet, open and bright, lush and enclosed — and the palette supports that experience. In Northern California that means climate-appropriate material used generously enough to feel immersive, not sparse. Planting is also what softens every patio, wall, and path; it's the layer that settles the hardscape into the site and makes the whole thing read as one landscape rather than a collection of features.