Leigh is incredibly talented and we couldn't be happier with the work she did. We'd been unhappy with our yard for many years--it's an odd-shaped space on a slope, with numerous challenges (strong wind, freeway noise, too much concrete). We were seeking ideas for how to make it into a sanctuary--or just improve it so we actually enjoyed spending time outdoors. We'd consulted with 2 landscape designers previously, but weren't happy with what we heard (no compelling ideas unless we were going to spend enough money to buy a second house). Leigh came over for an initial consultation and literally within minutes, she had a vision for what we could do that was super exciting and within our budget. She came up with clever ideas to block wind and noise, replace the concrete in our yard with a row of pretty trees and bushes, and maximize the part of our yard that was most private to give us that sanctuary. Leigh chose beautiful plants for our yard and was careful to check with us each step of the way to ensure everything was in line with our tastes. The crew she worked with were fast, professional, extremely detail-oriented, and committed to high-quality work. We feel so lucky to have the backyard space we have now--we're outdoors all the time and love it. Thank you, Leigh! read more

Leigh Designs - Landscaping Near Me

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We worked with Leigh to renovate our entire backyard. It was a huge project, taking the better part of a year including design and construction. The end result is absolutely beautiful. We love our new backyard and have nothing but praise for Leigh. She worked with us on initial vision and detailed design, choosing materials and plants, figuring out how to deal with unexpected wrinkles that came up, and navigating the sometimes stressful intersection of perspectives between contractors, arborists, and vendors. Great working with you, Leigh. Thanks for helping us with our dream yard! read more

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Leigh designed and project-managed a redo of our front yard, back yard, and driveway and we couldn't be happier with our completely transformed outdoor space. I interviewed several people and chose Leigh because she not only listened to what I wanted, but offered totally innovative solutions I'd never heard of: an eco-friendly paved driveway, retractable sun shades, the list goes on. Leigh was easy to work with, organized and responsive and made sure the project progressed smoothly and stayed within budget. I highly recommend her! read more

Leigh is so professional, easy to work with...and her eye for plant choice: perfect! Not only did she design our 1/4 front yard (adorned by a 3-story rock that erupted from the ground about 40-60 million years ago), but she helped place our artwork and recommended two excellent contractors who she worked closely with to rip up the messy yard that was originally there, and the other to rebuild it into a usable, stunning place. Easy maintenance and beauty was our goal...and with covid-19 it helps for "distance" entertaining outside without going through our home! She designed the irrigation, lighting, art, plants, and hardscape. Our Rock has never looked better! read more

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My partner and I would like to recommend Leigh Gronet of Leigh Designs for landscape design and installation. She has a remarkable digital design service where she can show you how the garden will look before it's installed. We had 2 houses of completely different architecture styles and she was able to design complimentary landscapes for both. We liked that she listened to all of our needs and that she was timely in her follow-through. She had some very effective creative ideas for some tough challenges. We were extremely happy with her process and the results! You can email her at: leigh@leighdesigns.biz Check out her website at: www.leighdesigns.biz read more

We recently decided to fill in our swimming pool. At that point we needed a new landscape design for the back yard. After interviewing a few designers, Leigh Design was our choice and Leigh did an excellent job of providing a design for us. The way it worked was, Leigh sent out a gentleman to survey the entire property. Measurements were taken and we received a diagram of the property, to scale...which was really nice to have for this project and future ones. The design included, patio, lawn, and surrounding areas. Leigh met with me and walked the property. She learned what my intentions were...bee friendly plants that are reasonably easy to maintain, plants that will have color throughout the year, plants that will grow well in each area of the back yard..i.e., some areas get full sun, some get shade. At the end of the day, and nearly a month and a half after my contractors installed the plants and hard scape, everything is growing well and looks great. Everyone that comes over loves the way it looks and it's all in the design. Rates are reasonable and Leigh was always easy to reach and or respond to our questions. I would recommend Leigh for design, construction process and the ability to find unique varieties of plants that will grow in the proper environment. read more

Leigh came out and helped us come up with a game plan for our backyard. She was available to come out quickly, talked through all the functions we wanted out of a backyard with two little boys, and worked with our budget. She was even kind enough to expedite our plans due to our timeline. Leigh drew us a backyard plan to scale, and an elaborate plant plan as well (she is extremely knowledgeable with her plants!). It was super helpful having formal plans drawn up for contractor bids etc. look forward to working with her again! read more

I couldn't be happier. What I started with: A lawn of weeds and a yard that gets full sun all day. What we ended with: No more lawn of weeds, a beautifully designed zen like yard with plants that will stay green all year and will sprout beautiful flowers 2/3 to 3/4 of the year. Plus a red tree. She helped choose plants that would flourish in our strong sun yard while still sipping water. She laid out where the plants should be installed and worked hand in hand with the landscaper. I'm very happy with the results. read more

Leigh was on time and very prepared for our meeting. She was very friendly and I felt comfortable with her in my home. She charged $150 for an hour consultation, meaning us talking about what I wanted and her showing me plant options. The next day she sent me an invoice with a proposal for the plan. The cost of the plan was$1800. I emailed back after thinking over her plan versus what I really wanted for my backyard space. She then emailed back and declined my job " because it has become too small for me for it to be cost effective for you." So, I guess I should have asked ahead of time if she works with people on a budget. That's too bad, but I'm annoyed with the waste of $150 consultation fee. read more

I had a yard full of dirt and sad looking plants, and did not have a clue as to what to do with it. Luckily, I called Leigh! From our first phone conversation until the installation was completed, I was impressed by Leigh's knowlege, professionalism, and her ability to truly listen to what I was looking for and deliver a yard that far surpassed anything I could imagine. Leigh did both design for my front and back yard, as well as managed the installation of the portion that I could have completed this year. For our initial consultation, she showed up with an open mind, lots of good questions, and beautiful photographs of all different types of plants and hardscapes. She took the time to really listen to what I wanted - easy maintenance, low water, native plants - and developed a design that gave me not only what I wanted, but then some. She also created a virtual photo design of the front of the house, as that was difficult to envision - it was an amazing visual of what the yard/house would look like and once the work was done, it was spot on. I also worked with her to project manage the installation - Leigh collected multiple bids and worked with me to tweak the quotes to my budget, and supervised the installation over a two week period. The contractor we selected was top notch, and the intallation of hardscaping, irrigation, lawn and plants was done in a professional and neat way. The things that most impressed me about Leigh, and are all-too-often rare, was her easy style of communicating - she asked a lot of good questions, and was able to tease out information from someone who knows nothing about landcaping other than "ooh that's pretty". She was ALWAYS on time - from phone calls, to email communication, to visits to the house when she said she would be in contact with you, you could set your clock by it. Anyone who has waited around on a contractor knows how important this is. Finally, Leigh was faithful to my budget - I did have a finite number that I gave, and stated I'd be willing to do the work in phases over a couple of years - she worked with me to develop a full plan, and provide guidance on a phased approach. The final work we did this year was exactly as quoted and within the budget I'd set. I'm looking forward to working with Leigh over the next couple of years to finalize the vision! read more

Would give more stars if I could! Had a wonderful experience working with Leigh and Javier. We had a mess of a front yard, covered in random concrete and lots of juniper bushes (which I don't love). To me the yard seemed like a serious challenge as it is in 3 sections in retaining walls but Leigh seemed to know right away what to do. She listen to my request to put in easy to manage plants that are drought tolerate. I really loved her plant selection. Her contractor, Javier came in and did some serious cleaning out and putting in a proper drainage system in front of the house as well as a irrigation system. Everything was done quicker then expected but very efficient and to a high standard. She was at the higher end of what we expected to pay but I feel it was worth the cost. I'm very happy with the work done and we have a tons of compliments from neighbors and random strangers. Would recommend to anyone! read more

Our first experience working with Leigh Designs was on our first home years ago. We were extremely satisfied with her design as she transformed our front yard from a plain patch of dirt to an inviting garden with a wonderful pathway, surrounded by drought resistant, yet lush plants and shrubs. The variations of colors was so pleasant to the eye. She helped organize the bid process and organized the contractors for the project which was a huge burden lifted off our shoulders. For years after we finished the landscaping project, we would have neighbors and passerby's consistently comment on how much they loved our yard and would purposely walk their dogs and baby carriages past our house. We eventually moved to a new home and had a back yard that was not kid friendly for our active 11 and 9 year olds. We decided to work with Leigh again on our new project and couldn't be happier. One of Leigh's strengths is she does an amazing job listening to our ideas (it is our yard after all), and incorporates the best of our ideas with her vision and the results surpass our vision for the space. She did an amazing job with our stone work, in particular incorporating sitting stones where our kids often sit or lean against while doing homework. We had a neighbor recently comment that our back yard was "a hidden gem" of the neighborhood. Again, she helped us with the bid process, brought in a top notch, professional crew who hit their proposed timeline of 6 weeks almost to the day. We couldn't be happier with Leigh. Not only is she a true professional, but is a joy to work with as well. If we have a third project, we will without a doubt be calling on her services again! read more

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Leigh recently designed my back yard, helped us review and select a contractor for installation, and provided installation management services. Our project was basically a "scrape" - a complete redo of the backyard, including a new water feature, new stone patio, paths, raised beds, and all new plantings. Leigh was professional and on time with everything she promised. Her photosimulation program is fantastic - I had alot of difficulty envsioning this new space, but she was able to show us exactly how it look. She left us with detailed mainenance instructions and I feel like I could call her if I ran into trouble. Our contractor came from a group of vendors that Leigh recommended. They were excellent, on time and within their fixed price. My only reason for giving Leigh four stars and not the full five, is that she was over her budget estimate for contract management (oversight of the installation contractor) and I didn't feel like that was done as efficiently as it could have been. Really, it's a small thing in an overall very large project, which came out beautifully! read more

I highly recommend Leigh Gronet as a landscape designer. She has an artist´s eye combined with a thorough knowledge of design & horticulture. We have just finished creating a new garden with her invaluable assistance. The results are stunning. We literally had to start from scratch after our 100' Cedar tree fell over during a wind storm this past winter & destroyed much of our established landscaping & driveway. Leigh was recommended to us by some friends who were very happy with her work. After seeing her website , we met with her & were very impressed. Of all the landscape people we interviewed, Leigh was the most straight forward, creative & reasonably priced. Her recommendations were always very well suited to our budget which we greatly appreciated. She laid out the new paths & garden beds resulting in a much better use of space than we had before. She also brought lots of pictures so we could more easily visualize some of the plants she recommended as appropriate for the new landscape. A good designer can make all the difference in creating a great garden that is a joy to be in. We were so fortunate to find Leigh & are absolutely thrilled at the results. read more

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Leigh came out to my home to do a consultation. She was professional and took the time to go over my desires for our backyard redesign. And I paid her the $150 consult fee with the full intention of moving forward with Leigh executing the job. We'd mapped out a good portion of what her vision was for the yard but a major piece of the design was unresolved and she was uncertain as to how she wanted to approach things. She wasn't sure where she wanted to place the lounge/entertaining area which would be one of the focal points of the layout. I asked her once more before we said good-bye how she thought she'd approach this area and she waivered about what she wanted to do, saying she'd have to give it some thought. This was 100% fine with me as I would never expect someone to know exactly how they wanted to design something at first glance. But when Leigh sent back a contract and invoice for $4800 (for the design fees alone/materials and plants not included- she estimated $60,000 for the full job) I asked her if I'd have a chance to review the design before it was finalized and give input as she refined it. I mentioned to her that I'd like to have the chance to review and adjust specifically because there had been ambiguity about the main part of the design when we met. Leigh replied saying she doesn't work that way and if I wanted someone who could be collaborative and offer revisions to the design she was not the right person for me. She rejected my job and suggested I find someone else who was willing to be flexible and collaborative on the design process. I started to think maybe this was just the way the industry was and that I must have been asking for something outrageous by inquiring if I could review the initial design and offer input. Interestingly, after speaking with 3 other landscape architects and having FREE consultations with 2 of those, I found out that the way Leigh works is what's out of the norm. All of the other landscape architects described their process as concepting an initial design and from there they would refine it based on the clients feedback, presenting iterations each time until they land on the final design so that everyone is happy. Also, none of the other 3 highly reputable company's charged for their consultation visits with me at my home. Save your time and the bogus $150 consult fee that Leigh charges and go with a company that will actually accept your job and who is willing to work with you to get to a design you will love! read more

We worked with Leigh to remodel our front yard. She did a wonderful job and we get compliments all the time! Leigh was easy and responsive to work with. After our initial consultation session, she developed a plan that embodied the exact look and feel we wanted. It was clear that she had really listened to us and created a plan that was customized to our desires. The yard is more beautiful than we could have imagined. Leigh chose interesting plants and a beautiful stone for the hardscape. She also helped us create a custom metal trellis. In the yard she added some grading and large rocks to really give the space some depth. I highly recommend working with Leigh. She is personable, reasonable, and extremely talented at creating beautiful spaces. read more

Leigh did an amazing job of creating a design for our small backyard in Berkeley. It took us a while to complete it. For example she included a fountain in the design that was not added until several years after we did the initial installation. It turns out that our little backyard has become a hummingbird paradise in the process. By replacing the grass with flowers and other plants hummingbirds started perching in the trees, building nests (2 in 6 years), feeding on the nectar and taking baths in the fountain. Since my art studio is also located in the backyard, it has created a lovely environment for me to work in as well as enhancing our home. read more

We had a large, sloped back yard we'd ignored for decades, just because we didn't know what to do with it. We can do a lot of yard work ourselves, but we needed a plan. We called Leigh because of the good ratings she already had on Yelp. She was very responsive on phone and in person; good communication throughout the project. I was impressed at how she paid attention to what we'd done ourselves in the front, and integrated some of the ideas into the back. The hardscaping was far more than we could handle ourselves; and Leigh referred us to several contractors that she'd worked with in the past. Her design looked good on paper, but the actual finished hardscaping is incredible! She worked with the contractor to make some minor, but very practical modifications "on the fly", and it all turned out great! read more

Leigh was great! I had a front yard that was in serious need of a facelift. The pervious owner had established a little forest that looked horrible and hid the house. Leigh completely reimagined the front of the house and worked with my to pick out plants I love. The design includes pathway, seating area, hardscape features, etc. My neighbors and random people walking by are constantly compliment me on the garden and how we worked with the existing trees to create a wonderful new look. And all within my budget! read more

Thank goodness for Leigh. All I had was dirt and all I knew was that I wanted lots of paving stones, a hammock, and low-maintenance, low-water plantlife. Leigh turned that into a charming and practical landscape. Her design process let me see actual plants and rocks and pots in my actual yard, without which I would have been lost. She was patient and good-humored with my newbieness and some timing issues on my side, helpful in finding and working with a contractor, and available to follow up on the job. I love the plants she chose, even one or two I wasn't sure about but see the point of now, and she was understanding about the one replacement I wanted. She even worked in a kitty litter area. I am now looking for the perfect hammock to hang under my new arbor. read more

Leigh was wonderful to work with on our landscaping project. Our project involved fences, a carport, hardscaping in the front and back yards, and of course, softscape all around. The finished project is beautiful. She had clever suggestions for saving money, a variety of trusty contractors to delegate jobs to, and a vision for the finished project that was dead on. She was patient with us when we fretted or vacillated on decisions, and we are so glad we followed her advice during those inevitable moments of doubt--she was right every time. We shopped around for many months before finding Leigh. Compared to other landscape architects, her prices are very reasonable and she never pressured us to grow the project, as she was willing to do as little or as much as we wanted. At first we were just going to hire her to draft the plans, but we liked her so much, we ended up retaining her to manage the project. We now recommend her to anyone that asks. read more

The pros: selected some nice plants The cons: 1) Asked for perennials and when I saw all of one species die after one year I learned they are not perennials. After reading about other plants she speced they too only have a few year lifespan based on where we live. 2) Plant size ranges were completely off for several species resulting in the spacing being off or the effect we were going for being off. Some speced for 4-5' are already 8-10'! Another 2-3' is 5-6'! Others seemed to have reached their max of 4' when speced for 6-8'. 3) Does NOT consider plant water requirements. Results in multiple systems needing to cross one bed to give each plant the right amount of water. 4) Misled us on plant prices. Mentioned she can get us plants for the same price we get them. The difference being she gets a discount when sourcing plants and uses this markdown to make her proftis. I was able to get the same $5000 worth of plants for $1400 without any discount. Same EXACT plants. read more

Leigh Designs designed and installed our new beautiful front and backyard garden. She does digital design, taking a picture of our property and putting the digital plants into a realistic concept of what garden would look like. It was great because my husband and I couldn't agree on some things and this way we could see how different ideas would work before we actually broke ground. We were not only very pleased with how things came together in her design and realized we could do more than we thought! She is very reasonable and responsive. I believe she handles projects from northern CA to San Jose. Her website is: www.leighdesigns.biz. read more

Leigh is an amazingly talented artist whose knowledge of landscape design and ability to communicate her ideas is outstanding. I am a designer and have used her services for my clients with splendid results. read more

Leigh Designs was very helpful in giving me money saving suggestions for my landscaping needs. It was so nice to see a digital representation of the landscaping plan for my home before I spent the money on something with just a hunch on how it would look. As it turned out, there were no surprises and I am happy with the result.. read more

Leigh designed lovely landscaping for my new house in Oakland. She understood that it was being reviewed by city permitting and provided a product that made them happy. Leigh has opinions about landscaping, and I needed and appreciated her direct approach. She is reasonable and easy to work with. She delivered on schedule. Hire Leigh. Like me, you'll be glad you did. read more

Leigh did an oustanding job on my backyard in Moraga. What had been a dirt patch for many years was transformed into a stunning living area, comprising a new deck, patio, fire pit area, and gravel paths. Her digital designs were critical in the selection of the plants, and shapes of the deck and patio. I chose Leigh to do my design because I could see what the end result was going to look like. She was such a pleasure to work with, and her recommendations for contractors very thoughtful. I could not recommend her highly enough. Thanks Leigh! read more

I am really looking forward to working with Leigh. At our consultation it was clear that she had wonderful ideas, but was completely open to mine. We're going to make something very special together. read more