There are so many styles and types of garden designs. Here are our 10 favorite garden design tips:

1. True to the environment. Using plants that thrive in our area and are designed to work well in our climate including indigenous plants not only succeed but also broadcast what is unique about San Diego County. Celebrating this fully just looks......natural!
2. Gardens are useful in many ways. Often they can create a controlled view from inside where chances are you will enjoy it all day, every day year-round. Then there are garden 'rooms' those places designed as a destination to enjoy while outdoors.
   
   
3. The introduction of water features bring the garden alive with sound and often attracts birds that add to the allure. These sounds have the ability to muffle less pleasant sounds (air conditioning condensers, road noise, etc.).
   
   
4. Many forget that green is a color. While some gardens are a profuse display of multiple colors, sometimes an all-green garden can be enticing and alluring. With strategic lighting a garden full of various shades of green becomes magical at night. Moonlight or just a little outdoor lighting makes these verdant colored plants highly visible at night creating a fanciful display complementing their daytime dramatic design.
   
   
5. Gardens need to become more water-wise, especially here where water shortages are becoming a real problem. A desert garden full of succulents can be beautiful and provide an almost architectural design to your home.
   
   
6. Gardens that message 'high maintenance' can be a negative for some. Anyone who hires people to maintain a garden knows the costs can be prohibitive. We love gardening but many don't, or simply don't have the time or energy to maintain a garden. As you design a garden maintenance is an element to consider.
   
   
7. Gardens should reflect the architecture and design of a house. When they are designed in harmony, they flow best.
   
   
8. The biggest mistake often made in a garden planning is when too many ideas are thrown together with no cohesive plan. Starting with a master plan and slowly building it out over time will achieve a better outcome.
   
   
9. A newly built or renovated home with zero budget for landscaping shows poorly. Drive-up appeal matters and no one likes looking out of a property towards a barren wasteland. If you are planning to sell, make sure you pay attention to staging not only the inside but also the outside.
   
   
10. Gardening is good for the soul. Many have been introduced to this old hobby in the past 18 months and love it. While pools, putting greens, screening rooms, barbeques, etc. are great home amenities, a garden can prove to be one of the most enjoyable amenities of all, not only providing a place to enjoy, relax, play, entertain, unwind, meditate but also one that delivers a great hobby and activity that is both healthy and rewarding.

The visuals of a garden can add tremendous value to a home. Mature trees and plantings are expensive, but often enhance the mood and feel of a property adding real value to the bottom line. A neighborhood with well-maintained gardens usually is a more valuable one, and often the best gardens are NOT mega-extravaganzas. A beautiful garden demonstrates care and highlights the one esthetic none of us can beat…nature!