California Landscape Design

Now more than any other time we landscape designers are seeing a heightened need for our services. The endless stay at home orders have caused homeowners to squarely confront their outdoor spaces head-on and ask more of them. At the same time many of us are finding solace in nature since it’s one of the few safe places we can spend time. Even the trend to grow indoor plants has increased from its pre-COVID uptick as people recognize how nurturing a plant and/or garden can positively impact wellness. The people-plant connection is alive and well, and as a horticultural therapist it is wonderful to witness! 

Horticultural therapy (HT) is a field that capitalizes on the positive impact that working with, touching, growing, and generally being around plants has on us humans. HT is used in a huge variety of settings, from humble shelters to big modern rehabilitation facilities, and employed to assist people dealing with a wide range of challenges or life situations. In its most formal of setting or programs these activities are referred to as Horticultural Therapy, while more informal settings are typically called therapeutic gardens. Whatever you call it, I like to think of the connection between people and plants as a vast expanse that allows for many pathways to wellness whether your goals are physical, mental, or spiritual.

We designers can strengthen that people-plant connection for our clients. Often this starts simply with a conversation about plants they like and what they are looking for in a garden, and introducing the idea of their garden having a small but vital impact on the larger ecology around them. A space that supports habitat through nectar, seeds, and berries will not only increase the lively activity in the garden but will also deepen that person’s enjoyment of and connection to the natural world. Growing edibles and cut flowers will help further that connection. I like to take cues from little things I see at a client’s property to help build a design that gives them a deeper connection to their space. For instance, are they a rock collector? A tiny succulent propagator? Do they love pottery? Even the sad, abandoned houseplants tell you there’s a gardener waiting for a nudge. 

If children will be enjoying the outdoor space it is great to give them their own area to plant and, more importantly, dig. Children get huge benefits from digging in the soil. It’s really where the people-plant connection starts, so an open unplanted section could be the perfect place to begin. A compost and/or worm bin would be another excellent addition if space allows. Most kids love watching the busy decomposers at work. Some children, especially those with sensory issues, may not want to feel soil or earthworms with their hands; but usually they warm up to observing and using tools in the garden. It is also good to provide plants that make large seed pods which can be collected and sorted. My personal go-to are fava beans and lima beans. The children I have worked with have never tired of cracking open the dried pods and sorting the beans. Many native plants, such as Aristolochia, Asclepias, and Aquilegia, also have seed pods that are fun to explore. (Obviously, avoid toxic species such as Aesculus and Ricinis.)

If there are older individuals that will enjoy the garden space it is nice to try and place some plants that have some significance to that person, whether it is a plant they once grew or one that takes them back to an area they once lived. Providing an older individual with a comfy seat in a sheltered place where they can be close to the garden action is excellent. The sense of smell is our most enduring sense as we age, so scented flowers, shrubs, and herbs can be particularly gratifying for senior gardeners.

Lastly, providing a potting table or other space for “garden puttering” is important. This is where seeds can be started and little garden volunteers can find their home in small pots. I think this area is where creativity really gets sparked and future plans are made.

Often I’m struck by how the beginning of my relationship with a client focuses on the “problems” of the garden. There’s a “how is the garden not serving me” kind of energy. I like to flip that on its head to put the homeowner more in touch with what their garden needs and how intertwined their very existence is with the natural world. I like to find a balance between the design demands of a project, such as creating cohesion, symmetry, and order, and the less obvious goal of nurturing a lifelong relationship between my clients and their garden. Sometimes this balance is tough to achieve but I take heart in knowing there is always another future gardener around the corner who needs my help, and a little nudge, to get outside and grow.

Qualified Professional Members

A landscape designer who engages in the practice of landscape design for monetary compensation and contains more than 3 years of professional landscape design experience. Documentation of education and experience is required.

Adam Sharron
Spolia Design/Build
Santa Rosa, CA

Anastasia Kelly
APL Horticulture
Newport Beach, CA

Professional Members

A landscape designer who engages in the practice of landscape design for monetary compensation and contains more than 3 years of professional landscape design experience. Documentation of education and experience is required.

Stephanie Bower
Transcape Design
Agoura Hills, CA

Holly Selvig
Holly Selvig Landscape Architecture
San Anselmo, CA

Agnes Tung
Muzik Design Studio
Burlingame, CA

Emerging Professional Members

An individual who has been practicing landscape design for one to three years and is starting a career in landscape design. Membership requires affirmation of education and experience, but not documentation.

Donna Bodine
BeeLand Farms
El Cerrito, CA

Meghan Mahrholz 
Ruby Street Nursery
Oakland CA

Darlene Beal
K & D Landscaping , Inc.
Watsonville, CA  

Steve Turner
Black Diamond Paver Stones & Landscape, Inc.

Educator Members

A professional landscape design educator/teacher who is not practicing as a landscape designer.

Frank Niccoli, Environmental Horticulture & Design Department Chair
Foothill College
Los Altos Hills, CA

Allied Members

An individual practicing in a related and/or associated field to landscape design.

Susan Stansbury
Sage Creek Horticulture
Palo Alto, CA

Elisa Read
Horticulture Specialist at RIOS Inc.
Los Angeles, CA

Christina Sergy
Landscape Design Foreman at Armstrong Garden Center
Long Beach, CA

Student Members

An individual who is actively enrolled, on a full or part‐time basis, in a landscape design, landscape architecture or horticulture program. Membership is limited to five years of membership at this level and proof of enrollment must be submitted.

Robert Bennett
Vista, CA, San Diego District

Casey Massman
Bay Area District

Samuel Erickson
Venice, CA, Greater LA District

Jeannie Johnson
Oakland, CA, Bay Area District

Sarah Cornwell
Palo Alto, CA, Bay Area District

Jina Park
Beverly Hills, CA, Greater LA District

Ann Skartvedt
Bay Area District

Jeff Bishop
San Diego District

Q: Where did you grow up and what is your earliest experience in nature/the landscape there?

A: I grew up in Lander Wyoming, a small town nestled in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains.  My Mom, Dad, Sister and I would drive up 'Sinks Canyon' to a trail which led to a majestic waterfall.  We would take the day hike pretty much every weekend.

Q:  What is your current favorite landscape design style and why?  

A: The Marble Mountains and Trinity Alps up in Northern California worked out pretty nicely and one could argue there was intelligent design far past human capacity that went into forming them.  Nature is the best teacher and I try to take as many cues as I can.

Q:  Who or what inspires you?

A: Piet Oudolf, Jens Jensen and Mary Reynolds are great designers.  I love Monty Don's 'Big Dreams Tiny Spaces' on BBC and how he works with the clients to solve problems and consult them while giving them a lot of agency over the act of creating the space of their dreams themselves.  I feel like once someone has put the time and energy in manifesting something with their own hands they have so much more of an appreciation and relationship with it. 

Q: What environmentally sustainable concepts do you apply to your landscape design practice?

A: My introduction into landscape design was permaculture design and I believe that beyond being sustainable we have the power to regenerate the land, improving the biodiversity, and strengthening the web of life that supports us.  I do that by focusing on drought tolerant, native, and edible plants in my designs.  An understanding of the soil food web is also fundamental in my approach to keeping the landscapes I manage thriving.

Q: How did you find out about APLD and what led you to join? 

A: I'm just finishing my Landscape Architecture Degree at Merritt College after a meandering six years trying to soak all the incredible classes in.  The teachers have always spoken quite well of the APLD community and strongly encourage students to join.

Q:  What do you hope to gain through your membership with APLD?

A: Professional connections, mentorship, friends, new tips and tricks, resources for questions.  I want to be a part of the greater design community and find inspiration in all the other people doing cool plant stuff out there.

Frank Niccoli was a landscape contractor for 30+ years and once served three years on the APLD San Francisco District Board with Deanna Gloria and Vic Thomas. He is also the past president of the founding chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association and was voted Member of the Year by his peers in 2001, 2004, and 2019.

Among his many accolades, Frank also served as the Chairman for the Environmental Sustainability Task Force for the City of Foster City offering 59 recommendations to the City of Foster City to establish a sustainability policy, and in 2012, he was named Water Champion of the Year by Sustainable Silicon Valley for his work in water conservation.

Frank is the State Chairman of the California Landscape Contractors Association Education Committee and built a 25-module Certified Landscape Technician course to teach students skills that will transfer directly to industry.  He is the current program director for the Foothill College horticulture program and teaches from the perspective of an environmentally sustainable contractor who has been in the business for 40+ years and with a passion for sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Q: Where did you grow up and what is your earliest experience in nature/the landscape there? 

A: I grew up in Colorado until I was 9 and then in the Mission district of San Francisco.

Q: What is your current favorite landscape design style and why? 

A: I do not have a style.  I am far from being a designer. 

Q: Who or what inspires you?  

A: Aldo Leopold, Jennifer Ackerman, E. O. Wilson, Elizabeth Kolbert, Tao Orion, Ian McHarg, Elaine Ingham.

Q:  Where did you grow up and what is your earliest experience in nature/the landscape there?

A: I grew up in the foothills of Southern California, surrounded by hills and canyons.  As an only child, I spent many hours exploring the terrain around my secluded neighborhood.  My favorite activity was to collect the rocks with markings that looked like tiny footprints, obvious signs they were dinosaur fossils!

Q: What is your current favorite landscape design style and why? 

A: Hands down, my favorite design style is Mediterranean.  After spending a year living in a villa in Tuscany, I was constantly astonished by the vibrant greens and golds the landscape provided.  The property where I stayed was quintessentially old-world Italian: a long driveway lined with Italian Cypress, old olive trees, ancient Roman pools and statuary, and of course, the obligatory grape vineyard surrounding. 

The fact that this style of landscape is the most appropriate for our climate and thus sustainable is just icing on the cake.
Q: What environmentally sustainable concepts do you apply to your landscape design practice?

A: I have a deep interest in permaculture and have done extensive research on the subject. As a beginning designer I have only just begun to incorporate the principles of this philosophy into my own work. This integration, I have found, is not yet embraced by the customers I have encountered.  I am hoping this will change in the near future.