Nature’s Design

I bought a cosmetic fixer-​upper last year which had a pretty frightening tangle of weeds, neglected landscaping, and a cement path that was buried under a layer of topsoil in the backyard, and an old oak in the middle of it all. Keith was one of several landscape designers that came by to take a look, and it was obvious that he’d be very creative, come up with great designs, and work around some of the things I already had in mind. He came up with the concept of digging up the old cement path (once we realized it was there) and re-​purposing the pieces, along with some bricks from a wall he had just torn down for someone else, and created a patio that looks like it’s always been there. Next, we decided to put in some meandering paths, and worked together to tweak his design. It created a number of very different rooms in my backyard. One of these areas runs along a neighbor’s property, so he created a mounded privacy screen with some very thoughtfully chosen plants. One of his plant choices came from his wanting to mitigate the freeway noise by offsetting it with the sound of seedpods in the wind. Genius. He never complained when I’d show up with a random tree or succulents I had bought over the weekend and wanted stuck in somewhere. We agreed that I’d handle deciding on which drought tolerant plants (salvia alert) to buy and put in the rest of the yard. He followed that with drip irrigation, mulch everywhere, and filled my raised beds and barrels with soil. His masterpiece, though, would be the fence and gate he designed and built for me. His and the team’s attention to detail gave me a fence and gate that will be in good shape for a very long time. I’ve had friends comment on the quality of the fence when they’ve only seen small sections of it in the background of pictures online. The opening and closing mechanism on the gate took some doing, but Keith kept at it and threw a number of options my way, and he continues to check in on it to make sure I’m happy with it. Now that we’ve gotten through the first spring and into the first summer, it’s kind of amazing to see how it’s all tying together. I recommend Keith to anybody who will listen.

Keith was an amazing asset when it came to re-​designing the layout, stairs, and plantings of the sloping entrance to our home. Although we already had a set of basic plans by an architect, Keith helped us to see that more interesting options were available to us. We are so glad that Keith was on the job. We have received endless compliments on the creative design and plantings. He has a great sense of three-​dimensional space and structure. Combined with his keen knowledge of plants and drainage, Keith is an excellent resource for ANY outdoor project. He will work to integrate a new vision with your existing plant and design elements.

Keith did an outstanding job designing and building an outdoor dining area with water feature and landscape lighting. Keith has a superb eye for design and his team was a pleasure to work with. The end result was even better than we imagined and we definitely look forward to working with Keith in the future.

We have been working with Keith now for 8 months. We met with a couple other local landscaping companies before deciding to go with Keith. We liked how down to earth and genuine he was compared to some of the other landscapers we had met. Right away Keith provided us with a drawing of our dream yard and has worked closely with us so that we could have a hand in every step of the process. Keith has a great ability to visualize the potential in a space and make it happen. We have appreciated the prospective he offers and love what he has done so far. We are looking forward to working with him on future projects and we are comfortable in knowing that Keith has the knowledge, experience and vision that on our own we just couldn’t replicate. My husband would say that he loves Keith’s meticulous way of making sure that everything is done to perfection and also that when he and his crew leave, they do a great job at cleaning up after themselves. Thank you Keith!

Keith came up with useless plans that were 20% over the maximum of the budget range that I stated we could spend (and which he stated was doable).
For these squiggled plans (indicating two mounds without elevation or other dimension given, indications of where trees would be planted, and a few other items, none of which were among those I’d talked to him about), I paid $ 700.
His estimate included a projected 10 hours for selecting (not transporting, not planting, just selecting) 10 trees from a local nursery.
Rather than throw good money after bad and endure who knows how many additional cost overruns, I ate the fee for the plans.
The capper came several weeks later, when Keith emailed me a request to pay the deposit for the plans. I emailed him back to remind him that he had already received payment and did not appreciate the attempt to double charge me. I also requested my money back, since his slapdash plans (which looked as though they took an hour to draw, rather than the 10 hours for which I paid) were useless. He responded that he didn’t know what I was talking about, despite his email requesting payment being part of the body of the email, and did not address my request for a refund.
Being charitable, I’m inclined to think that Keith is merely inattentive to details such as what his clients/​prospective clients say, how much he charges, and his billing. Nonetheless, inattentiveness is not a quality that I think is desirable for his profession.
Update re Keith’s comments:
«The real issue I believe and as mentioned by him several times in e-​mails were my sharing with Michael of both my recollection and written documentation (notes) taken at the time of our initial meeting.»
My issue is that he shared his recollections with me? No, the issue is that his recollection is incorrect: I stated a budget of $ 5,000−10,000 at our initial meeting, which Keith said was possible. He did not share any of the notes that he took at the initial meeting — again, his memory does not serve him well. He may well have written down $ 10,000-$ 12,000; if he did, it was because he took the high end of my budget and added 20%.
Note that Keith admits that he then made an estimate for $ 14,000. We had to pay $ 700 for plans just to get this estimate (40% over our maximum budget). It did not incorporate anything we asked for, and it is too expensive to implement (the steps and deck were completely his own idea — I wish he’d been able to incorporate at least one of ours). Hence, useless. (He did suggest the mounds, which we agreed to). Yet Keith doesn’t seem to understand why we «decided not to move ahead with the design implementation.»
Further, I think paying $ 700 for such rudimentary plans should get one plans that could be implemented by any competent professional.
Finally, Keith emailed me an invoice for the plans and requested payment long after he’d already received payment for those plans. This email was sent back to him with my reply that expressed my general dissatisfaction and suggestion that a refund would be appropriate. He’s the one who tried to double bill us — why this is confusing to him is a mystery, but I’m glad that he acknowledges that it was paid in full at the time of delivery (Keith probably knew that, had he tried to bill us for them after I’d studied them, I would have probably refused).
Keith made a very easy $ 700, so I don’t know why he’s complaining. Claiming facts to be «libelous allegations and exaggerations» shows his regard for his potential customers. Good luck to his business.

Keith @ Nature’s Design has the esteemed distinction of being my greatest Unilocal find yet.
After many years of failed DIY landscaping attempts, thousands of sunk dollars, and endless frustration with my dry, weed-​happy, Oakland Hills Mediterranean-​climate upslope, I found him on Unilocal.I read his reviews, checked out his before and afters, and researched his philosophy on landscape designs, prompting me to schedule a consultation with him (and 3 other potential landscapers). That was about two years ago.
Immediately upon our first meet, I loved his affable personality and artistic, yet practical approach to my then-​destitute backyard (un-​affectionally known as «Manifest Destiny»). He really listened to what I envisioned in my yard, and totally didn’t bat an eye or point and laugh at me when I told him my strict budget. I felt that his expertise was always given with my needs in mind — not his pocketbook.
e.g. …
*I had several dying Lavender and Salvia plants that I told him to just rip out and replace; he said that they were revivable and we should keep them (we did, and they fully re-​blossomed, brighter and lovelier than ever).
*I told him about my perpetual dilemma about sod; keeping it alive, mowing it, extensive water bills — I wanted artificial grass instead (again, he didn’t laugh at me. Well, maybe just a little on the inside). He researched various options and concluded that the price would be too high and that the aesthetic would be less than pleasing. His suggestion: chamomile turf (used everywhere in Britain) — which has turned out, two years later, to be the singly best thing I’ve ever done to my yard: it’s drought-​resistant, inexpensive, never needs mowing, feels wonderful on bare feet, and smells incredible in the Spring. Every house should ditch their grass in exchange for chamomile.
Keep Calm and Plant Some Chamomile.
*I had several pieces of firewood in the yard that I instructed him to haul to the dump — he said it would be cheaper (free) and more practical to keep them — so he built a simple log holder to hold them and stacked them against a wall. Not only did this turn out to be quite an attractive back-​drop, but we’ve burned those logs in our fireplace on many chilly evenings.
*I had a seriously ugly retaining wall that reminded me, quite distinctly, of a prison yard wall. I think parts of Shawshank Redemption were filmed here. It had mortar splattered on to brick (a failed attempt to «age» the brick). My ideas included painting or tiling over the brick… all of which were not very cost effective. His idea: simply remove the mortar, which he did at a very reasonable cost (sure, he shorted out a circuit with his little machine thingy, but he came back to fix that right away). Result? My retaining wall looks great.
*He told me that I should really put in a drip system, because my cycle of buying plants, watering them by hand and replacing them when they inevitably died was costing me much more money in the long run. I acquiesced, although it was more upfront that I wanted to spend — but he was right — it’s saved me tons of money in the long run because my garden is alive, thriving, and simply put: a beautiful outdoor space that we spend almost every sunny day outside in.
We also added several drought tolerant plants, dealt with a rapacious mole colony, mulched and mulched and mulched, and brought to fruition my vision of having a blanket of California poppy plants in the Spring.
Most recently, I had him install a flagstone patio and small garden space in my front yard. He sketched a design, met me at the stoneyard, helped me choose the best stone I could get with my budget, and created a modern, no-​maintanence space that is not only visually striking, but has added much equity to my home as well. I can’t wait until Spring to see my bougainvilleas and Japanese maple in full bloom.
He also has a wonderful work mentality — he’s timely, communicative (although not much of a texter, 2 bad 4 u), and always working with me to save money in every little detail of my project. At the end of a day, he’s a botanical artist who’s intimately attached to his projects — he checks up on my plants to make sure they’re healthy and thriving, he commits extra time to ensure that I’m happy — he’s sort of like a father to my garden. I really can’t extol enough how awesome he’s been to work with.

I have had Keith help with my landscaping for the last 2 years. I found him thru my neighbor whose garden he totally redid and it looks great. He is talented, easy to work with and really listens to what you want and then makes a proposal that reflects your ideas/​needs.

When I bought my house a year ago, I couldn’t wait to do a major make-​over in the front yard. I’ve always hated the old hedge, tired shrubs and dried out sod. I purchased several drought tolerant plants from the San Francisco Botanical Garden’s Annual Plant Sale for future landscaping.
I knew I wanted a drought tolerant garden but did not know how or where to start.
A friend contacted Keith to ask if we could visit his garden. I love Keith’s garden and asked if he would be interested in landscaping my postage stamp sized front yard. Keith took on the project and we talked about how to incorporate my ideas into designs. Keith researched the plants that I had purchased for placement, growth and color. He designed an awesome garden for me and he also installed a nifty sprinkler system.
I admire Keith’s detail to produce quality work. He has a pleasant personality and fun to work with. I feel that he gives me just as much personal attention to my tiny yard that he does for his upscale clients. He comes by to check on the garden because I know he cares.
I am very happy with my garden and I am proud of Keith’s work.
Neighbors love the garden and passer-​byes express their admirations, people shout from their cars, «it looks great!»
One man told me he took some of Keith’s cards (which are included with his sign) because he is going to pass them out, he thinks Keith did a wonderful job!
Keith, thank you for giving me this beautiful garden. I enjoy it very much and look forward to seeing the plants mature and change in the years to come.