The owners of this house on a busy street in front of a bus stop dreamed of a private backyard oasis . This space was an open canvas and had a shared driveway and a rental unit next door. The couple requested a place to entertain family and friends in a beautiful private garden for socializing and relaxing.  The design also included a reading deck and a secluded sitting space surrounded by fragrant and drought tolerant plants.

Our backyard is fairly small and shady. When we bought our house, the yard consisted of a crab grass infested lawn and a small set of stairs leading up to the back door. We were looking for a design that would allow us to entertain, have lots of different plants, but would be easy to maintain. Susan struck us right away with her friendly and relaxed attitude; she had great ideas for our space right at the first consult. Susan took a long time to listen to our ideas and thoughts about the space and came up with a great master plan that managed to incorporate most of the different elements we were looking for (deck, patio, stone path, shade garden, fragrant flowers and trees, etc.). We really enjoyed working with Susan. We never felt rushed or pushed into a direction we did not want to go, and she was very patient in dealing with our many questions and requests. We could not be happier with the final result! The space seems so much larger now, but with an intimate backyard oasis feel. It looks like something out of the garden design books we pored over. There is even enough space to have a dozen people over without feeling too crowded! And imagine our surprise when we were told that the garden should only require minimal watering throughout the year.” – Michael and Amna