Landscape Design

Landscape design in Austin is part gardening and part engineering. The gardening part is picking plants that will thrive here. They have to handle humid summers, winter freezes, and dense clay soil. The engineering part is knowing what that clay does when it freezes, soaks up rain, or bakes in a drought. We design beds, hardscape edges, and drainage that move with the ground instead of fighting it.

We design and install home landscapes across Austin and its suburbs. That includes Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Leander, Hutto, Manor, Bee Cave, Kyle, Buda, and Lakeway. Every design starts with a site review. We look at sun, soil, drainage, and how much upkeep you want. Then we build a planting plan built mostly around native and well-adapted plants.

Step one is an on-site visit. We walk the property and note what is there now, like soil depth, drainage, sun, mature trees, and buried utilities. We also listen to what you want. That might be curb appeal, a usable backyard, a certain look like cottage or prairie or formal, or just something that does not die every August. We take measurements, photos, and notes.

Step two is the design plan. We draw a scaled planting plan that shows bed layouts, plant types and counts, sprinkler coverage if you need it, and any hardscape features. We list every plant by its common and botanical name, with its full size and care needs. You see exactly what you are getting.

Step three is the owner-approved implementation scope. It should specify bed preparation, soil amendments, plant spacing, planting depth, mulch depth, irrigation changes, materials, access, and what counts as done.

Central Texas-Native and Adapted Plant Palette

We lean heavily on plants that grew up in or adapted to our climate and soil. For flowers, we use purple coneflower, Texas coneflower, black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed, and native asters. For structure, we use oakleaf hydrangea, serviceberry, Eastern redbud, and native viburnums. For grasses, we use little bluestem, switchgrass, and muhly grass. Flowering dogwood and tulip poplar anchor shaded and focal spots.

These choices matter. Native plants handle our conditions without the water, fertilizer, and pesticides that imported ones need. A well-placed native planting will still look good in year five. The same bed planted with boxwood and daylilies is often showing gaps and needing replacement by then.

We do use non-native plants where a design calls for them, like certain hollies, Japanese maples in shade, and boxwood in formal gardens. But the base is always plants that fit the region. If you want a plant we know will struggle on your site, we flag the risk in writing before we install it.

Austin sits on caliche limestone with a thin layer of clay topsoil on top. Often it is just 6 to 18 inches deep before you hit rock. In cedar glade areas, common in south Travis and Williamson counties, it can be even thinner. That shapes how we build beds. When we cannot dig down, we build up. Raised beds with the right soil mix beat dug-in beds in most local soil.

Drainage is the other constant problem. Clay holds water. That is fine in April and deadly in July, when roots sit in soaked soil during the heat and the plants suffocate. So we build slight slopes, French drains where needed, and berm-and-swale features that carry water away from plants instead of pooling it at the roots. Every design plans for where water goes in a 3-inch rain.

A full install handles the whole landscape in one job. That covers the front yard, backyard, beds, trees, sprinklers, mulch, and cleanup. It usually takes one to three weeks on site, depending on scope, plus a 6-week period where we come back for check-ins.

A phased design breaks the property into two or three rounds, usually by area or season. This lets you spread the cost and see results before you commit to the rest. A common pattern is front yard in spring, backyard in fall, and specialty beds or hardscape the next year. It works well with our hardscape team when patios, walls, or walkways are part of the plan.

Landscape design is rarely a standalone job. Most installs tie in with lawn mowing, since new plants change mowing patterns. They also tie in with hardscape work, since bed lines run against patios and walkways, and with sprinkler changes, since new beds need drip coverage. When we handle the whole property, the work stays in sync, and you do not pay twice for the same scope.

Ask for a free quote or a consultation, and we will walk your property. We quote flat pricing before any work starts, and we credit the design fee toward the install if you move forward. See our service areas page for coverage, or call (512) 690-4912.

How We Approach Landscape Design in Austin

Every Landscape Design project we handle in Travis County starts with a site walk. We map sun, drainage, soil, and existing systems before quoting. No cookie-cutter packages — your property gets a plan built for it.

Process Overview

Site assessment, written estimate, scheduled work window, completion walkthrough. Most Landscape Design projects in Austin complete inside the agreed timeline with zero surprise charges.

Mature trees shape every design decision. Our Austin tree service covers oak wilt-safe pruning and the canopy work that protects a new landscape investment.

We handle landscape design for homeowners across Austin and nearby, including Landscape design in Kyle, Landscape design in Lakeway, Landscape design in Leander, Landscape design in Manor, and Landscape design in Pflugerville; see all the areas we serve.

We provide landscape design across Austin and nearby communities, including Landscape design in Kyle, Landscape design in Lakeway, Landscape design in Leander, Landscape design in Manor, and Landscape design in Pflugerville — see all areas we serve.

Austin Pro Landscape Editorial Team

Austin-focused landscaping resources are reviewed against public authority sources and property-specific scope requirements.