Foss Garden Design

We moved to south Walnut Creek a year and a half ago, and decided to renovate our front yard. We had the pleasure of working with Reka Foss to design our landscape. She came highly recommended, and it was clear from the start that she has deep expertise designing landscapes for Walnut Week. Reka’s deep knowledge of native plants and the local climate was invaluable, especially as we were looking for a design that would thrive in Walnut Creek's summer sun while being drought-tolerant (not that rain has been a big issue for us as of late). Throughout the process, Reka took a consultative and collaborative approach, meeting with us multiple times on-site to ensure she fully understood our vision. She worked closely with us to create a beautiful, zen-like garden, providing detailed plans for trees, plants, ground cover, hardscaping, fencing, lights, and an efficient irrigation system. Reka is also highly creative - we had removed a non-native tree that was growing into a power line, and she suggested that we turn it into a stump jump. Reka is incredibly easy to work with—knowledgeable, patient, and always open to feedback - and will work within your budget. She also recommended several landscapers/installers, and we ended up going with one of her top suggestions (Calvin Landscaping). The final product was even more stunning than we imagined, and to our delight, our landscape won second place in a local landscape competition. We highly recommend Reka Foss to anyone looking for an expert landscape architect, particularly for those interested in sustainable, native plant designs. We're glad that we used a professional to create a garden we'll enjoy for years.

Reka transformed our large lot, terracing an unusable hillside into a lovely seating area with fire pit, building a rain garden, and integrating vegetable troughs into our small side yard. She helped us realize our vision of water-sparing landscaping, with native plants, that attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. Her communications were straightforward and clear. Business practices were very professional. She has a warm demeanor that invites collaboration. We were so pleased that we are working with her again to refresh our garden!

You would be very fortunate to work with Reka. She listens. to what you are trying to achieve, and then creates something better than you ever envisioned. Reka has a wonderful eye for plant heights, texture, color. In Spring 2022, I decided it was time to get rid of my backyard of grass, and create a garden that would attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. And that is exactly what Reka did. It is my oasis, and brings so much joy into my life. And, with everything being low water use plants, I am using much less water to take care of the garden. Even with all of the rains of this winter, we still need to be water conscious. And the beauty of the garden goes so far beyond the expanse of grass. Absolutely spectacular! And, I was so happy that I had Reka back in the fall of 2022 to refresh my front yard, too. Thank you, Reka.

Reka’s design for our backyard went beyond our expectations! She took a neglected, overgrown, and unused part of our yard and made it into a beautiful gathering spot with a fire pit and surrounding plantings that attract hummingbirds and gift us with spots of color. We really appreciated that she listened to and incorporated all of our preferences.