David Clarke Design

When my husband and I purchased our 1940's cottage style home, we had a vision of turning our grass only front yard into a native plant garden that would attract butterflies and other pollinators. It was wonderful working with David to make this vision a reality. He listened to our ideas, made great suggestions and answered all of our questions. He also suggested contractors to complete his design and made numerous visits throughout the project to ensure everything was done correctly. Even today, David still answers any questions we have regarding our garden. He is very kind, patient and knowledgeable. We highly recommend choosing David for your landscape design needs.

We absolutely love our yard! My wife and I were referred to David by a friend and we hired him to help us transform our 1950's style front lawn and hedge to an updated, water-wise landscape that would also fit with our cottage style home (not just cacti and succulents). We really appreciated the time and patience David took talking with us about our ideas for the yard from the color palette and texture of the plants we desired to the flow of the front walkways as well as the multiple renderings he did to make it perfect. His knowledge of plants is extraordinary and he was able to match all of our desired criteria. Now, instead of a semi dried out lawn we have a beautiful flowering yard full of life that makes us smile every day. We never imagined a water-wise landscape could have so much resemblance to a traditional flowering garden. We highly recommend David to anyone looking to landscape their yards. In a side note, David made our yard so beautiful is recently won the 2020 San Diego Water Smart Landscape Contest for the Helix water district!! Thank you again David.

I highly recommend David Clarke Design. It was a pleasure to work with David to design our backyard landscape. We wanted a park-like setting that attracted birds and butterflies, dog-friendly, low-maintenance and drought-adapted. David was able to take our vague ideas along with our budget constraint and designed a backyard that is perfect for us. We love our backyard and would definitely work with David again on future projects.

David was great to work with. He is very pleasant to work with and really knows his stuff. We just completed our design and we are very happy with the end result. In our case, we had a list of what we wanted and some basic ideas. David helped us develop our ideas, add ideas of his own, pull everything together, and make it look professional. It was an iterative process and he was very patient through the whole thing. He has quite a bit of industry experience and knows a lot about plants. We would definitely work with David again, and I would recommend him to friends.

David Clarke Design created a BEAUTIFUL back yard for me. David was extremely creative and patient. The challenge I gave him was balancing a beautiful, tranquil space while accommodating two large dogs (complete with all the ways two large dogs can ruin a yard!). David really listened to my wants and needs, worked with me on revising plans, and also checked in once work started. He was great on email when I had questions along the way. I LOVE my yard! Thank you, David. My highest recommendation!

A couple of years ago we purchased a 40 year old home with a 40 year old landscape in a beautiful neighborhood in Poway. We wanted to remodel our front and back yards in a way that retained the rustic charm of our home, while moving from a thirsty combination of turf and overhead sprinklers to a an attractive and water-conserving mix of flowers, shrubs, and fruit trees with drip irrigation. We hired David to design our new landscape, and he did an awesome job for us! He spent enough time with us at our home to develop our overall design concept, and then helped us to visualize our new landscape through expert drawings, photos and examples of plants and hardscape materials. Midway through our landscape design process, I connected with a local expert in water harvesting, greywater, and bio-swale design, and brought her onto our "design team." David did a great job of incorporating her recommendations into our overall design, and we recently received approval of a sizable "landscape renovation" rebate for our project. We will continue to use David through the installation phase of our project, and are confident that we will end up with a great result!

We’ve worked with David twice now and have been thrilled with the results both times! A few years ago, we enlisted David’s help in revamping the landscaping at our old house, and his beautiful design was a major selling point when we put our home on the market a year later. When we bought our new home, the exterior was essentially a sea of wood chips and palm trees, so we knew we’d have to call upon David once again. David worked wonders with the front and back yards of our new home, creating a “desert resort” vibe using drought-tolerant plants and succulents, gorgeous flagstone paths and boulders, artificial turf, and sophisticated path lighting and up lighting. We appreciated David’s artistic eye as well as his comprehensive knowledge of plants, and his collaborative approach ensures an end result that is both practical and beautiful. Given the high cost of landscape remodeling, there is simply no substitute for good design! David provides a valuable service, ensuring not only that your home has beautiful curb appeal, but also that your landscaping dollars are well spent!

My wife and I enjoyed working with David. We were interested in finding a landscape designer with a knowledge of plants that would thrive with limited watering, be pleasing in appearance and require only moderate maintenance. David was able to take our general ideas, flesh them out, and develop a detailed plan. He solicited our views during intermediate steps and adapted the plan based on our input. He was particularly good about explaining why he chose the plants that he did and possible pitfalls of the various choices he offered. We were every pleased with the final product.

Working with David was a fantastic experience. He is professional, punctual, extremely knowledgeable, and, most important of all, he really listened and took into account our vision for our garden. We definitely want to work with David again on future projects.

From the moment I met with David, I knew he was perfect for our needs. My family & I felt listened to. He is not only very well versed in his field, he takes the time to think through different options and works within your budget. I am so happy with our end result!!

Outstanding personal service. Great attention to detail in fully understanding what I wanted, and modifying as needed. I ended up with a great result, within the budget discussed. David also has followed up post-project and checked in to insure everything is growing in as planned. He recommended great contractors to solicit bids from.

It was a pleasure working with David Clarke to design our new landscape. He listened and could see our vision, which was, drought-tolerant California native plants with low maintenance requirements. He had ideas we hadn't thought about. He is very thorough and revised the plans several times until we were satisfied with it. He also worked with our contractor to ensure proper installation. We felt his fees were very reasonable.. We can't wait to see it when it grows out.