GardenWise Landscapes

Some of the best attention to detail that I have seen. They did all the things you would expect and so many things I didn't expect.

Christine, of Garden Wise, created the plans for our front and backyard landscaping. Both the front and back yard space is rather large. She did a wonderful job with the design. Everyone who has seen it is impressed. She worked with us by listening to our vision, asking us to submit photos (from the internet and from around town) of features and plants we liked. She asked us what type of garden we wanted (we wanted a water sustainable drought tolerant garden) and even the colors of plants and flowers we preferred. She drew up a plan that we then discussed and tweaked to our liking and then we approved the plans. We then decided to have the backyard done first since we like to entertain and we spend more time there. She has a contractor that she works with who has a fabulous crew. Christine came to check on the progress and to approve what changes had to be done when necessary. The project was finally complete at the end of summer. Christine has made several visits to check the garden and to make sure that we understood the water system. We have now asked her to do quarterly visits to guide us through the fist year of the maturity of the plants (they have filled in their spaces very well). We will definitely have her orchestrate the work on the front as well in the future.

Hiring Christine of GardenWise to redo our Berkeley front yard was a great decision. My husband and I continue to marvel at her wonderful design, plant choices, and implementation (aided by her partner Steve, who does her hardscape). Aside from creating a fabulous, highly detailed plan, Christine was at our house, personally laying out the sprinkler system, paths and boulders. She did all the planting herself with the eye of a true artist. Plus she's a joy to work with! In fact, we've had her back to redo our side yard and look forward to having her spruce up our backyard sometime. Friends and neighbors and even strangers continue to compliment our transformed and gorgeous garden. Our house is 90 years old and on a large lot. The front walk was red brick and disproportionally wide, with squares of lawn on either side. A flowering hedge ran along the house. It was very traditional, dated, boring, and not drought tolerant. There were some additional areas, one on the west side of our house, much lower than the lawn, all outlined by red brick retaining walls. We knew this was going to be a huge project for us. And we were concerned about finding the right person and also about staying within our budget. Before finding Christine online I interviewed a few other landscape designer-builders, one or two referred by someone I know. Two candidly told me the job was too big for them. Another led me to decide he was not up to the job when he suggested he put in the new sprinkler system before showing us any plan at all. So I went online and called Christine because I was consistently impressed but the photos of her work. Christine was very professional and systematic. She explained how she works, sent me a long questionnaire to learn our tastes, and arranged a call to discuss what we were looking for. I believe that was before she came out to see our property and talk in person. She produced a fabulous plan (within the time she said she would), showing every detail, and plant choices, including pictures. She came up with a great way to access and use a space we thought was inaccessible. We did replace the too-wide brick walk, as expected, but she transformed the retaining walls by painting them to match the trim on our house and planting to hide or minimize them. I have no hesitation in recommending Christine for any landscape project big or small.

Christine was and is the best thing to ever happen to my garden. In 2021, during Covid times, I spent more time at home, and had to finally admit that my front yard was barren, except for a tired camellia hedge planted in the 1950's. Enter Christine, who I found from her website. She has transformed my front, and most recently, my back garden into vibrant, exquisite landscapes of color, texture, pattern and dimension. I regularly receive compliments from neighbors, friends, passersby, and other gardeners, including several master gardeners. Simply, its a feast for the eyes. There are gravel pathways of rocks, gravel and stone steps which flow around island beds of flowers, trees, and shrubs. Every plant was chosen and placed with a thoughtful, precise vision of the overall design - much like a painting. No wonder because Christine was trained as a fine artist, as well as a horticulture landscape designer. Her painterly aesthetic combines brilliantly with technical design and installation skills, a deep knowledge of plants, vast experience, and an instinctive understanding of what makes a garden thrive. Christine is a consummate professional- organized, timely, communicative, and easy to work with. She first had me complete a questionnaire about my needs, tastes, style and color preferences, and budget. After a site visit, she gave me a cost estimate broken down into various phases, from design to each aspect of installation. Once hired, she created and presented several design schemes. We discussed plant choices, and what was feasible given the climate, design, and budget. The whole process was clearly explained, and collaborative -Christine is a good listener and very responsive. When the design was finalized, she gave beautiful, detailed drawings that included the names of all plants in Latin! Two years later, my gardens are thriving and gorgeous. I spend as much time as possible in them, as they give me daily pleasure, And, amazingly, they are easy to maintain. Christine is a garden landscape genius!

Christine was wonderful to work with, as she asked lots of questions, communicated draft plans, and was responsive to all my requests. She designed both hardscape and landscape for all areas around my home including driveway, patio, and all garden areas. I am so pleased to have a bird and pollinator-friendly garden, just as I requested. She works very closely with Steve MacKenzie of MacKenzie Landscape Gardening who did an amazing job at bringing Christine's concepts to reality. Christine, Steve, and Steve's crew were communicative, prompt, and accommodating of my wishes. It was a true collaboration that turned out beautifully. Steve's employees, particularly Trino Barbar, were amazingly creative and adept in carrying out the vision, and everyone was patient when tweaks to the plan needed to be made. Plus, Steve and his crew were considerate and careful to keep work spaces as clean, neat, and safe as possible when their construction days were done. I highly recommend this amazing team!

Christine did an unbelievable job!! Her and Steve and their crews transformed our wild overgrown back hill, our back yard and our front yard from below average to the nicest in the neighborhood. Their workers not only did excellent work but were friendly, hardworking and more than willing to answer any questions. The interaction was top notch. Originally, we were going to wait a while to finish the third phase of the project - the top of the hill including a nice sitting/viewing platform - but we enjoy the yards so much we decided not to wait and have already given Christine the go ahead. Can't wait!! Neighbors I didn't know stop by to ask who did the work - I'm very happy to recommend GardenWise to anyone who wants unbelievable results. I wish I had more room for before and after pics. The change is wonderful. Thanks again Christine.

Excellent at every point, from design, to installation and follow-up. Christine understood the look and feel we wanted for both curb appeal and everyday enjoyment. We've finished two of three phases of a complete re-do of our landscape around the home, including a front garden, courtyard, and side/back yard. The project included both hardscape and softscape. Christine is great to work with and communicated with us all throughout the project. She incorporated our preferred style, colors and textures while creating drought friendly gardens. We love our landscape and it has held up very well over time.

We had a newer pool/deck in place but the rest of the backyard was basically a blank slate. GardenWise did the design and then we chose them to implement the plan as well. Christine and Sonya came in with an incredible vision using very little upfront direction from us. Not only did they create an incredible design using mostly native drought tolerate plants, but they also reused a bunch of the old landscaping stone to tie it all together and save us money in the process. They really take pride in their work and it showed So glad we reached out to GardenWise, I can't recommend them enough

I searched for a landscaper for a long time before I found GardenWise. The wait paid off. What caught my eye was that the company's gardens displayed on Houzz were all different, which suggested that Christine Wiseman listens to her clients. The gardens were also artful. Good combo. Turns out my impressions were accurate. Christine's process is truly collaborative. Her designs reflects her fine arts background, her sensitivity to a locale, and her horticultural knowledge and imagination. I'm fortunate in another respect: the plantings went in about a month before life changed in mid-March. As I've found myself mostly at home, my new garden has been a great source of respite and pleasure.

Christine, Sonya, and Lena are an amazing crew. We wanted a complete redo of our yard. We gave Christine, the owner, general ideas for what we wanted in our yard. She showed us photos and designs for things that would work well together, and together we came up with a lovely design. Christine is very knowledgeable about plants and yard design, has a great artistic sense, and is thoroughly professional. She works with a small group of excellent subcontractors (for doing things like hardscape) and follows every detail of the work. She also kept in touch with us after completion of the job, offering advice on plant care.

Christine and her team replaced our front and back yards with beautifully designed and realized dry gardens. She is an artist, literally, and uses the components of a garden [such as plants, rocks, walkways, etc.] as though they were colors and shapes on her artist's palette. Everyone who has seen our gardens [and that is a LOT of people as we live on a busy street] has loved them! Many ask for the name of the designer, which we happily provide. Many take pictures. We asked for certain special garden elements [I wanted some mountain sage and a miniature Meyer lemon tree]...no problem at all. We contentedly watch our gardens mature!!

We hired Gardenwise to design and construct a complete front yard renovation. We had very general ideas about the project. Christine presented several basic design plans from which we selected the one we liked best. She then drew a detailed schematic diagram of the project and we discussed plants, aggregate and irrigation. The contractors she employed were professional. Christine remained involved and engaged throughout the project with regular updates on activities and timelines. The project was completed on time and on budget. we would highly recommend using Gardenwise to anyone interested in landscaping architecture services.

When we moved into our flipped home, no one had so much as watered anything for years, I suspect. Both front and back yard were your basic high maintenance wasteland. Christine at GardenWise worked closely with us, listening to what we wanted, sending us lists of candidate plantings, and revising the plans without a murmur. We now have what our neighbors all say is the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood. In addition, Christine and Sonia have helped us maintain that beauty, replacing plants and mulch as needed and adding plantings as we have changed the hardscape in our yard. They are artists with greenery.

We love having Christine, Sonya and Lena taking care of our garden. Our landscaping was pretty much done when they started, but they have added the grid sprinkler system and have maintained the plants we had, plus adding new ones. Their expertise is great and we fully trust them. Their plant knowledge is outstanding. They work very well with us. We highly recommend them! They are very customer oriented.

Awesome working with Christine and team. The work and design she provided are company fits right in and more. Having Christine work on our landscaping is a blessing.

Christine gave me endless tips for garden upkeep. She was responsive to needed changes when the garden was being installed, infomed us of the needed changes and effect on our budget. Christine and her team really know the business of gardening. We enjoy our garden every day since it was installed.

Wonderfully creative, thinking ahead to what will be needed, great aesthetics and work. Reliable and So nice to work with . Couldn’t recommend higher.

We had an excellent experience with Christine and GardenWise from the design process through installation. They removed my front lawn and replaced it with a beautiful low-water, low-maintenance landscape. I found Christine very easy to work with, she stayed within my limited budget, and she was responsive to my questions and concerns. Her crew worked quickly and did an outstanding job. I would highly recommend her.

It’s been a little over two years since Christine and Sonya came into our lives and transformed our entire property to the zen-like oasis we wanted. In short, GardenWise did an incredible job for our outdoor project from conceptual design, detail design, materials and color consultation, to planting selection and oversight of project implementation through completion. We wanted to create an outdoor space that melded two different personality types into a space we would both love....NAILED IT! Christine quickly grasped the challenges of blending a very traditional exterior home with the contemporary art and look we wanted to achieve, addressing limitations by our city’s very strict low tolerant plant guidelines, and while also incorporating privacy. We were very specific in the type of design and plants we wanted in our project. Christine took it from there and was back to us shortly with a rough conceptual we found amazingly responsive to our tastes. While we had a very different budget at the onset, the vision we had would not have been accomplished. In the end, we were well-over our planned budget but through the entire process, Christine was transparent and offered many alternative ideas to reduce cost. In the end, can you really put a price on art? We would recommend GardenWise to anyone without hesitation. In the process of detail design, we collaborated well together and Christine was always professionally polite, yet sensitive to any views we had on colors and material options. She recommended many choices of materials to choose from, and arranged for us to have samples we could hold onto for a few days to think about so that make our selections, yet politely opining if she thought our choice would not work. Her planting design and selection was even more difficult for us to fully grasp yet she led us through this with aplomb and we bought into the flow and form nicely. Throughout the construction process, Christine remained actively involved to ensure that the design in its reality would meet our expectations. As in any project, there arose issues that she made sure were addressed to our satisfaction. From a brief first meeting, tour of our yard, and regular access to our online inspiration photos folder, Christine created for us an oasis of outdoor space and architecture that transitioned so well from the traditional exterior to our more contemporary style. Not having met Christine before this project, today we hold her personally and professionally in the highest regard. She truly creates artistry in her design. What more can we say? Thank you so much for transforming our property into the beautiful space it is today. We believe our front yard is the neighborhood favorite (if they could only see the backyard!) but certainly to all our friends and immediate neighbors. I’m glad we took the time to research local and accredited landscapers and that you were willing to take us on as clients.