Hawkeye Landscape Design

Owner Geri Elfman took my sad, poorly-designed back yard landscaping from an unlovely irritant to a dry climate oasis. I had so much fun working with her to create a lovely space, filled with plants that are appropriate to the Southern California climate and that will require very little work from me going forward. Since I'm a big fan of pretty rocks, we put in a stone planter and lined the other planting beds with the same rocks. The ugly, pitted concrete patio is now beautiful flagstone. She suggested we get a small bolder of the same rock type, bore a hole through it, and create a unique and natural fountain as a focal point - that's been such a fun addition! But best of all, she's extremely knowledgeable about the types of plants that work in this climate, how large they will be at full growth, and where in the yard each plant will thrive. She certainly saved me from making costly mistakes if I'd tried to design this myself. Her landscape team did a great job. I'm loving the results!

We love our newly transformed back yard! It went from a weedy lawn with numerous kid's play structures to a serene space that adults as well as kids are attracted to explore. We use the space so much more now that the patchy grass is gone replaced by succulents that bloom, dynamic boulders and inviting dramatic giant pavers for walkways. The boulder rock waterfall attracts birds who need a drink and our dogs like it too. Our guests have commented on the tranquility they feel in the new backyard. When we decided to add a new stairway to the upper fruit garden, Geri used the leftover brick from the demolition of the borders to create a stairway that is finally safe to use. Geri's workmen were fabulous. They arrived on time and worked very hard despite the heat. They are all skilled and experienced craftsmen with pavers and boulders. They cleverly used leftover materials to solve a drainage issue that saves water and looks good as well. Geri seamlessly combined the best of our existing garden with the new plantings and installations. It looks like it was all planned this way years ago instead of just a few months. We highly recommend Hawkeye Landscape Design.

We are so thrilled to have worked with Hawkeye Landscape Design. Geri listened to our thoughts and ideas for our front and back yards. She made a design which incorporated our ideas. Geri walked us through the process of renovation. She was on site everyday. Her team is incredible. They do amazing work. From retaining walls, dry stone walls, stairs and patios all are done with expertise. Our yard transformed into a serene, beautiful garden planted with drought tolerant plants that looks so inviting. We enjoy walking through our lovely garden everyday. We recommend Geri and her Hawkeye team to anyone. When we have further landscaping needs, we will definitely contact Hawkeye Landscape Design.

Geri and her amazing team transformed our backyard from a plain expanse of grass to a peaceful park-like setting with native plants, succulents, olive trees, and flagstone paths. It's water-wise, but far from xeriscaping, it's full of color and life. We hired Geri for her appreciation and knowledge of plants, which we (and our hummingbirds and other wildlife) appreciate the most - but her selection of rocks and other hardscaping is top-notch as well. The boulder fountains are beautiful and popular with the birds, and a spectacular rock-filled riverbed collects rain and helps with our major drainage concerns. Geri had some ideas we had never even thought of, like a natural cobblestone wall that winds through our garden and is easily the most striking feature. Her team is truly gifted with stonework and it was a joy to watch these artisans at work. Geri also very quickly picked up on our style and what we love, so it feels very much our garden. We spend time out there daily now - what a difference it makes to have a thoughtfully designed, nature-centric backyard!

Working with Geri at Hawkeye Landscape Design has been such a pleasure, we recommend her in a heartbeat. Our goal was to incorporate drought-resistant and native plants, pathways, benches, maybe a wall or 2, etc. to somehow create a highly functional, aesthetically pleasing yard, well connected with nature, providing plenty of places to eat, work, play, sit and just hang out. High quality work is prized in our household. We got it all. I found Geri while looking online (especially Houzz.com) for examples of landscape features I loved, with workmanship I admired. This led me to her website where the projects in her gallery were varied, yet I liked them all. During our first consultation, it was clear that our ideas easily meshed with what she enjoys creating. Discussions during design creation and installation allowed for us to make necessary adjustments so elements functioned well “in the real world”. She was imaginative in finding solutions when we had differing opinions, and patient in teaching us to care for our property. Geri and her crew specialize in stonework and their work is beautifully designed, skillfully and meticulously constructed. The crew was easy to work with, considerate, conscientious and skilled at their work. They worked as a team to create a covered separate patio, arbors, a cabinet with a sink, flagstone floors, pathways and a gorgeous rock wall entry with a heavily weathered mesquite archway. An example of them standing behind their work came when we had a surprise extreme heat wave that overwhelmed one of the newly planted trees. That tree was replaced, no questions asked. Working with Geri was a pleasure with many lasting returns. Our new yard is used every day and we look forward to working with Geri and her crew at Hawkeye Landscape Design in the future.

Geri turned our tired, concrete dominated back yard into a lovely oasis that takes full advantage of the view of surrounding hills. She integrated elements of the pool and existing hardscape so that everything blends seamlessly. A dreary expanse of pool decking was expertly removed by her crew with no damage to the drains underneath. Much of that concrete was repurposed into new terraces down the hill. A seating wall was added that blends perfectly with an existing wall that forms the back side of the pool. An overgrown pittosporum bed was turned into a new sitting area with the best view in the yard. Geri was always either on the site or easily available for any questions we had and she stayed within our predetermined budget. I have been gardening for years, but she introduced me to new interesting plants. She also brought in a great lighting contractor, William Holland (My Quiet Home) who got our old outdoor lighting up and running with new controllers and better placement of the existing lights. My new plantings are now starting to grow in- and I enjoy my new garden so much I am planning to have Geri and her crew back to develop more of our big yard.

Hawkeye Landscape Design did a great job landscaping our very large, hilly back yard - 2 patio covers, new plants, new planting areas, a little hardscaping, lighting, a bit of irrigation, and couple of new lawns. Three weeks, full time. Hawkeye has 2 major assets that make them a great choice - an excellent crew and the designer herself, Geri. The crew was skilled, hard-working, and friendly. Geri planned everything, but was able to work in new requests, was very flexible, and was fantastic to work with. I highly recommend her for any landscaping project.

Oh. My. Gosh. Hawkeye Landscape has made an astonishing improvement to the face of my home. My mid-price tract home now resembles a custom luxury home ... or at least it will after I get the house itself repaired, repainted, and maybe add-on a room or two. ;-) In scouring the pages of Houzz, I found that I was consistently saving landscape images that were created by Hawkeye, so I decided to make a call and invite Geri out for an initial plan. I liked the fact that she didn't design one fully finished "this-is-what-you-get" landscape, but instead presented some options of what could be done, with the intent to work together on how it would evolve. And once we had a basic plan, Geri was sensitive to my spending cap, utilizing the budget in areas that would make the biggest impact. The fact that she has her own crew made the construction time a pleasure because each worker was a total professional. It was quite the education to watch the stone by stone construction of the courtyard wall -- these guys are artists and the wall is beautifully fitted together. In fact, a contractor working on a huge back yard construction down the street made a point of stopping to examine and compliment Hawkeye's work -- and that's pretty danged impressive! I'm looking forward to watching my new plantings grow. Geri installed appropriately hardy, drought resistant (and architecturally interesting) plants which will survive much better than those poor plants the previous landscaper put in fifteen years ago (hydrangea on a dry hillside? Really?). My husband and I love to sit in our new courtyard, and it's fun to have so many neighbors stop to tell us how fabulous the house looks now.

Hawkeye Landscape Design was referred to me by the builder of my Trex deck. After I met with Geri I could see that she had great ideas and was flexible to mine. My backyard which goes down a slope had never been fully landscaped so we were in many ways working with a blank canvas. Because I have added projects on as we have gone along, the job has taken awhile. All of my requests have been cheerfully met - not always easy desires, her crew is great to have around and do wonderful work. I'd gladly hire them to do work for me again. I will have them back to do maintanence to keep things looking perfect for me. :-)

Working with Geri Elfman, owner of Hawkeye Landscape Design, was a pleasure. She recently designed and expertly installed a fabulous new addition to our existing backyard garden. Her new vision seamlessly incorporated the old with the new and we couldn't be happier with the result. Geri is a very gifted, talented and competent designer who listens to the client and works within budget. Her team of long time employees are hard working, skilled and experienced. Geri and her team created a beautiful, peaceful garden retreat which far exceeded our expectations !

It was a pleasure working with Hawkeye Landscape Design. Very courteous and efficient company. We look forward in other projects in the future with Hawkeye. We also look forward in meeting in the near future. Thanks again for your orders.

I had gorgeous landscaping work done by this company. They created a drought friendly succulent garden in my backyard and I am simply in love with it. It is so low maintenance!