Sarah Herman Landscape Design

After years of drought our backyard looked like a mud pit. The pathways were decomposing, the grass no longer existed and the hedges that created green-screen between yards (vs. heavy fencing) was infested with bugs. We wanted a backyard that would be an extension of our living area and one that wouldn't feel boxed in. I called Sarah Herman to the rescue. Sarah worked with us to design a yard filled with drought resistant, colorful plants; fruitless olive trees (to avoid mess); and pittosporum to retain the light, private green-screen between homes. Three years later, the yard is totally filled in and meets our every expectation. It works for entertaining or just relaxing with a book. Sarah is visionary, affordable and an excellent project manager. (When looking at 2019 photo, ignore the wild potted tomato plant - not part of landscaping)

I truly enjoyed the collaboration with Sarah Herman. My husband loves boulders and paths and I love native plant gardens, fruit trees and growing vegetables. Sarah worked with us both to transform a weedy, sloping backyard into terraced spaces with something for everyone, including a central labyrinth to walk, enjoy, and view from above.

Sarah created a beautiful front garden for us; we love it! She gives the right amount of time and is respectful consulting with her clients regarding their preferences and about site potential. She brings extensive horticultural knowledge to her skillful designs. She is clear and definite about dates of work and about costs. She has solid relationships with the contractors who provide site specific assistance. She is open to client input regarding design features. She is available by phone or computer and responds timely. She is the ultimate professional. .

Working with Sarah was an absolute delight, and a breeze. She supported us from early design concepts and even through the installation of her design, and even after. Sarah spent the time to really understand how we wanted to use our yard, and helped us to see how we could make much better use of the space we had. She was able to design beautifully around some unusual constraints, like our parking space, and a back yard climbing wall, and was able to help us completely re-imagine our back yard. Consultations and communication with her were easy, and she was incredibly patient in answering our many, many questions, from trees, to boulders, and groundcover choices, irrigation and more. She chose beautiful plantings and was incredibly knowledgable about surfacing, timelines, and anything else we were curious about. After our project was complete, Sarah took the time to make sure we were happy with the final product, and really helped us to understand the new plantings in the garden. She even helped us figure out how to fight garden pests. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her! Highly recommend. Our new back yard blew away our expectations, and brings us pleasure every day.

Sarah Herman is legitimately the BEST professional landscape designer I've met. Being in the real estate industry I have a vast array of contacts for all things home-improvement related, including how to maximize the look and feel of a garden and outdoor space. Sarah worked collaboratively with me, listened to my ideas and preferences, and offered a variety of suggestions and ideas to complete the most beautiful front yard garden I could imagine. Sarah was professional, reliable, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. The job was completed about 5 years ago and still I get people who walk by and stop to marvel at the garden. Some knock on my door and ask who was the mastermind behind the masterpiece! I've recommended Sarah to many folks and will continue to do so. She's incredible, I cannot recommend her higher.

We had the privilege of working with Sarah on two projects at two homes. In both projects we were beyond thrilled with our new landscape. Our most recent project involved expanding our yard and incorporating native landscaping, farm boxes, and maximize the play space for our children. Sarah was very professional and most importantly, attentively listened to us describe our dream yard. She took our ideas and developed a comprehensive design, providing suggestions to optimize the landscape. It has been wonderful to see the vegetation mature. Spending time outside is our favorite family activity.

Sarah did a wonderful job helping us to completely redesign our outside space. She had creative design and planting ideas, was responsive to our input, helped to find a great contractor, and was both professional and easy to work with. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for great design input and good practical advice.

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Sarah to design our backyard redo. Sarah first met with us to see the property space and to get a feel for our thoughts around this much-needed face-lift as well as our preferred aesthetic. Neither of us are plant experts, so tapping into Sarah's vast knowledge and tasteful design approach was just what we needed. Not only did Sarah create an outstanding design layout for us - complete with suggested deck, plant and boulder placements - but she connected us with an equally professional, competent, and thoughtful landscape contractor. Together, they transformed our once clunky, barely used backyard into an oasis to which we retreat at the end of a long day, where our daughter can play, and our guests can lounge amidst a scenic layout of flora. From start to finish, Sarah was easy to talk to, readily available, and incredibly insightful. She offered a range of options based on our budget; money spent on this project is perhaps the best we've spent to date on making our home our favorite place to be. We brag about Sarah whenever we're complimented about our backyard and we've already met with her to make some minor upgrades to our front yard. Thank you so much, Sarah!

Sarah made the process so easy. Her designs and plant selections were-spot on. Implementation was timely and very high quality. She oversaw all the work and made sure I was satisfied with every last detail. She has followed up with me since the work was completed to make sure I was still satisfied, and offered tips and resources to help me maintain my yard. I highly recommend her!!!

Sarah did a fantastic job on what I consider a difficult site, and she was a pleasure to work with. Our project involved a complete do-over of our front courtyard from the street to the front of the house. This is a steep hillside, with the house about 18 steps below the street. It included completely reconfiguring the entry stairs, building new rock walls, adding an outdoor kitchen with a grill, refrigerator, and pizza oven, irrigation, lighting, and plants, a tiled patio, and a raised ipe deck. The end result was far nicer that I could have hoped we might accomplish. I designed and built the ipe fencing myself, but Sarah designed the rest after that was already in place. Her recommendation for the landscape contractor was excellent, and the whole project went smoothly. Check out the before and after photos!

I selected to work with Sarah Herman because of her very, very highly rated reviews. She has exceed not only my expectations but my dreams. I have a very small craftsman house, with a very small front yard. Even knowing that most of her clients have spaces several times larger than mine, I asked her to come to look at the job anyway. I have never worked with anyone whom I would rate higher than Sarah Herman. Of course, she is very talented and most knowledgeable. But most importantly, she is an astoundingly good listener, always asking for clarification when needed. She keeps her word right down to the last iota, she is prompt, and she is also very accommodating--bending over backwards to meet the client's needs and even the client's dreams . The consequence of all of this is that I have a front yard beyond my dreams, my home looks beautiful AND everything installed is very easy to care for. Some of the plants, since they have a drip irrigation system, require no more of me than a kind word , now and then ;).