Earth Essence Designs

I worked with Laura last Fall and she was exceptional. I am enjoying her vision now that everything is in bloom. Highly recommend ❤️

Laura is fabulous, to put it mildly. We were referred to her by our landscaper, and she helped us come up with a full plan for our massive yard that is perfectly tailored to our vision and preferences. We were hoping to plant mostly native species and encourage pollinators, and her knowledge was astounding. In just a few hours, we had a complete to-scale sketch of our entire property, with a plant key and the number of plants needed so we could either turn it over to our landscaper or do projects we felt comfortable doing on our own. She was a delight to work with, and I am so excited to keep carrying out projects she helped us envision.

Bomb diggity! Laura is great! She is super talented with extraordinary vision. Very humbled. Thank you Laura. Let me know if you need references.

Laura helped us transform our backyard--a challenging space with a steep hillside and multiple planting areas. Laura really listened to our needs and suggested design options to meet our budget. She paid attention to select plants and shrubs to provide the "look" I envisioned but also fit the spaces and conditions. We are enjoying color and interest during every season thanks to Laura's selection and arrangement of perennials. Her pricing model was reasonable, too. We worked with her suggested contractor and were very happy with the results. We are looking forward to hiring Laura again for the next project!

I really enjoyed working with Laura to landscape our backyard. She took the time to understand what we were trying to achieve, gave us lots of options for plants that would work in our space, created the plan and referred us to someone who could do the work. She also made suggestions that would reutilize existing materials to make our project as cost efficient as possible. Our backyard is now the lovely haven that we hoped it would be. She is really knowledgeable about indigenous plants, which was a priority for us. The plans she drew up are so beautiful that I feel like I should frame them. I highly recommend Laura for any landscaping design needs.

Highly recommend. Laura Volk provided a beautiful landscape design for a troublesome area around our back deck. She has a huge knowledge of which plants will do well in different conditions. In our case we have a hill, tree roots, hungry deer and rabbits, as well as bright shade under tall trees, but no direct sunlight at all. She found the perfect plants and placed them strategically in groupings -- so we will regain the privacy we lost large when large evergreens came down -- yet we still have an open view to woodlands behind us. The design is so creative! Skip laurel, red twig dogwood, serviceberry autumn brilliance, and grasses for wet slopes. Laura is very quick to respond to my questions and make small adjustments. Great value for great work. I can update this review in the spring when everything leafs out. Highly recommend Earth Essence Designs and Laura Volk!

Laura developed beautiful, creative designs for our mid-century modern home. The fact that she is a horticulturalisr gave us confidence in her recommendations.

We contacted Laura for a consultation to help us make some decisions to update our yard, including installing a patio and a design update for plants/shrubs along the perimeter. She was fantastic! We loved her ideas and suggestions, not just about where to put the patio but also she worked with us to identify plants/trees that would fit our yard (and be minimal upkeep). She made a great sketch of the plan with everything we discussed and we'll be implementing it in stages. We look forward to working with Laura more on this project as it progresses.

Laura has been the most instrumental part of our huge backyard remodel. We took on the massive project of converting our large backyard that was overgrown tree size weeds, into an outdoor oasis complete with waterfall and river, beautiful landscaping and privacy, outdoor pergola and seating area, and sandy beach into the lake. We really had no idea what we were doing, but with a few skilled helpers and Laura’s designs and step-by-step instructions the whole way we have nearly completed a project that seemed impossible. Laura went above and beyond educating us every step of the way. She researched what was needed for our area and taught us what to do each step along the way

Laura was quick to respond to my request for help, and gave me some very good ideas on how to better design and add more appropriate perennials to my garden. I would highly recommend her to anyone feeling at wits end in trying to get a handle on their green space!

Laura Volk has one quality that puts her light years ahead of every other landscape designer - she actually listens to what her client wants, and how her client feels about their living environment. She has no agenda to push onto others regarding what their property should look like, what plants they're "supposed" to plant, what things are trendy, what things would "look better." She wants to know first and foremost, what YOU want your yard to look like, and how you want to experience it. All of her designs begin from there. She takes your thoughts and ideas and priorities, and then she creates a plan that reflects your personality, only better than if you tried to do it yourself. Her extensive knowledge of plant life, particularly natives and edibles, opens up possibilities you probably hadn't considered but which are delightful and that give your outdoor space the potential to thrive. Her creativity and imagination will help make your yard unique and very personally enjoyable. You will come away with the satisfaction of having built it yourself too!

I wanted to transform my front lawn into a butterfly garden and Laura delivered in spades! It now teems with pollinators and fragrant flowers. I asked for a tough combination of easy-care, deer-resistant, and pollinator-friendly. She figured out how to do so and with a harmonious whole. I was also impressed that she followed through at the end of the year with replacing plantings that had not worked out. Throughout she was cheerful, knowledgeable, and professional. I've had many neighbors stop by to express how much they liked it.