Landscape Design and Consultations, Austin
Are you tired of looking at your yard not knowing where to begin? Let me give you 10 great reasons to call me for a landscape design or consultation.
1) Lawn Care
Whether you want to remove your lawn completely or learn why your lawn never seems to be happy, I can help you come up with a solution, watering schedule and fertilization.
2) Plant selection
From full sun to full shade I know plants. Low water, low maintenance, native and adapted plants and trees are my specialty. I can also teach you how and when to trim.
3) Outdoor living space
Allow me to create additional living spaces with clever solutions including stone options and installation details.
4) Privacy
Have a neighbor you would prefer not to see, or a noise issue that makes being outside unpleasant? Let me show you some plant and design selections that can address your needs with style.
5) Trees
Oak Wilt is epidemic in our area so I teach you how to properly trim Oaks and all trees, as well as when to do it.
6) Water Conservation
We all have to do our part and I provide valuable money-saving information on water conserving plants, designs and rain barrels.
7) Organic Pest Control and Fertilization
I am certified in organic gardening and have. Whole host of great ways to control or improve just about everything. Why use chemicals when there are organic solutions to almost every problem?
8) Design
With my Landscape Consultation, I will teach you to design your own space using basic measurements and the plant selection we compile during our visit. (I can also design your space for you)
9) You Can Do it Yourself or Take Educated Bids
If you are the type of person who really prefers to do it yourself and just need some direction, a landscape consult is a perfect place to start. I give you step by step instruction including timing and where to purchase the materials you will need. If you plan to have the work done or take bids, you still need to know what you are biding on and what you truly need. An educated consumer is a savvy consumer. My job is to talk you out of “up sells” and unnecessary materials by showing you “all” of your options, not just the most profitable ones for me.
10) I Can Save You Thousands in Costly Mistakes
Lastly, my landscape designs and consultation aren’t to “upsell” you. My only goal is to educate you on your landscape. I help you stay in your budget, save money on choosing the wrong plants and materials and offer alternatives to costly hardscape finishes.
Before a consultation and design…
Before, you cannot see the huge porch and the windows have no natural light from the crowded, over sized bushes.
After the consultation and full design
After. Open, inviting, updated! Ready to enjoy, or sell for a premium.
Before: Desolate post-construction, outdated landscape in serious need of some love.
After: A Hill Country landscape indicative of the architectural aspects of the home and the beautiful Texas Hill Country topography.
Leader limestone saw cut stepping stones.
For the best result, I use only native and adapted plants for our Central Texas planting zones 8a/b. You need to add loads of compost and mulch and ultimately, you need to know how to care for your plants properly so you are set for success.
Best of all, Consultations are really fun and informative. They should be required for every home owner! I provide Online Landscape Consultations through Zoom for $250 for Cedar Park, Leander, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Austin, Buda, San Marcos, Driftwood, Wimberly, Kyle or anywhere in Hardiness Zone 8 a/b. This service includes the zoom call, a plant list, general instruction and information and sketches from the photos you provide by email.
Depending on your area, an in person consultation is $350-$395 for a 30 minute educational “walk and talk”. This service is followed up by concept sketches on photos I take during our visit, an edited plant list as well as instructions and information packet for you to use throughout your space.
Full Landscape Design
In the end, should we determine that a full Landscape Design is needed, the consultation cost goes towards the cost of a detailed sketch or design. The average bed design ranges from $375-500 (for small or builders beds and a consultation) and a full, in color design ranges from $750 to $2000. Please check my list of services for more information.
Ultimately, a design consultation is a conceptual idea or plan of action with a write up of the details to include my professional recommendations for your property. Additionally, you will receive an edited plant list for your property and sunlight needs.
You will also receive a list of organic protocols, watering instructions, general lawn and tree care, and planting instructions. Examples of recommended hardscape materials are also provided.
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So you know, Landscape consults are scheduled Monday – Friday mornings from 9:00 to noon. My afternoons are scheduled for drawing. If you would like to contact me to schedule your online or in-person landscape consultation, please send me an email and photos of your space to lisalapaso@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Beneficial Bugs “Get to know your friends”
Lizards, frogs and many beneficial insect eat the destructive pests in your garden. You need to be able to recognize who is who…Amphibians are hyper sensitive to chemicals so always use organics whenever possible.
Beneficial insects play a very important role in our biological warfare. One of the best reasons to employ the bug world to fight your pest fights is that chemical insecticides in the form of a broad spray or granular broadcast kill the good guys and can make matters worse. It has also been shown that destructive insects are actually becoming immune to chemical pesticides do to the gross over use in tremendous volume, which is obviously counterproductive in a large number of ways. Chemicals destroy not just the pests, but people, water and soil too. It is very important to get to know your friends and foes in the garden. When you know who is actually working for you, you can make better choices in the way you tackle a potential pest problem. For example, spraying a pesticide over a large area kills your bees, lady bugs, spiders, lizards and any other soft bodies creature who comes in contact with it. Do you really want your children and pets around that? Best part is (not really the best part…being facetious) is that when the destruction is done on land, it dissipates into the air as well…lose, lose.
You can order many bugs online to add to your arsenal, and others like Ladybugs, beneficial Nematodes and Praying Mantis can be purchased at local nurseries and released in your yard. (How cool is that!) You can also order them online at The Bug Lady and some natural pesticide at Planet Natural online. Many of your local nurseries will carry much of this as well so always support your local business whenever possible and if they do not carry these items, ask them to do so!
Lady bugs eat Aphids, in fact, an adult Ladybug can eat up to 5000 Aphids in its lifetime. While you may easily recognize a
These are the Aphids being munched on by Lady Bug Larvae…This is why it is important to know who your allies are!
lovely Lady Beetle, you may not recognize its eggs that are attached to the bottom of a leave in a yellow egg cluster, or that it’s larvae, that can eat a good amount of Aphids themselves, looks like a tiny ugly alligator (photo right). This is why it so important to know who your allies are.
One example of a pest or visitor I don’t mind sharing with is a caterpillar that will some day be a butterfly. Swallow Tails (caterpillar shown below) love dill and every year I plant plenty so they can have their fill. However, the Tomato Horn Worm is another story. While the Horn Worm will become a Sphinx Moth (Hummingbird Moth) they are voracious and should be controlled as they can eat an entire tomato plant or Penta overnight. I choose the pick and flick method. Yes, it is just how it sounds, I pick them off the plant and flick them off my property, or I escort them down the road to a field away from my house if my son catches me as he believes you should find them a new home ( and he is right), but you may choose to employ the Trichogramma Wasp. This wasp lays it eggs in the caterpillars and many other pests and when the eggs hatch, they feast on the host. Pretty gross really, but after you have lost enough food to the critters…it feels more like tit-for-tat ;-/ The variety of wasp depends on your location and you can ask for the ones for your area when you order them.
I will be a beautiful Black Swallowtail one day. Please protect me so I can pollinate your flowers later.
Now maybe you’re not the buying bugs type, so at the very least you need to get to know who your friends are. There is a list of beneficial bugs you can find on-line, there are plenty of books, and you can find a short list of both good and bad bugs on a handy laminated single page you can buy at any bookstore for about $6. You can keep the page somewhere convenient and when you see a bug you don’t recognize, you can identify if it is a friend or a foe. If it is a friend, thank him for his kindness ;-), if it is a foe, you will know who it is and you can learn how to attack it. (organically of course )
Now, say you have found a huge breakout of Aphids, (which by the way can be controlled by a hard spray of water from the hose) you can get your Lady Beetles and set them free on that plant/plants, and they will go right to work. If it is a pest you identify but are unable to locate a beneficial bug to “sick on it”, you can be sure your Praying Mantis will take on the job. They are ravenous and vicious and while they will make good work on the bad bugs, they aren’t choosy and will eat anything in their way, including good bugs or her partners head after she has mated. Ugh
However, if you locate a certain bug and realize that the infestation is too great and or aren’t going to purchase bugs, and you think you need to rely on chemical warfare, than you will know what you are treating and can treat only the affected plants, not the whole yard. You begin of course with organics, but if the problem persists, you go to the chemicals as a last resort. There truly is an organic remedy for just about everything, so taking a daily stroll through the garden is not only therapeutic, but helps you see there is a problem before it is too big for an organic solution.
If you are on Facebook, please ck out my” Lisa’s Landscape & Design” Page and by pressing the “like” button you will get daily updates about all sorts of great info including pics of beneficial bugs and what they are hungry for. Here is also a list of the good guys from the Mater Gardeners website.
Happy Gardening !!
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design (“like” me on Facebook!) 
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Check me out of YouTube!
Gardener “Must-Haves”
Gardener “Must Haves”
No matter what time of year rather it’s the holidays, a birthday or any time of year, these are some of my favorite gifts and gardener “must haves”.
Gardening Gloves and Sleeves 
Gloves are a gardener must in most cases and while I’m guilt of not wearing them too often, I have payed for it dearly over the years. The sleeves are a great addition for scratchy plants and sensitive skin. The gloves below are available in several lengths and even tech friendly for when you’re pretending you’re at work.
Moisture Meter
Planting Season In Austin
Planting season in Austin can be a challenge with such short windows of opportunity. Depending on where you’re from, planting seasons can vary wildly. While some have long planting seasons for plants, shrubs and trees, those of us in Central Texas have very small windows for perennial plantings and you will need to prepare well ahead of time for success.
This view is over 70% edible plants and trees
Spring vs Fall Planting Season
When is the best time for planting in either season? Well, in spring you want to plant after the last frost which is typically early March. for Fall, it can vary from year to year but you want the temperatures to have dropped consistently into the low 90’s and upper 80’s. Some years that is in late September and other years it is in mid to late October.
My general advice for my clients is to plant your trees and shrubs in the fall and save the smaller plants for the spring because our winters can be so unpredictable.
Continue reading
Mexican Bush Sage
Mexican Bush Sage
I’ve had a long time crush on the Mexican Bush Sage. It is one of those delightfully complex plants with a long narrow, textured, sage-green leaf with a striking silver underside. The flowers are long spikes of pubescent lavender, purple and white, tubular flowers that reach up to the sky in the Texas heat.
Mexican bush sage
Suitable for Hardiness Zones 8-10
Maturing at about 4’ x 4’+, this perennial shrub is an excellent back drop plant for any garden but is also fabulous planted in mass. This baby is a heat seeking, sun loving shrub that thrives in low water landscapes. This makes it suitable for any xeriscape garden.
Pollination Station
Bees love this shrub and there have been times when it was actually audible with the buzz of busy bees. Butterflies are also a big fan of this flower for its reliable food source.
Semi Evergreen and Super Low Maintenance
Another great benefit of this shrub is that is semi-evergreen, which means it stays green in mild winters, or makes a quick comeback after a hard freeze. The only maintenance this shrub requires once established, is that you need to break or cut back the dead stems after a hard winter.
This plant is perfect for hardiness zones 8-10. While it’s not a Texas Native, it is highly adaptable, deer resistant and non invasive. It’s a heat loving, full sun thriving, rockstar shrub that grabs your attention with its spring and late summer blooms. If you have been thinking about adding it to your low water landscape, this is a perfect time to get planting.
If you’re looking for more sun loving plants for Austin and the surrounding area, contact me at lisalapaso@gmail.com for a Landscape Consultation or Landscape Design.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Sweet Almond Verbena, Incense Bush
Sweet Almond Verbena
Sweet Almond Verbena (Aloysia virgata), or Incense Bush is a large perennial shrub that is native to Argentina, but highly adapted to the Central Texas heat, low water and soil conditions.
Incredibly Fragrant
Almond Verbena is a fragrant shrub for hardiness zones 8-11. I have been in love with this shrub for as long as I can remember because it is such an elegant beast and the scent permeates a space in such a delightful way. I use the word “beast” because it’s a big momma. Reaching heights of 10-12’ and growing wide to 4-6’, it is a formidable structure in the landscape. However, the flowers are delightfully whimsical and dripping with the scent of almond extract and vanilla with a hint of grape soda. Continue reading
Turks Cap
Turks Cap is one of those ubiquitous plants often seen in both commercial and residential landscape. But what most people don’t realize is that it has super powers, so we’re gonna discuss that today.
Turks Cap is Edible
Yes, it is edible. The flowers, fruit and leaves are all edible and make a delicious addition to salad. The flowers have a lightly sweet melon flavor and can be used to make a soothing tea. The fruit has a similar flavor and can be used to make dried fruit or jelly, and the leaves can be cooked or steamed and eaten like spinach.
3 Beautiful Shades of Color
The Texas Native is red, but there are two hybrids which are pink and white.
All of these plants are super hardy and low water once established. They are beautiful planted as individual specimen plants and planted in mass. The white and pink varieties can be hard to find but worth the trouble, though curiously, I have had a pink morph into white over time.
Pink Turks Cap (Pam Puryear)
Turks Cap ( White lightening)
Red Turks Cap (Native)
They Love Sun to Shade!
As a Landscape Designer, it can be a real challenge finding plants that can work well in landscapes that range from full sun to deep shade. I use this plant in my designs quite often because it’s one of those rare plants that really thrives in both sunlight conditions.
The flowers, fruit and bright green leaves are quite lovely from sun to shade and play beautifully with the filtered light.
A Perfect Xeriscape Plant for Central Texas
You may find these native plants in green belts where birds will drop the seeds and spread them about. This tells you that this plant is easy care, super low water and deer resistant, which makes a huge difference when you’re growing a xeriscape garden where wildlife thrives.
Xersicape doesn’t mean “rock garden”, it means low water landscape. So using rock or mulch has less to do with it than the plants you choose.
Its mature size can vary wildly. I have seen them mature from 3-6’ tall and wide, so it’s best to place them in the back or middle of your beds to allow it to do what it wants.
I hope you have a new found interest for this lovely plant and the reason it is so popular in Central Texas. It is a highly versatile perennial for its ability to grow from sun to shade, it is beautiful in all 3 colors, it is super drought tolerant and deer resistant, and it is very low maintenance once established.
If you’d like help with more native and adapted plants for Central Texas, please contact me at Lisalapaso@gmail.com!
If you’d like more information on edible Texas Natuve plants, check out this great resource.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”