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!
Square Bud Primrose, Sundrops
Like a Ray of Sunshine in the Landscape
Square Bud Primrose, also known as “Sundrops” is a beautiful perennial whose bright and sunny color lights up the landscape with blooms all spring, summer and up to the fall.
Native Plant for Central Texas
One of the many Central Texas natives that thrive in our average rainfall, this mounding evergreen plant (native to the Edwards Plateau) , is hardy from full sun to part shade in zones 8-10. Using native plants is so important for the ecosystem and for native pollinators. Introducing plants that are not indigenous to our area can lead to invasive species and a lack of food for native bees, butterflies and birds.
Making an excellent border plant for xeriscape, rock beds, or any low water garden, this deer resistant stunner has interesting, long, narrow foliage that plays well with filtered light and combinations of color. Growing to 1-2’ x 1-2’ with 1.5” bright yellow flowers that cover the whole width of the plant.
Xeriscape doesn’t have to mean rocks and cacti, it means a “dry landscape”. Color can play a major part in the xerophytic garden and adding native plants is a big part of that.
Opposing Colors on the Color Wheel
Remember that placing opposing colors like blue and orange, purple and yellow, and green and red can make colors pop! Yellow is a beautiful color with any combination so don’t be afraid to play with colors in the landscape. Just be sure to balance your colors throughout the space so your landscape looks organic and natural and you’re off to a great start.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
The Dirty Gardener, Lesson’s in Life, love and Landscaping
The Dirty Gardener, Lessons in Life, Love and Landscaping
It’s been a long time coming and it’s finally happening. While I love my blog and the opportunity to write and purge, I’m excited to announce my new podcast “The Dirty Gardener”, Lessons in Life, Love and Landscaping”. I’m especially excited to just sit and have an adult conversation about one of my favorite topics, which is all things nature, gardening and our relationship with the earth and each other.
This view is over 70% edible plants and trees
A lot of people may not realize the innate connection we all have with the Earth because we’ve come to take it for granted. But the way we treat out yards and planet is in direct correlation with the response we get from the life and loves we share.
When we value the natural gifts that surround us, we are humbled to the gifts of life itself as well as the love we give and take. The most precious gifts of water, air, soil, fauna and flora are scared and essential to our lives. Protecting that gift is first and foremost in the act or practices of gardening.
The responsibility of a landscape, lawn or garden are not to be taken lightly. Much like our general health, there is no quick fix, but a daily practice and commitment to the natural and healthy approach to a promising future.
Mother Tree
When we look to the rainforest, we find decomposing plants and animals that become food for the plants trees, animal leavings, bugs and insects, as well as beneficial fungi and bacteria needed for plant health. If we threw chemicals (fast food) at each problem, we would find over time that the ecosystem would break down and eventually collapse on itself. The same is true in our yards, in our lives and with our loved ones.
It’s not to say you’d throw chemicals at a loved one to help your relationship grow, but it is to say that it requires work to maintain a healthy relationship, a healthy life and a healthy landscape. The chemical companies want you to believe there is a “magic pill” in a bottle or bag of granular poison, but that would be like consuming soda and fast food every day in the place of nutrient rich food and water, then thinking you’ll be healthy.
Compost Can Save the World
Compost can save the world because it is natural source of food for plants, trees, and soil that won’t harm the environment or the animals that live in it. Instead, it adds soil depth, food for plants, trees and mycorrhizal fungi which improves moisture retention.
Dark, nutrient rich soil is another area that most “Lawnscapers” do not understand. That orange dirt they paid $10 bucks for may have made them a profit, but it just cost you and your landscape a fortune. Compost can save the world!
Consider the loving attention you give to your partner, children or fur babies. That love is the food that gives wings to that relationship. If that love it not returned, it will eventually run ground. If you phone in your work on a regular basis, you will eventually outstay your welcome. Each level of success requires work, sacrifice, determination and perseverance.
Landscaping is Dirty a Business
My new podcast which is hosted by my husband of over 30 years will be about the lasting commitment to life, love and landscaping. It won’t be your grandma’s podcast. It will be a raw, real, down and dirty conversation about the stewardship of our land and lives as well as the recalibrating affect that nature provides to us.
Our conversations will cover organic gardening, native and adapted plants and trees, timing of planting, water conservation, water collection, irrigation, light requirements, substrates and design. It will also relate to the psychology of the efforts we put into it. The why, the where and the how to’s of life, love and landscaping.
Please like and subscribe to my podcast at https://sites.libsyn.com/506253/the-dirty-gardener-the-first-one
Lets grow together
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
“Saving the planet One Yard at a Time”
New Year, New Yard
Anacacho Orchid Tree
What a long, strange trip these past many years have been. So many changes in so little time and seemingly fewer places of solace. The time is long past due to create peace for ourselves, in our homes, in our lives, and in our landscapes. In this new year, we have an opportunity for a new yard that expresses who we are and where we want to be.
Clear The Clutter
Clearing the clutter leaves room for what’s truly valued. When we simplify our lives and our spaces, we allow ourselves the space to heal, to rest, to grow and regenerate. Much like a garden, life must be tended to by protecting our energy supply and our mental health. If we no longer use it, or it no longer serves us, get rid of it.
The landscape responds to our energies. Weeds can be a sign of neglect and lost opportunities. Much like the negative emotions that fill space in our heads, weeds take up valuable energies and resources from the soil and the process of clearing our spaces of clutter and weeds is a process of clarity and intention.
Xeriscape isn’t “Xeroscape”
Xeriscape gardens can be as luxurious as this,
Or clean and simple like this, 
Which ever your preference, green is in fashion. Intimate spaces for relaxation and recreation are essential, and the exercise, mental and physical therapy the landscape provides is worth the time and effort it takes to create a space of tranquillity.
From deep shade to full sun, there is a low water, low maintenance landscape design that will suit your needs and aspirations. The use of native and low water adapted plants and trees are a quick path to success. 
Keep It Simple
It’s ok to start with a patio or small section of your yard. Begin in a place close to the house where you’ll be inclined to visit. Create a space for meditation or contemplation. This can be a spiritual space or simply a bench under an existing tree or a patio with flowers or greenery.
Beginning with the entry way of your home or an intimate garden just off the back door can be a very motivating place to start. When you walk past this space you’ll be inspired to stop for a moment and reflect on your good work which allows you to catch any pest, watering or disease issues as well. The earlier you catch a problem, the sooner and more simply you can resolve it, and that’s true in life as well.
Statuary is a great landscape filler and it can be a symbolic reminder of a loved one, a favorite place or time. Be careful not to over do it however, a yard full of gnomes takes on a cluttered look as opposed to a thoughtful one. Yard art, religious symbols or statuary of any kind should be kept to a minimum to be meaningful and tasteful.
The Xeriscape garden below is a great example of how you can do a “lawnless” space with color, greenery and a place to regroup. It’s also low maintenance and low water when native and highly adapted plants are used and properly placed. Also be sure to choose fragrant plants and colors you love for a more personal touch.
Add Water
Water is an element of tranquility, a sound buffer and a stumble of life, purification and hope. By adding even a small disappearing fountain or plug in version from a local store can make a huge impact on a small space .
Disappearing Water Feature with man made reservoir
Adding flowers and greenery to a pond or water feature is just a bonus.
If you have water features or bird baths, keep it moving, or add mosquito dunks.
Now to mention the occasional lovely and welcome visitor.
Practice Patience
Patience is a virtue for a reason. All good things take time. Make a plan, or hire a designer or consultant (like me) to help set you in the right direction.
Once you have a working plan, start a budget and take on pieces of the project as you can afford both financially and mentally. Know that a full landscape can take several seasons to complete, so take your time if money or labor is an issue.
A design can be as detailed as this one…
Or as simple as this…
Rather you begin with a simple concept or a full landscape design, start with a plan or Landscape Consultation. Take on the project in bite sized pieces and buy the right plants for your hardiness zone, soil, sunlight conditions and size of the space.
Enhance The View
Ultimately, the goal is to enjoy the process and enjoy the final product. Choose a space you know you’ll enjoy spending time in. An existing patio, a shady tree, a view you enjoy, or don’t enjoy can be a great place to start. The size of the space doesn’t matter, the peace it can give you does.
Now go get your garden on,
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Agarita
Interesting Foliage, Flowers and Fruit.
Agarita is an evergreen, native plant of Texas. Boasting tri-leaved blue-ish green/grey foliage, yellow flowers and edible red fruit that is great for jams and jellies.
Drought Tolerant and Deer Resistant
Agarita is deer resistant and super drought tolerant. It’s an excellent Xeriscape plant that works well in a myriad of landscape styles.
Its sunlight needs range from sun to part shade, growing to 4’ x 4’ ish, with pointed edges that make it a great deterrent plant beneath windows or as a border plant.
Pollination Plant
Native plants are so important to our environment for wildlife, water conservation, disease resistance and low maintenance. They are also food for pollinators who count on local flora for food.
Go Native!
Use native plants whenever possible and always avoid anything listed on the invasive lists of Texas (or your State). Invasive species have no checks or balances and they’re not food for our local pollinators.
Never introduce plants from other countries by bringing seeds or plants into the US. Instead, grow to love the local plants and trees and enjoy the wildlife, butterflies, birds and bees that they attract.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape and Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Extreme Heat and a Depressed Landscape
I keep thinking about the influx of people who’ve recently moved into my area over the last several years and what an awful surprise it must be to spend a real summer in Austin Texas. Not only is there oppressive, extreme heat and humidity for us, (exacerbated by concrete) but it’s down right depressing to watch your landscape cry for mercy in a brutal heat wave with water restrictions.
With a reduction in water resources and a significant increase in population, there is no denying this is the trend going forward and we cannot assume that our supplies will be replenished by typical rain events.
This comes down to a number of things that are needed in order to make the adjustments to adapt to a changing climate. We will have to start looking at the landscape a little differently because our experience in these extremes of cold and heat are an education for our future. The good news is that there are some small changes that can make a huge impact towards success and productive stewardship.
Compost
Compost can save the world. Why? Because it replaces chemical fertilizers in a myriad of ways. Ask yourself, “who is fertilizing the woods”? The answer is compost. Decaying plants and animals, as well as beneficial fungi and bacteria all play part in the growth and success of the forest floor and in turn, the forest creates its own food.
A spring and fall application of compost to the depth of 2-4 inches not only fertilizes your soil, but it adds soil depth, chelates chemical damage, retains moisture and feeds mycorrhizal fungi that creates a web of food exchange beneath the soil. The only way to have a healthy garden and landscape is to have healthy soil. Stop using chemicals entirely and invest in compost.
Water Collection
Rain barrels
Water collection is as old as humanity. It is a valuable asset for a myriad of reasons and your city would rather charge you for it than make you aware of the millions of gallons of water we allow to flow from our property over a lifetime.
Install gutters and add rain barrels anywhere you can. Make sure they are high enough for the water pressure to work and install them on firm ground, stone or concrete for best results. The typical 2000 square foot house can collect over 30,000 gallons of water in an average rain fall year. That’s free money.
Reduce the Lawn
Adding native and adapted plant beds and trees not only increases the beauty of your home, but it saves a ton of water once established. You can see on one side the neighbor has a yard of lawn and on the other, a yard of color, texture interest and homes for wildlife and food pollinators, but with less need for water.
Appropriate Plant Selection
Xeriscape means low water plants and trees. It doesn’t mean dusty and spikey.
I xeriscape like the rainforest. That doesn’t mean I use water hogging plants, just the opposite. I use super drought tolerant plants in a layering affect from canopy to ground cover. This allows the plants to shield one another from the elements, keeps the heat from blasting the soil and holds moisture in longer.
Most importantly in the equation is to use native and adapted, non invasive plants ONLY. Non native plants have no checks and balances giving them open season on our ecosystem. Native plants feed our pollinators and wildlife which is why they’re here in the first place. Native plants also thrive in our annual rainfall and soil conditions which makes out job easier all around. Check out this helpful link for native plant selections.
Timing
Central Texas has 2 planting seasons and they are painfully short. Spring is from mid March until early May and before temps are consistently in the 90’s. Fall is even shorter with a later September, early October window that lasts until around Thanksgiving. This is the only way you can establish root systems enough before either the heat or a freeze knocks them down. The goal is to establish the root system enough that the plants/trees can hold their own without stressing over and over.
Plant Native Trees
Mother Tree
Trees are the lungs and oxygen of our planet. With severe deforestation, it’s ever more crucial that each is do our part to restore them. It’s also a huge advantage in the heat. It can be 20° cooler under a tree the cost savings for trees planted near the home can be enormous over time.
Trees add value to our home, provide shade in extreme heat on sunny days, create homes for wildlife and give great hugs.
Water Properly
Proper tree berm and watering technique
Contrary to popular belief, watering should be only once a week and deeply to the depth of one inch. This can be measured by placing a flat sided vessel like a tuna can near your water source to count how long it takes to get to that depth, or buy an inexpensive moisture meter to test the soil moisture instead. Watering to shallow depths only trains the lawn and plants roots to stay at the surface for water which we all know is a bad idea in extreme heat.
Water early morning or after dusk to prevent heat damage through water magnification, or water loss through evaporation. These times of day or also less windy which allows the water to go where intended.
Schedule A Landscape Consultation
Every person who owns a home should have an educational landscape consultation. This is a wealth of information about your specific space and needs that sets you in the right direction. Contact me at lisalapaso@gmail.com or contact someone in your local area. I provide online consultation for anyone in zone 8 a/b or 9, and in person to anyone in and around the Austin area. This service pays for itself by saving you thousands in costly mistakes.
By applying some simple techniques and applications we can make a huge impact on water conservation and our own success.
Lisa LaPaso
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
Lisa’s Landscape & Design