Where artistry takes root

Where artistry
takes root

Residential landscape design in Sarasota, Bradenton and nearby communities. Thoughtful gardens shaped around your home and how you live outdoors.

Residential landscape design in Sarasota, Bradenton and nearby communities.

Thoughtful gardens shaped around your home and how you live outdoors.

Email Janet
Email Janet

Gardens I’m
proud to share

These are gardens I’ve created with homeowners, along with my own. Each reflects a different person and place. Here’s a little of what I saw and how the design came together.

The Refined Garden

Chris is my neighbor and friend, and we built this garden together. I led the design, with Chris leaning on me for creative direction and plant advice along the way. She brought her own ideas and creativity, working alongside me the entire time.

We started fresh, laying fabric and framing every planting island, carefully keeping the walking paths even. We laughed, debated, got a little grumpy, talked and sweated. A lot. But most of all, we created something magical.

The fun part began when we cut the first hole in the fabric for a plant. We worked through each section, balancing color, texture and what each plant needed, imagining how everything would grow together.

Chris & Gary’s succulent garden

I’m proud of what we built, and I still get to enjoy it every time I’m back in the garden, whether I’m working alongside Chris or caring for it for her.

The Eclectic Garden

Kathy and Greg gave me room to imagine something entirely new. Their home still had its original builder landscaping, and the front entry was almost lost behind the planting. The three-car garage carried most of the visual weight. I wanted to open up the entrance and give the garden a presence of its own.

They gave me room to imagine something entirely new. Their home still had its original builder landscaping, and the front entry was almost lost behind the planting. The three-car garage carried most of the visual weight. I wanted to open up the entrance and give the garden a presence of its own.

Kathy wanted a water-wise garden that would be easier to care for. She also loved annuals and lots of color, especially royal purple, blue, pink and fuchsia. There was a little puzzle to solve there, and that was part of the fun.

Kathy and Greg’s full landscape redesign

I designed three different directions. She chose the one I called “artsy eclectic,” which gave us room to bring together palms, sculptural succulents, flowers, bold pots and garden art. The larger plants would give the landscape its shape, with smaller discoveries woven in around them.

We took our time finding those pieces. Kathy and I went looking for pots and bromeliads together, and I searched for the remaining trees/plants, sculptures and sent her things I thought she might love. She kept telling me, “I’m easy about plants. I like them all.” But shopping together helped me understand what really caught her eye. Those little discoveries became part of the garden.

There were a few changes along the way. Two palms we had hoped to keep could no longer stay, and replacing the trees put pressure on the budget. We chose to invest in the larger trees and buy many of the other plants at smaller sizes. Kathy understood that the garden would need time to fill in. We were planting for what it would become.

With the plan in place, I guided the project through approvals, sourcing and contractor coordination, including new irrigation, lighting and edging around the garden. Then my installation team and I brought it all to life in five working days. Seeing Kathy and Greg smiling at the finished landscape was the best part.

These photographs show the garden newly planted and again nine months later. I love seeing it grow into itself. The flowers will change, the succulents will bloom and the trees will mature. There’s room for Kathy to keep adding the things she loves, and for this garden to keep becoming theirs.

Sculptural art

  • A residential front yard at dusk featuring a tall palm tree illuminated by outdoor lighting, with a flower bed edged with decorative borders and small lights, and a house with two-car garage in the background.

    The hero stood in his own light.

  • A residential backyard with a large palm tree and other tropical plants, a house with a red tiled roof, a gravel pathway, and a blue sky with some clouds.

    White blooms - slowly revealing who he was, decades in the making.

  • Close-up view of creamy white flowers on a male ponytail palm, set against a bright blue sky.

    A rare bloom on a mature ponytail palm — a moment that comes only with time.

  • A landscaped garden with a tree trunk, large rocks, and a decorative circular feature filled with white and black stones, including a small orange plant at the center, surrounded by pink and purple flowers and green foliage.

    Art — translated into landscape.