Terra Design

For close to twenty years we have been fighting the steep banks that surround our property in North Beach. An old stone summer house and a a small stream surrounded by collapsing bank of disorganized detris. The kids are in the process of leaving home so we wanted to downsize without leaving our garden so we are turning the basement into a separate apartment so we can share the garden.
We talked to three landscape architects. All of them talented and pleasant. It was a tough field. It was Leanne Goulding from Terra Design who convinced us. Her focus on elevations and sight lines was critical to this complicated 3 dimensional jungle.
Using dry stone retaining walls, she established several little havens. A breakfast patch that catches the morning sun; a bluestone deck next to a covered little alcove, lovely to sit under when it’s pouring with rain. A little sanctuary garden that is looking for exactly the right Budda. This winter her crew led by Mark are going to brick a little erie on a high bank that looks through the tree canopy. More great bird watching.
Can’t say how much pleasure we get working with Leanne. She has the science, experience and art of Landscaping in the Pacific Northwest and the kind humor to communicate. We are away for about half the year and she communicated well by text, email and photos although our preference, of course, is the walk around. She takes our thoughts and integrates and improves them. Very much a shared process.
Last week, a main water main blew in the middle of the street, cascading down the driveway for 8 hours, digging a trench and washing away the new mulch over the some new plantings. The next morning I took some pictures of the disaster and sent Leanne a whinny email. by lunchtime she had diverted a crew and everything back to perfect. That’s taking care of your customers.
Of course, the design is only part of the equation. We worked with her colleague, Marc Acosta of Everlast Landscape. His crew are hard working, cheerful and very skilled. They created sweeping lines on the driveway and the lawn. Everything they planted is happy and healthy despite the dry summer of 2015.
Looking forward to her guidance over the next decade.

My wife and I did a major remodel of our 1906 Capitol Hill home over the last 5 months. The hardscape and exterior work was designed and seen to completion by Leanne Goulding. The results were simply stunning. We had very high expectations for the exterior scope of our project, but Leanne exceeded those to a level we didn’t think was possible. Every single detail of her design — plant selection, hardscaping, stain selection, and even a small planter for our little daughter was thought through to perfection. It was also incredibly in sync with the house remodel. The landscape contractor we worked with was Mark Acosta of Everlast Landscaping. He and Leanne worked seamlessly together to get everything right. The speed of completion was also amazing. I don’t want to put my address out on Unilocal,but if you are reading this review and want to contact me to see the outcome of the work, please feel free. Would love to show you the wonderful work Leanne did at our house. We will be continuing to work with her over the next several years I’m sure as other projects arise. Thanks Leanne!

I cannot say enough about how Leanne Goulding and her Terra Design crew turned my then remodeled home into a garden of Eden. I was so new at this and she helped design an ideal drainage plan, easy to care for planting plan, and it turned out to be magnificent. I love her followup, and I really love that she provided me with the plans and instructed me on how to care for these new plants and trees on an ongoing basis.
Since the initial landscaping was done, she has generously come by to check on things and be sure I’m still with good healthy plants. So many people walk by may house and comment on my garden, thanks to Leanne. She is kind, sharp as a tack, reasonable about everything and I have referred to her to my clients to either do their own makeover or prepare their homes for sale. I would not hesitate for a moment to recommend Terra Design if you want top quality design and follow thru.

My husband and I spent a few years renovating our tiny home and were finally ready to start thinking about the landscape. The yard seemed equally small and we were having trouble figuring out how to get everything we wanted into the yard without it seeming crowded and cluttered.
Leanne of Terra Design came out to the house and spent a few hours consulting and then preparing a few plan options. As an architect, I am usually on Leanne’s side of the table, but this time it was really fun being the client! Leanne figured out creative ways to suit all of our needs, which I really didn’t think was possible!
I would not hesitate to recommend Leanne to any of my friends or clients. She is is very sweet, smart, and creative — a fantastic combination for a landscape designer!

My wife, 2 year old son and I were in need of a backyard that was practical, low maintenance and beautiful all at the same time. Leanne delivered without a hitch! From design phase to project completion we had a great experience.
We started the project with a consultation. Leanne listened intently to the design sense of both me and my wife. A week later she had 3 different plans to spur more discussion. We chose one plan and then added certain elements from the 2 other plans to get a hybrid plan that we were happy with. We then started discussing materials and plantings that would fit our limited budget.
You have the choice of utilizing Terra for the design phase only or design and project management. We chose to have both design and project management. Leanne chose Horizon Landscaping because of her experiences with them in the past. The 3 person team installed a bluestone patio, concrete stairs, railing, a crushed stone path, trash can corral and plantings. We communicated primarily with Leanne about anything that needed to be changed or altered during the process and she worked with Horizon to get it done. After 2 weeks we had a completed yard and zero headaches!
We have already received tons of compliments from our neighbors, but most important of all we love our yard and spend 3 X more time outside. My wife considers it a refuge and my son simply loves to play on the new patio. We have already BBQ’d five times with family and friends.
If you have any hesitation about planning a landscaping project give Leanne a call. She listens carefully and has a vast knowledge of materials and plants. If we didn’t use her during the design phase we would end up with a haphazard yard with minimal improvements. Her pricing is very reasonable and most of the cost comes down to materials and labor for the landscaping company. You can choose to implement the project yourself or work directly with the landscaping company as well.
Our only sadness is having to let Leanne go and move on to the next project (our son still asks about her). Don’t hesitate to contact Terra Design and become the next amazing landscape remodel.

We were desperately in need of help with our backyard last year. It wasn’t a thing of beauty when we bought our home, and over time it had gone from bad to worse.
Since Leanne from Terra Design came recommended by neighbors, we had the opportunity to see her work first hand just a few doors from our house, and the work there was gorgeous. So we had high expectations when we hired Leanne to work her magic on our yard, and she didn’t disappoint.
Not only did she work with us to create a design that was both attractive and functional, but she served as the general contractor on our project for a nominal fee. She hired all the subcontractors (ranging from carpentry to glasswork to electrical, and of course landscape installation) and made sure they did the job right. And she kept the total cost in line with our budget! The result is stunning — it more than lived up to our expectations.
We’re happily working with Leanne again this year on a smaller project — our front yard. And we recommend her enthusiastically to anyone looking for quality professional landscape design.