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Willow Glen, San Jose
$140,000–$160,000
Project Gallery
A Look at the Work
Design Concept — 3D Render
Our client in Willow Glen had been planning a home remodeling project for nearly two years. Over that time we had been renovating her existing yard and caring for her mature trees. So when the new home called for a completely new landscape, she already knew who she wanted to design and build it.
Why We Were Chosen
We were chosen because we could put her vision in front of her as a 3D model before any work started. Our client loves plants and wanted strategic planting that matched the colors she had in mind. She also wanted to keep the mature olive, orange, lemon, and magnolia trees already on the property — not work around them, but build the new landscape with them as anchors.
Just as important, she wanted one company that could both design the plan and install it. Ultimately, we earned her trust over years of service. When the time came for this project, she didn’t need to shop around for someone to help.
The Problem We Solved
Our client had a particular vision for the yard and wanted to be sure it was thoughtfully and creatively designed. The goal was low maintenance, modern, and family friendly, with a flare of Mediterranean.
There is also a guest house in the back yard, and the site came with grading challenges. We had to ensure water flowed away from the structures and didn’t puddle through the winter. Strategic drains were installed throughout the back yard to catch water and route it out to the front yard.
What We Did
At this property we performed:
- 3D designing and landscape planning
- Concrete paver installation
- Artificial turf installation
- Paver walkway installation
- Outdoor tile installation
- Outdoor lighting design and installation
- Drip irrigation design and installation
- Raised concrete planter bed construction
- Drainage design and installation
- Plant installation
- Olive tree selection and installation
- Mulch installation
How We Did It
We started in 3D. Modeling the yard before construction let our client walk through the space, adjust the planting palette to the colors she wanted, and sign off on the layout while changes still cost nothing. By the time we broke ground, every paver run, planter bed, and light location was already decided.
Grading and drainage came before anything decorative. We set elevations so water moves away from both the main house and the guest house, then installed drains throughout the back yard and routed the collected water out to the front. That work is invisible in the finished photos, and that is the point — it is the reason the yard stays usable through a wet winter instead of holding puddles.
The mature olive, orange, lemon, and magnolia trees stayed in place and were protected while the hardscape went in around them. We then selected and installed an additional olive tree to reinforce the Mediterranean feel, and built the raised concrete planter beds to give the new plantings proper soil depth.
Low maintenance was engineered in, not hoped for. Artificial turf removed mowing, watering, and weed treatment from the equation entirely. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the plants that need it, and mulch holds that moisture in the beds. Outdoor lighting and outdoor tile finished the space so it works as well after dark as it does at noon.
The Outcome
The outcome was everything our client hoped for and more.
This is a backyard that gets used — family barbecues, outdoor sports, the pets, and everyday enjoyment. It came out so low maintenance that they don’t have to worry about mowing the grass or treating it for weeds, but it’s always ready for use and entertaining.
The landscape now matches the home it was built for: modern, Mediterranean, and built to hold up to a family that actually lives outside.