About 

Small Spot Gardens is a San Francisco based outdoor design firm that imagines, creates and cares for intimate gardens in city-sized spaces.  We love working with clients that are excited about the natural world and want a richer outdoor space at their home or workplace, whether they’re relaxing, playing, entertaining or simply enjoying the view from inside.  We believe living alongside nature, even a tiny bit of it, can help our clients and their loved ones relax, re-prioritize, refocus and generally be healthier and happier*.  These small spots of nature are also part of a bigger picture so we design and care for gardens with an understanding that our actions affect, and can contribute to, our local environment.  (CA License #998647)

Urban Natural Aesthetic

Our first priority is to design a garden that will make you happy and draw you outside.  We work with you to figure out your personal taste and design a layout that will work for your lifestyle. Then we add in artistic elements and interesting details to make your space special and inviting, and develop a plant palette that ties everything together.  Our designs are characterized by clean lines, abundant plants and artistic accents. There’s variation in the look – some gardens have a more natural feel and some have a more modern feel – but a design thread runs through each..  We take pride in the gardens we create and enjoy working with clients who trust our design instincts.  Check out examples on our Portfolio Page.

OUR APPROACH

Because of Elisa’s background in botany, our outdoor designs are strongly influenced by plant biology and ecosystem science. We’re focused on the way gardens look but we understand that they’re living systems – not mere decoration – so we approach the design with both science and aesthetics in mind.  We try to continuously learn about our local flora and fauna and are constantly amazed at how everything works together.  In the process of creating your garden, we’re hoping to awaken a little curiosity about the very cool plants and animals that have been thriving right next to us for ages.

We also try our best to create spaces that will mitigate some of the harmful side effects of our urban density.  Your garden is part of a fascinating and complicated metropolitan ecosystem with a sizable environmental footprint.  It’s ambitious, but by working with natural processes your garden can actually help clean the air, filter polluted runoff, and help our local birds, bees and butterflies. Click the link to learn more about our standard garden design practices for healthy gardens – they aren’t hard and fast rules but it’s what we aim for: Small Spot Gardens’ Design Practices.