Corlett Landscape Architecture, LLC

We are a landscape contracting company, Earthworks Landscape and Design. We have worked with Chinquapin Landscape Architecture on numerous projects. Cathleen Corlett is first and foremost an excellent designer, understanding all site considerations. She is also an very good communicator and really works collaboratively to ensure that the client gets the best project outcome possible. She has a real talent for seeing the hidden potential of a site, and a deep knowledge of the plants that work in our bioregion. Most of our work is generated from landscape designs we do ourselves, but if the opportunity arises to work with Cathy we are happy to make it happen.

Cathy Corlett proved to be a thoughtful and imaginative landscape architect who guided us into decisions we still love ten years later. She drew a detailed design for the front and back yards of our new home, suggesting a "desert" garden in front, a "river valley" in the court yard, and a "forest" in the back behind the bedroom. Her idea for a notched courtyard floor instead of an even square space has always pleased us. She even visited our local botanical garden and several nurseries with us to determine what indigenous plants and trees could be used that would reflect the natural desert environment, both esthetically and practically. Personally, she listens and relates easily, demonstrating both passion for her work and knowledge of its facets.

Cathy did a great job turning an unused, unwelcoming, and dark space on the North side of our house into a multi-purpose spot. She navigated the sunless, sloping, and odd shaped area, turning it into a treehouse deck built around three live trees and a beautiful rambling rock wall that tied the space together well. She was careful to make the space between indoors and the outdoors flow smoothly, solving many tricky problems along the way to make this work. Cathy also listened carefully to my ideas, respected my budget, kept me abreast of her progress as she worked and was professional and efficient.

Cathleen Corlett gave us a beautiful plan, that will be low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. She included beautiful touches of year-round color and evergreen deciduous plants. She had excellent ideas we wouldn't have thought of, such as changing the design of a planned staircase so that a bed could be put behind the house to soften the view of the house from the backyard. Cathleen was adept at incorporating the Japanese elements we were looking for while also keeping the plantings in a style fitting the age, character and style of our house. Cathy encouraged us to add a retaining wall and I'm glad she did--it adds beauty and the yard will be much more useable with a flat area, since we are located on a hill. Cathy knows excellent landscapers to work with--they were respectful, cheerful, and easy to have around. They had an excellent knowledge of the types of stones to use for paths and stairs, which look beautiful but do not become slippery in the winter. They did a beautiful job of the stone retaining walls. Privacy in the yard and on the decks were important to us, and Cathleen Corlett thought of ways to achieve that through strategic plantings. Cathy was happy to go to nurseries with us to choose plants, and chose a japanese maple with beautiful lines as a centerpiece for our back yard. She has knowledge of plants and trees a layperson wouldn't have--adding variety and interest in the yard, but with simplicity and rhythm. In addition, she helped us stay within our budget, and have a plan to do in stages as we can afford to implement it. I am excited about her plans and can't wait to see the garden mature through the years! I highly recommend her for her design professionalism, her knowledge of sustainability, and her ease in working with clients and landscape contractors.

Cathy helped us completely rework our front landscape which was decades overgrown. She was very thoughtful and helped educate and guide us on possible ways to work with a sloping site, some drainage issues, and our desire to install an interesting, native and low-water landscape. The result is a lovely focal point visible from our living room and the street, which integrates a dry stream bed, grasses, ground cover, and numerous other plantings - even blueberries! Cathy's low-key yet confident approach was exactly what we needed and we are still thrilled with the result 3 years later.