Jonathan Espalin Landscape Designs

Jonathan’s creations rank TEN STARS! We count ourselves fortunate to have secured his services because what he designed for three sides of our corner lot house well exceeded our expectations. We have our garden-for-life. He recommended Imagine Landscapes which were the perfect partners. Our garden was completed TODAY* - low-water, bird- and butterfly-friendly (already!), and evokes the serene, clean, colorful, and nourishing environment we were seeking. Jonathan has abundant talent in both the art and science of what is needed for a stellar earth-friendly and sustainable design. What we especially appreciated about Jonathan were his fresh ideas, deep knowledge, and collaboration. He created a garden pallet which we will enjoy for years. *so in a few months it will be even more lush and colorful.

We recently purchased a corner lot property that has a lot of land and zero curb appeal. We came to Houzz to find someone to help us come up with a vision for what the front and side yards could be. As soon as we saw Jonathan's drawings and project photos online, we knew we had found our landscape designer. He has an eye for color, design and balance that is unparalleled. When he came to our home, we found him to be very knowledgeable, creative and easy to work with. He listened to what we wanted and had us send inspiration pictures of what we liked, and he incorporated those ideas into a beautiful design that is above and beyond our expectations. We feel so fortunate to have been able to have our landscape design done by Jonathan and would highly recommend him!

No doubt Jonathan is a talented designer. However, when we asked him for referrals or addresses of projects he had designed--something entirely reasonable and expected--he declined alleging we suffered from an "enthusiasm gap". We were dumbfounded. Who says this? I guess record demand thanks to Covid is inflating egos alongside contractor pocketbooks. I wonder if he would allege this when times are rough. Good luck out there!

My long time client hired Jonathan Espalin Landscape Design to create a eco-friendly, drought tolerant, beautiful landscape for her front yard. As I am an interior designer with a background in landscaping, the client asked that I give input on the project. It was a pleasure to work with Jonathan, he was creative, on time and on budget. The experience was a great one!

I'd wanted to transform the sea of Bermuda grass in my front yard into an oasis with trees and drought tolerant bee/bird/butterfly friendly landscaping for years but had a tough time finding a knowledgeable and trustworthy landscaper who charges a reasonable rate and who would show up when they said they would...until I met Jonathon Espalin. I stumbled upon Jonathon by chance after admiring his own beautiful garden and learning he was the designer. My husband and I had no reservations hiring him to develop a garden and fence design after initially meeting him and learning about his design and landscape education, experience and philosophy. It was an even easier decision to proceed with the installation after Jonathon presented us with the beautifully rendered design plans which were done in color and included our home and all the plants and trees from several different views. This helped us to visualize exactly what the yard would look like and it was clear that he had really listened and incorporated our wants and needs into the plan. Jonathon always arrived reliably and was an incredibly hard worker. For example, I would leave for work and see a humungous pile of compost and by the time I came home, the entire pile was neatly and evenly deposited over a 1200 square foot area. Jonathon single handedly removed our brick flower beds, killed the Bermuda grass, installed efficient sprinklers and drip system, laid compost, planted all the plants and some incredibly heavy trees, installed a walkway composed of wood, decomposed granite and flagstone and built a wood fence. He accompanied me to many locations to pick just the right stone, decomposed granite and bark. He always gave options where we could save money by doing the work ourselves. He was very receptive to changes my husband or I would want to make as the plan was executed and always provided advice that was sound and knowledgable. I found him to be an encyclopedia about all aspects of the work. He also did a good job of working with me when I would have an idea that sounded good to me but wouldn't have worked due to various factors. The completed front yard is stunning and a complete transformation and it's not even grown in yet. Now it's a pleasure to come home just to see the yard as I pull up. We gets compliments literally every single day and several of my neighbors have decided to hire Jonathon after watching him work. I am a cautious person, usually slow to make decisions or to make a commitment to home-related projects due to prior poor experiences with contractors. I did not have to worry at all with Jonathon and that was such a relief. Due to our great experience we will have Jonathon design and install our backyard as well. This cautious and slow to make a decision worrywart has no reservations at all in highly recommending Jonathon Espalin. Thank you Jonathon!

Jonathan designed a beautiful outdoor retreat for us, which far exceeded our expectations, and turned our backyard into a beautiful oasis where we want to spend our time now. During demo, the contractor uncovered major tree roots that could have stalled our project; Jonathan quickly came up with a solution that avoided the roots while not compromising the design or usability of the space - we were very impressed! We also hired Jonathan to place the plants once delivered, which we highly recommend. He is a talented designer who also knows his plants. We love the combination he chose for our yard - he helped us achieve a lush woodland look, using easy-care, drought-tolerant plants. We highly recommend him!

We used Jonathan for 2 parts of our project. 1) The redesign of our backyard. We knew we wanted to make some changes and had a few rough ideas of what we wanted (e.g., more plant area, some grass, and a paver patio). Jonathan looked at our yard, inspecting where there was shade and/or sun, and came up with an amazing design. We usually drag our feet a little bit on big decisions, but the design was so enticing and the timing was right, that we pushed forward. 2) The planting of all vegetation and verification that the irrigation I installed was adequate. The plants were put in quickly and on time. The appearance of the yard has already improved dramatically and will be even better as the plants mature. Jonathan has been very helpful in explaining the steps we need to take to ensure the plants thrive through the hot Sacramento summer and he will come by periodically to make changes as needed. On top of the amazing design and installation of the plants, I valued Jonathan's responsiveness and clear communication. If I asked for a date or time, he provided one and was available at that date and time. When I asked when we would be ready to plant, he gave me a date and was ready on that date. For a large project where I had to juggle a separate contractor (to re-grade the yard, install the sod, and set the paver patio), my DIY parts of the project, and Jonathan's steps, that communication and responsiveness are invaluable. Definitely recommend Jonathan for anyone considering a landscaping project.

Jonathan has been wonderful to work with. When beginning our landscape project, we weren't clear on what we wanted but he was able to put together a beautiful plan that fit our space and lifestyle. He listened to our likes, dislikes, and components we desired for our yard. His knowledge is extensive and it is clear that he is passionate about his work. The plans that he drafted have been helpful to other contractors working on our property as well. Jonathan is easy to communicate with which is very valuable as well.

I hired Jonathan to provide plans for a front and back yard re-do. He is on time for appointments and discusses our concerns and his ideas before drafting plans. We were thrilled with the plans we got. He obviously took all of our needs and concerns into consideration and was willing to incorporate some plants we wanted to add. Attention to creating a healthy environment is a key goal and Jonathan is very adept at this.

Jonathan has been great to work with. He was easy to communicate with, flexible in working with our calendar, and very helpful in cultivating our ideas. We found him particularly knowledgeable regarding eco-friendly plants, and would gladly recommend him to friends and family.

Jonathan was easy to work with and very flexible. We hired him to provide a design for our 2,500 square foot front yard. I sent him some of my “inspirational” photos and provided other details we wanted. He supplied a design we are extremely happy with and plan to work with him in the Spring of 2019 on another project.

Jonathan designed and installed the front-yard landscaping for our newly constructed house. In the planning stage he showed us 3-D renderings of what it would look like, and he did make it look exactly like the plans. Furthermore, his price was very reasonable, about the same as what the builder would have charged for something much more generic and skimpy. We were so pleased that we immediately hired him to do the back yard as well.