Landscape Designer in Los Altos Hills
- Licensed · Since 1984
We'll schedule a visit and provide a free, no-obligation quote tailored to your needs
Designing and building across Silicon Valley
California C-27 landscape contractor license
Best of Houzz awards
Landscape Design in Los Altos Hills, Planned Around Heritage Oaks and the Town Code
A landscape designer working in Los Altos Hills begins with the oaks. The Town requires a permit to remove or deliberately damage a Heritage Oak, any oak with a trunk 36 inches around, and its design guidelines cap lawn at 25% of a residential landscape area. So every oak is located, the slope is read and the lawn is counted before the first line goes on paper.
J&P Landscape is a C-27 landscape contractor (#963784) in San Jose, and since 1984 the same people who draw our plans have built them across Silicon Valley. That means you are not handing drawings from a designer to a landscape architect to a contractor. The Town accepts landscape plans signed by a licensed landscape architect or a licensed landscape contractor, and we are the contractor who also draws the design. Houzz has awarded us Best of Houzz 12 times, and homeowners rate our work 4.9 stars in 93 Houzz reviews.
- What Shapes Every Design
The Los Altos Hills Rules That Shape Your Plan
Heritage Oaks
Los Altos Hills protects any oak (genus Quercus) with a trunk 36 inches around, measured 4 feet above the root crown. Removing, deliberately damaging or killing one takes a Town permit, and neighbors are notified. The Town’s own guide advises keeping the drip line open and planting no closer than 10 feet to a trunk.
- Each oak located and measured on site
- Paving and trenches drawn clear of the drip line
Lawn and Water Limits
The Town’s Landscape Design Guidelines cap lawn at 25% of a residential landscape area and keep it off slopes over 25% that end at hard surfaces. Larger projects also fall under the water-efficient landscape rules (Article 8), which set a water budget for the parcel and let a licensed landscape contractor prepare the plan.
- Lawn area counted before the layout is final
- Water budget prepared where the rules require one
Shielded Lighting
Outdoor lighting (Article 10) uses the fewest fixtures and lowest wattage that do the job, shielded so the lamp is not directly visible off your property. High-intensity discharge lighting is not allowed, and a setback holds no more than two lights unless more are necessary. Pool and spa lights sit below the water surface.
- Fixture locations and aim marked on the plan
- Pool and spa lights drawn below the water line
Design and Construction for Los Altos Hills Yards
Los Altos Hills lots rarely sit flat, so the crew that builds the yard is the one that drew it. That covers paver installation for patios and drives, retaining wall construction that turns a slope into usable level ground, and drainage solutions that move water away from walls and oak roots.
Planting comes from the same drawing, using drought-tolerant landscaping and an irrigation system sized to the parcel’s water budget. Where the lawn cap applies, artificial grass gives you a green space that needs no watering. For a first look at how the design stage works, see our landscape design and consulting page.
Front Yards and Entries
Visitors see the front yard first, so the entry, walkway and beds are drawn together as one composition. Planting follows the light each bed receives, and landscape lighting is aimed down and shielded so the glow stays on your own property.
Backyards, Patios and Outdoor Rooms
Start with how your household really uses the yard, then give those habits a place. Seating, a pergola for shade, a fire pit or a cooking area all go into the same layout, inside the lawn limit.
Slopes, Walls and Drainage
On a slope, water decides what lasts. We lay out terraces, steps and walls to make the grade usable, and plan the drainage behind them first so the ground stays put through the rainy season.
- Our Process
From First Site Walk to Finished Yard in Los Altos Hills
Oaks, grade and drainage only show up on the property, so the first meeting happens there.
Walk the lot.
We locate and measure every oak, read the grade and the drainage, and listen to how you want to live in the yard.
Check the rules.
Before drawing, we confirm which oak, lawn, water and lighting rules apply to your address and whether a Town permit is involved.
Draw the plan.
You receive a scaled drawing of your lot, set up for the Town's submittal requirements when a permit is required, along with a quote.
Build it.
One crew works from the ground up, with drainage and irrigation in before paving and planting, then walks the finished yard with you.
Pricing follows the site visit, since grade, access, materials and permits all move the number.
Your Whole Yard on One Drawing
One drawing shows each oak, wall, path, patio and planting bed on your lot, with the Town rule that touches it noted alongside. You go through the entire yard on paper, request changes and sign off before any digging begins. Because the same team builds what it drew, the finished yard matches the plan you approved.
- Service Area
Serving Los Altos Hills From Our San Jose Base
J&P Landscape works out of San Jose and builds across Los Altos Hills. Every job begins on the property, because oaks, grade and drainage don’t show up on a map.
Los Altos Hills is its own town with its own code, separate from the city of Los Altos. If your home is in the city, see our landscape designer in Los Altos page. To get started, ask for a free quote and we will set a time to walk your lot.
- Reach Us Now
Oaks, slope and Town rules decide what’s possible on your lot. Book a visit and we’ll map all three, then send a free, no-obligation quote. Request yours below or call now.
(408) 636-6442