Lenkin Design Inc: Landscape and Garden Design

Heather Lenkin came to our challenging back yard and listened quietly to what we hoped it could be. She analyzed the problems and presented what she understood we wanted: basically, a lovely hospitable garden for non-gardeners! She recommended plantings that bloomed like time capsules, installed tall terra cotta pots for herbs, veggies, whatever, that I could work on without bending over. She placed large pots with small orange trees spaced to parallel harmonious lines she created with other plantings. She selected tall shrubs to cover bare garage and pool house walls, creating essentially a comfortable outdoor green-walled living room. She incorporated the basic color I wanted which was red, and the wonder of it all led to an article entitled "Red, She Said" in a book that featured gardens, kitchens, and antiques. A small flowering-pot area with three-four chairs is under a large center tree I call my Mini-Garden, and love to sit there with two or three friends, or alone with a good book. She strongly recommended a swing hung from a white arbor where the diving board used to be at the deep end of the pool. My husband and I thought "why", and then decided to give it to each other for Christmas; best decision we ever made in the garden, except for the Sunbrella jockey red outdoor curtains she recommended for the sliding glass doors of the pool house, which matched the existing awning opposite over the porch of the south side of the house. Heather also coordinated all the workmen for all aspects of the project. It was necessary to re-gunite the pool, redesign the irrigation, remove old broken quarry tiles, and install a cement decking, scored into two-foot squares. We were unsure about that, and now wonder why we ever had anything else. We give unqualified recommendations for Heather Lenkin to all our friends.

Heather Lenkin designed the paint scheme for most of our 1600 square foot downstairs, and the furnishing of the re-done areas. 1. Heather is a genius at selecting colors. For example, our living room had been a simple white. Heather came up with a range of colors which are striking but not overwhelming. When she described what she planned to doI was doubtful. But the effect is terrific. She used different colors, all somewhat subtle, for different part of the multi-part room, and they all work together. Most people would not even notice that some colors are slightly different from others, but they create a wonderful effect. 2. But that isn't half of it. Heather's real brilliance is that her ideas reflect us, not her. What we ended up with was what WE would have chosen -- if we had Heather's skill with colors, knowledge of design, etc. So she didn't impose her ideas or tastes on us. She worked with our ideas and made them work. One room is dominated by Asian art, including several Tibetan manuscript covers; she figured out where and how to place the art, light it, properly color the surrounding walls, etc. Another room is dominated by a couple 20th century California landscapes; the colors for that room echo and complement the colors of the paintings. 3. Finally, Heather is straightforward, scrupulously fair in her billing, and simply pleasant to deal with. My wife and I enjoyed the process of working with Heather and never were anything but delighted at her suggestions. I see no space on this form to offer to email directly with anyone who wants further details or photos. But Heather will be able to tell from this description which clients we are, and I encourage Heather to put anyone interested in touch with us.

We were provided with multiple full color renderings. Multiple bids were supplied along with construction plans. We have had an excellent experience on this project. .

Lenkin Design worked closely with my wife and I to give us the BEST backyard. They were creative in design, budgeting, materials and build. They offer a full service -- thinking about all the details and leaving the fun choices for their customers. They operated as the general contractor and quality assurance team on the project. The few little issues that we found were corrected immediately. Lenkin Design has the perfect mix of design magic/know-how, practical approaches and project management. We could not be more happy with the project process or the results.

We hired Lenkin Design to help us design and build a completely new backyard from the ground up. New hardscaping and english gardens. Heather caught our vision and helped to make it a reality. She was wonderful to work with. I learned so much from her. She is wonderful professional but also very personable. We are now working on getting our yards ready for a new garden tour. I would recommend Lenkin Design for any project inside or out!

We hired Lenkin Design to do our landscaping shortly after buying our mid-century modern home in Pasadena. We needed a lot of help and a lot of vision and that's definitely what we received. As if having a great garden isn't enough, we also found Heather to be a real joy to work with, even during the seriously stressful renovation of our home. Our highest recommendation goes to she and her landscape firm. Thank you again!

Heather and her team did a wonderful job on our home in Malibu and we couldn't recommend her more. We started with a vision of a sustainable garden and they brought our ideas to life. Succulents were used at the entry along with some beautiful concrete pavers and custom lighting. Our court yard is fantastic and features an amazing variety of drought tolerant plants for such a small space. We can leave for weeks at a time and everything is just fine. And to top it all off, we have amazing pictures from a photo shoot that was done for Sunset Magazine! Wish we could have kept all of the furniture. Many, many thanks to everyone. I couldn't recommend them more.

The most unexpected thing about working on our landscaping project with Heather wasn't just the beautiful work, it was the pleasure we got out of working with her. What a truly pleasant experience. She's a true artist with a very professional edge. We have nothing but gratitude.