Monica Perrone Landscape Architecture

I worked with Monica recently on a driveway and patio project. She is extremely professional and prompt. She works fast and to the point. It is evident that she has been doing this for years as she can provide in the moment guidance on a variety of design issues. She definitely seeks to create a design foundation for your space to help pull together a variety of elements. Compared to other designers, she listened more carefully and worked to find the happy balance of project, client and design interests together. I wouldn't hesitate recommending her again.

Monica is a talented designer but our expectations were not met with the budget we had. We were in line to work with another designer who quoted us $3k to give us a master design of our backyard, when Monica called us and gave her opinion on our project. She was confident she would be able to get the project done with a close to $2k budget. That sounded great to us! We'd get a good design and save money. We communicated this budget clearly up front, which was acknowledged by Monica as she created an agreement with us that matched our budget. Monica was confident she'd be able to get the design done in a couple hours while working with us in person. We wanted two things from this design: 1. An intermediary step between us demo'ing our garage and building in a new ADU, a minimal representation of an improved backyard 2. A final backyard design which includes an ADU, demo'ing our garage, and pushing the house back a little bit. I thought it would be a lot to get done in a couple hours but Monica seemed very confident. As we were working together though, it was becoming clear to me we wouldn't be able to get both of these, so we focused on the final backyard design. This was a disappointment as we now needed to spend more $$ to get the intermediary step, but it would still be less than our original $3k quote. As confident as Monica was, we didn't even get the final backyard design fully complete. So now we're $2k in and we have nothing to show for it. I was really disappointed by this, because it meant we would need to spend more $$ with Monica for her to finish it. It sucks, but I guess that's life. My expectation was that given 1 or 2 more hours, it would be complete. And Monica's hours are not cheap. At $350 an hour, this would be an additional $350 - $700 added on to our bill. Now imagine my surprise when the bill comes back to be $1.5k, way higher than we initially discussed, and way higher than we expected. This might not be a lot of money to some in the area, but for us it would now blow past the initial budget we set by a ton, and way past what we expected. She didn't provide any extra details either, only cleaned up the messy version which we did in person. If you have the $$, Monica seems like a great person to work with, but given that she knew what our budget was and what she promised us within that budget, we are definitely not satisfied with the work product we got. If you're in a similar budget to us, I would not work with Monica.

Due to its location in a 55+ community, our home has a small, narrow backyard that was daunting nonetheless and remained free of vegetation for over two years. The idea of converting a flat, dirt and concrete landscape into something with different levels and areas of interest seemed tricky. So, we looked at reviews of different landscape designers and were impressed by what we read about Monica Perrone. We contacted her and instantly hit it off. She listened, connected with us, formulated a sense of our likes and dislikes, and offered many ideas that would encompass what we wanted. Needless to say, Monica was amazing with her vision, her ability to put all our ideas (including her own) into renderings, and thereby, enable us to share in her vision. It was obvious that Monica paid attention to our thoughts and ideas but also, injected her own expertise to guide us toward what would work with our particular situation which is a narrow, small backyard with constantly changing shadows and sunlight combined with our desire for usable entertainment space, easy plant care, and drought tolerance. The end result of Monica’s design is an absolute oasis. A joy to contemplate from indoors and a truly relaxing space to enjoy when outdoors. We just love it! And to top it all off, Monica continues to care about our landscape and stays in touch, even paying a visit after two years to see how things are progressing and if there is anything she can do to be of assistance. Can’t imagine a better combination of talented landscape designer and kind human being. Thank you, Monica! JAG & RBG

We worked with Monica on reconfiguring and designing our hilled SF backyard mid-pandemic with 2 extremely young children and one on the way, so needless to say we were a little all over the map in terms of attention given to the project. Monica was very patient with us and came up with a ton of ideas for a beautiful, family friendly backyard space. She listened to what we really wanted: a safe play area, gardening space, as many fruit trees as possible in the space we had, drought tolerant plants, creative solutions to make it friendly for small kids, a space for backyard chickens and even a future possible space for bees, a design that was approachable in terms of maintenance required, etc). Monica did a beautiful job designing our project and adjusting to our wants, needs, and (perhaps most importantly for us) budget. She came back after our project was done to help teach us how to espalier the fruit trees appropriately and has followed up even years later to check in and see how the backyard is doing. She interfaced a lot with the contractor we used to make sure things were as they should be, which was extremely helpful. All in all, we found Monica to be both personable and professional, extremely approachable, very understanding and super creative yet practical at the same time with design components. We were left with a backyard space that our kids LOVE and use every day. They can go out and pick fruits and vegetables for meals, collect eggs from "their" chickens and slide from tier to tier. We used to think a big, flat backyard was the ideal, but Monica helped prove us wrong--an SF tiered backyard can be just as fun as a big flat space. We would work with her again in a heartbeat for any landscape architecture project.

I was looking for someone who could help us create a traditional English/French style garden for our home while still being mindful of our drought conditions in California. Monica took the time to understand our vision before developing the plans to bring it to life. Her trained eye saw opportunities I never would have seen, and she was creative about finding solutions when things needed to shift. She was always patient when we had questions and took the time to explain things to us when we needed more information. She was always clear that her end goal was to make sure we were happy with our new outdoor space … and we are!

Monica has such great talent! She turned our tired yard into a lively and fun space to enjoy with our family. She listened closely to our needs and our desire for a cohesive plan when we couldn't envision it ourselves. It turned out spectacular, better than I could have imagined. It looks beautiful now and I am so looking forward to seeing it fill in over the coming years. My only regret is that I worried so much in the beginning - there was no need for that! I highly recommend Monica's services.

Monica is fantastic and, as I'm enjoying our new backyard, I'm already looking forward to working on our next project together. Favorite parts of working with her include: 1) She really understood our objectives, which involved recapturing what had been a two car driveway into our outdoor living space, and generally making our yard greener. 2) She came up with ideas that met the objectives but that we never would have come up with on our own. e.g. the creation of a dining area separate from our patio that has made the patio much more usable and enjoyable. 3) Amazing with plant selection and placement. Yard now has a rambly/"organic" feel that we wanted and hadn't previously achieved. 4) Really fun and friendly to work with. All in all a great experience.

Monica is simply amazing. She is professional and responsive.It was a great experience working with her. Monica helped us to design our front & backyard. She respected all requirements we have and she uses her knowledge to achieve what we want. She took notes on all the details that should be included in the design. She provided suggestions during the construction. The new garden is now complete and everyone who walk into our garden is amazed by Monica’s design. We love our new garden and we love Monica’s design! Highly recommended!

Absolutely a pleasure to work with. Not only does she give us peace of mind but she is agile, creative and spontaneous. She thinks of amazing designs that we would never imagine to do!

Monica met with me virtually at the beginning of the quarantine to get my projects started while we were home and had time on our hands. The flow of our virtual meeting felt very comfortable and organic. She has been very professional, is an absolute expert in her art and keeps the process fun and exciting. We are doing an edit of a very landscaped current home and she is helping to declutter, make sense of the space and make it match our style and family needs. I am very grateful that I was referred to Monica!

Monica Perrone is absolutely amazing. She spent time in our home and yard to understand the space, how we lived and what we wanted. She suggested the perfect plants and design to compliment our home. Her passion, excitement and enthusiasm for her work and her attention to detail is insurmountable. She does not disappoint

Monica was so professional and very quick to respond and fulfilled our outdoor landscape needs. She created a beautiful design with simplicity and elegance. Our pool has since been built and landscaping is in. We get countless compliments on our pool design and we owe it all to Monica.

Monica is an absolute professional and so good at what she does! We were in need of help to fully redesign our backyard after 15 years and Monica transformed it to a place of beauty and tranquility. Her joyful and thoughtful personality combined with her expertise and meticulousness made the entire experience fun and easy. Monica interviews you to understand your style and needs, then works her magic to deliver a work of art. No amount of Pinterest or DIY shows can replace the passion and value she brings. She is also respectful of your budget and provides options for her services as well as designing within your limits. Most importantly, the design is even better in reality than on paper! We love our new backyard and so glad we put our trust in Monica!

Monica is fantastic. As an interior designer, my outdoor environment matters as much to me as my indoor environment. I felt a little stuck with how to "finish" my outdoor spaces. Monica made a host of suggestions that did a wonderful job of marrying the interior and exterior aesthetics. She really paid attention to my home and found lovely ways of articulating my style into my garden. I am so grateful for her kindness and care. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking an elevated aesthetic in the exterior environment of their home.

First of all, Monica is a transformation specialist. She's also a lot of FUN and her beautiful smile never faltered no matter how miserably hot it became during our project. Her concepts and drawings are excellent, plus she has the skills and leadership abilities to work with all the sub-contractors who loved her as much as we did. Her vision, creativity and hands-on attention to detail were impressive. We had a 6 week deadline before an event, and everything was accomplished on time. She's a real PRO! THANK YOU, Monica!

One of the best decision I’ve made for my home is calling on Monica. She is friendly, professional and down to earth. One thing I’ve made clear to her over the phone was .. I have a limited budget and my backyard small. That did not put her off... she came in with that smile you see on her photo. She looked around the yard, asked simple questions like , flowers ,plants, colors and style I want. I told her that but I emphasized more on what I HATE about my yard. ( the ugly wooden fence , the messy trees and my never-ending planting and uprooting plants. ) She gave me only positive response to every negative comment I made. Like... painting the fence , admiring the trees and planting the plants I like. 1 year later ... spending about $8000 more for plants and gardener .... my backyard turned out to be my favorite place to hang-out. I LOVE ❤️ my little yard. I love the once ugly fence and I appreciate the trees which I once thought was nothing but a mess..Thank you Monica!!!

We were stuck, we knew it was time to hire a Professional Architect Designer. So glad we didn’t start cutting down trees and planting flowers and shrubs before consulting with Monica. She asked the right questions, was able to interpret our concerts and create a vision and a plan for our property. Monica is a very professional, experienced landscape architect designer. She is very friendly, creative, knowledgeable and resourceful. We highly recommend Monica!

Monica is a talented Landscape Architect whose creativity and vision results in beautiful projects. She is personable and responsive, and is an experienced design professional. I have been fortunate to work with Monica on a wide variety of projects, and I value her knowledge, design ability, insightfulness, and kindness.

My husband and I kept trying to figure out a solution to his three barbecues that occupy our patio. I contacted Monica and she was able to come up with a solution that not only solves the problem but gives my husband a barbecue are for himself separate from the patio. We are thrilled. She also found someone to make a shade awning for our yard as well. We have not had it installed as of yet but soon.

In 2015 I had the fortunate experience of locating Monica Perrone on Houzz and hiring her to redesign the landscape surrounding my 100 year old craftsman style home. Monica is personable, ethical, experienced and an excellent listener. After hearing my disorganized ideas she miraculously created a lovely master plan. It incorporates the best elements of everything I like. She designed both a hardscape (rock, concrete, stone, brick, fence) and landscape (trees, bushes, grasses) plan which includes tranquility, energy, interesting elements, plants and trees that thrive in my area. Monica enhanced my old craftsman home and gave it a fresh appearance by paying attention to the architectural and garden elements. She paid attention to the front, back and side yards creating an attractive balance. Fun fact - I have had friends come to visit who cannot locate my house because of the incredible transformation and new curb appeal! Monica continues to give me help and ideas when I contact her. She cares about her projects and the people she works with. Each job is unique and fits the style of the owner and neighborhood. She was there at the beginning as well as the end of my landscape project bringing creativity and enthusiasm to it. I couldn't be happier and my house couldn't look better.

Monica was a pleasure to work with. Amy time we had a need or a question, she responded quickly. She took the time to learn our preferences and incorporated them into a beautiful design for our backyard. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Monica to anyone.

Monica was such an inspiration. We gave her our concept and she drew up plans that exceeded our expectations. She helped us select the plants and had several different recommendations, all would have worked perfectly. She was such a joy to work with and her knowledge and advice was very helpful. You could not go wrong working with Monica, we highly recommend her.

Monica has been so helpful to us, she is very nice and willing to work with you no matter what your price range is. We asked her to keep our consultation at two hours due to budget restraints and she graciously accepted and gave us incredibly helpful advice, giving us confidence to move forward with improving our yard. Monica is a great problem solver and gave us countless tips that we never would have thought of ourselves. She is a very genuine person and feels like you a working with a friend, my husband and I can't recommend her enough!

My first glimpse of Monica Perrone was in 2006 as I watched her step out of her vehicle wearing those apple green pumps. This was a good sign, I told myself... anyone wearing those had to have style! By now I was looking for the little things, the tip offs that would prove we finally found someone who would take this yard of ours where we wanted to be. Others had disappointed us and numerous times, I might add. They weren't on time and when they did arrive they wouldn't listen; they drew plans that had nothing to do with us, they were overpriced and if that wasn't bad enough, they lacked vision. Were we ever going to find someone who would embrace this project as though it was their own or was that too unrealistic and just too much to ask? Wait, Perhaps now we had the real thing. Monica walked with us throughout our property, all the while listening intently and taking copious notes (no one had ever taken notes!) as my husband and I chattered our frustrations and dreams, talking over each other in excitement, because now it had occurred to us that we did indeed have a listener. But did our new best friend have any talent? Yes, it turned out, and plenty of it. Monica proved to be the perfect fit for us. She not only presented a plan that took our breath away, but a plan that was practical and which solved our myriad of problems. Monica has become our problem solver. I continue to be in awe of her as she takes on our quandaries, immediately, on site. How refreshing is that? No, it's not... I'll get back to you with this, as you wait weeks for a reply. It's... let's do this, as she grabs her tablet and begins to sketch. Monica is an artist... an artist in your garden, and what a gift she is! And so Monica has transformed the meandering three acre yard of my childhood home, which had no rhyme or reason, into a collection of gardens, one just as interesting as the next. She taught me to rid myself of things I didn't love, to experiment with ideas I hadn't considered, and to appreciate that which had worked well here in the past. We pulled, planned and planted together. Monica has been worth the money we've spent but certainly she's been more than that. She's embraced this property lovingly and, most importantly, she planned for its change while respecting its history and that is what placed her a cut above. I can't imagine a time when I will be finished here. Gardens are never truly completed... they're always changing... there's a quote to that effect by someone. But that's the good news... good news because it will give me the opportunity to give Monica a call. We'll chat, stroll and sketch and, once again, I'll have an artist in my garden.

I have been in the stone industry for many years, and have been lucky to work with Monica Perrone on many projects in the past. Aside from the attention to detail that she brings to a job, it is very rare to see someone who has such a passion for the design of someone else's home. It is easy to fall in love with your own yard or project, but to care as much for another's is quite unique. I can honestly say that when I give a referral for Monica, I know that I won't have to worry about regretting the decision to do so. On numerous occasions I have had the client call once the project was complete, and thank me once again for recommending Monica. If you want someone to bring your dream to fruition, then working with Monica is exactly what you need to do.

Monica Perrone is one of the few educated, licensed and experienced landscape architects in the area. My husband and I have worked with Monica on two different residential yard projects and she exceeded our expectations both in design quality and overall job performance. She goes above and beyond for her clients, thoroughly researching ideas to ensure satisfaction. She sent us photos of hedges, trees, flowering shrubs and even fence designs to help us solidify our vision. Her work involves every aspect of the project including pools, hardscape, fencing, lighting, irrigation and of course plants.

We've worked with Monica Perrone Landscape Architecture on two projects and we're at the beginning of a third. If you're serious about creating an environment for which you will thank yourself for the well placed investment on a daily basis years after, you'll want to connect with Monica and her team. Monica is the consummate professional. She is an architect, an artist, and one might argue a form of botanical psychologist. She creates beauty, calm, and peace through her work and you and your family will be the beneficiaries. Her work is also quite practical and focused towards a useful and enjoyable space. She brings with her multiple layers of knowledge through both formal education and practical experience. You'll find her to be a good listener and a great collaborator. Whether you know the latin name of multiple plants or just know that you want a space to enjoy, Monica will be an excellent match for you. Our largest project with Monica and her team was a total demolition and rebuilding of a new backyard space. Monica was challenged with a strangely shaped lot as a canvas, our insistence on a pool design that was not off the shelf at all, using plantings that balanced our desire to see some of our beloved east coast in our back yard, but didn't drain the water supply, and all within a budget. It was done well and with attention to the smallest of details, on time, and within budget. Besides being a paradise that our family enjoys daily, it's also, objectively speaking, a work of art. We couldn't recommend Monica Perrone and her team more highly.

I am a landscape contractor who has installed a number of projects created by Monica Perrone. She takes great pride in detail and realizes many aspects pertaining to the overall project that most wouldn't even include within a given spectrum. When allowed the opportunity, Monica makes job site visits to ensure her vision is carried out with the same detail she upholds to be so important. I can say her clients too have a great concept of what their project should look like. I've seen Monica's poster boards used for presentation to her clients containing numerous photos and/ or mock ups of what their future yard is to become. Commonly, she provides the client with a post project pictorial gift portraying the yard transformation. Monica Perrone gives her projects 110% and always conducts herself in a professional manner.

We are delighted to be working with Monica again after our first project with her on our front yard landscaping in 2005. Here we are again, 10 years later, eager to tackle the back yard and pool remodel. Monica is creative, professional, and empathetic to her clients' preferences. She couples knowledge of materials and horticulture with spatial awareness to her project. Her questions always take me by surprise ("What is your favorite color?", after seeing our bird feeders out back, "How about a water feature out front to attract birds?" Answers to these questions find their way into her plans later.) She worked on design layout for us as well as sprinkler layout and lighting. Our landscaper worked easily with her, and was able to follow her vision to implement a beautiful, inviting entry. Hardly a day goes by that some stroller doesn't stop one of us to pay a compliment about the apron porch. The front yard has been chosen twice for Modesto's Garden of the Month award. She's the one if you want the best.

Monica Perrone was wonderful to work with. She helped our group from start to finish in achieving our landscape goals. Monica drew out samples and explained in detail what our thoughts would look like in reality. She made knowledgeable suggestions of what types of plants would work best for our project and the reasons for these ideas. The plan even detailed the projection of long term water use needed for the area and the plants. Our project looks beautiful and we are very happy with the end result, all thanks to Monica Perrone's expertise.