Terra

My husband and I bought a house in San Miguel de Allende in 2014. One of our attractions to the property was the beautiful garden which had been originally designed by Alfonso Alarcon 9 years ago. We asked Alfonso to design and provide construction of a pool for us in the garden area, and this necessitated design adjustments in the garden, so he also provided a re-design of the garden, pruning, addition and subtraction of plants, etc. He was very knowledgeable, responsive, professional and a delight to work with. It is our pleasure to highly recommend him and his company, for landscape design and implementation, as well as swimming pool design and construction.

I love working with Alphonso. This is the second house he did for me. Very knowledgeable about what grows and the designs are outstanding. Very easy to work with. He just finished my garden this week. It is just beautiful. Carolyn Sommers

TERRA did exceptional work at my home in San Miguel de Allende. He designed the landscaping for my backyard which went beyond expectations. His ideas were great and he also successfully incorporated a couple of my ideas into the plan. He also created an indoor fountain to replace the one which the builder had originally put in. Lastly he helped me to fix other problems that occurred (not a fault of his ) AND added additional landscaping help when a neighbor changed his property creating somewhat of an eyesore. He is of the highest character. Would highly recommend he and his company.

Alphonso and his team did a fantastic redesign of my rooftop garden.He immediately understood the requirements and executed them flawlessly. He was on time and on budget.His team was very courteous as well as meticulous about ensuring my house was returned to a clean and tidy state! I love my new garden.

I’ve relied on Alfonso Alarcon for the last seven years. The experience has been unfailingly pleasant. From his original concept--contemporary urban garden--to his ongoing advice on plant maintenance and pruning. I have mature jacaranda trees that require periodic attention. His expert consultations are a big help to a Northerner learning how to garden in this warmer, dryer climate. His crewmen are top-notch: skilled, reliable and tidy. The results are always pleasing! Patricia Blakely

Alfonso did a wonderful job on my landscaping. He is very responsible doing what he says he will do. My gardens are beautiful thanks to Alfonso. He is always cheerful and willing to do what it takes to make a job complete and a customer happy. You will be pleased with his work and his work ethic.

We contacted Terra on the recommendation of several people who had used Alfonso and had raved about him. From our initial consultation right through to the completion of the project we were pleased beyond our expectations. Alfonso listened to us carefully and immediately understood our style and the look we wanted to achieve. He is a professional who not only is experienced with plants and trees and knows what will do well in the environment of San Miguel, he is creative in his design and incorporation of objects of art and he is gifted in terms of lighting. His crew was hard working and courteous and always left our garden and terrace in immaculate condition. Alfonso has proven to be reliable, responsible and we feel we received excellent value and service. It was a real pleasure working with Alfonso. Terra is a company we highly recommend.

Alfonso's garden designs are highly creative and his crew are very professional. He listens to the client's desires and gets a feel for their design sense. He works with plants and materials that do well in this climate and steers away from 'problematic' plants that typically don't do well in a dry arid climate, which gives any design the best possibility of thriving quickly. He and his crew are always available to answer any questions or come out to assist in any issues that may arise as a result of years of growth – even a basic pruning. I recommend Alfonso to anyone I meet looking for good, creative outdoor designs.

The owner of Terra, Alfonso Alarcon, was recommended by the architect who was building our new home. We had purchased two lots, the top lot for the construction of the house, and the lower lot for a large garden. Because of the topography, it was necessary to tier the garden into three separate levels. We stipulated that we wanted the lower tier to be dedicated to plants that were native to this part of Mexico. On the other two tiers we wanted a combination of fruit trees, to include limes and olives, and we wanted roses as part of the mix. Mr. Alarcon did preliminary drawings showing the size and configuration of the tiers to be divided by stone walls, and indicated where the stairways would be located. He later followed that with a detailed layout of the planting areas, and walkways that led throughout the garden areas. Finally we were provided with a three page detailed breakdown of every component being proposed to be included in the garden construction, loads of planting mix, loads of sandy soil mix, bags of top soil, and each and every plant and their quantities. Unit prices were provided for everything with a flat 15% professional fee added to these costs. He referred us to an irrigation contractor who we were able to deal with separately, but then Alfonso took responsibility for all coordination of the installation of the irrigation and his own work. He actually kept pressure on our architect to get the space ready for his installation, and once he started, he provided the manpower and supervision to complete the work in less than two weeks. The quality of everything that was done, the plants and all of the workmanship was first class. The design, layout, variety and mixture of plants is outstanding, and the result a little over one year after everything was put in place is stunning. We could not be more pleased with this total experience, the professional design, the ease of collaboration--Alfonso speaks perfect English although we conducted business in Spanish--the complete transparency of pricing and the very reasonable costs, down to the great execution of the installation, we have never had a more positive experience in many years of contracting for services. We highly recommend this gentleman and his expertise in garden design and installation.

Designed, supervised and provided all necessary materials (greens, trees, etc.) and workforce to complete our beautiful garden. They have a true understanding of the art behind landscaping. Totally reliable!

I highly recommend Alfonso Alarcon as a landscape designer. His design sense and broad knowledge of design, plants and other landscape materials was a pleasure to witness. My wife Qurentia and I discussed what we wanted and worked together closely with Alfonso to establish a palette of plant materials compatible with the environment and our aesthetic. This compatibility was critical since the local climate is high desert and drought tolerant plants were essential. Another design element was maintainability. Since we are in San Miguel only part of the year we did not want a high maintenance, labor intensive garden full of thirsty plants that are prone to all varieties of insects and disease.The result was a luxurious garden environment of indigenous plants and landscape textures that appear as natural as the surrounding preserve and vistas. The exterior plantings are also a compliment to the interior space of our new house since all rooms and our studios articulate to the garden. The exterior speaks to the interior beautifully. And last but not least, Alfonso's crew was very professional as well. All of them were conscientious and diligent in undertaking their tasks. In conclusion I will say the project went brilliantly well. I will employ Alfonso again in any future garden enhancements to our house, patios and studios.