$100,000–$150,000 · 7 weeks
Hill Country terrace, Boerne
A backyard that fell 14 feet from the house, turned into two limestone terraces with a flagstone patio, a cedar pergola and native planting.
Fair Oaks Ranch · Fair Oaks Ranch · 2025
Live oak shade garden, Fair Oaks Ranch
A failing lawn under four heritage live oaks replaced with a deer-resistant native shade garden, drip irrigation and tree uplighting, designed in 3D.
Patchy lawn and fallen leaves under a large shade tree before redesign, Fair Oaks Ranch 
During construction: Patchy lawn and fallen leaves under a large shade tree before redesign, Fair Oaks RanchShaded garden with benches under mature trees, Fair Oaks Ranch 
Finished: Shaded garden with benches under mature trees, Fair Oaks RanchLive oak canopy lit from below at night, Fair Oaks Ranch 
Detail: Live oak canopy lit from below at night, Fair Oaks RanchHand-colored landscape site plan with tree canopies, beds and paths, Fair Oaks Ranch 
Detail: Hand-colored landscape site plan with tree canopies, beds and paths, Fair Oaks Ranch
The brief
What the clients needed
Ellen and Tom K. had spent years resodding the lawn under four heritage live oaks in their Fair Oaks Ranch front and side yard. It thinned every summer in the shade, and the spray heads that kept it alive soaked the oak trunks. Deer ate everything else they planted.
They wanted the yard to look finished all year, to stop fighting the grass, and to see the oaks at night.
What we built
Marisol Ortega mapped every trunk and canopy edge and built a 3D model showing the shade by season. The design replaces the lawn under the canopies with a native shade garden: inland sea oats, Turk's cap, cedar sage, horseherb and American beautyberry, with a decomposed granite path through it. A small Zoysia panel stays in the one spot with six hours of sun.
Three spray zones became drip, keeping water off the trunks; one rotor zone stays for the Zoysia. Caleb Wendt lit the four oaks with eight brass uplights, two per tree, and added two moonlights high in the largest canopy over the entry. Dead wood was pruned in January, outside oak wilt season, with every cut painted.
Materials
Materials and specs
| Planting | Inland sea oats, Turk's cap, cedar sage, horseherb, American beautyberry, Texas sedge; 91% native |
|---|---|
| Path | 180 sq ft stabilized decomposed granite with steel edging |
| Lawn panel | 650 sq ft Palisades Zoysia in the sunny side yard |
| Irrigation | 3 spray zones converted to drip, 1 rotor zone kept, new smart controller |
| Lighting | 8 brass uplights, 2 canopy moonlights, 300 W transformer |
Timeline
4-week build
- Survey, 3D design, HOA review6 weeks
- January pruning1 day, before build
- Turf removal and irrigationWeek 1
- Path and plantingWeeks 2–3
- Lighting and night aimingWeek 4
What the client said
“Seeing it in 3D sold us. The deer walk right through it and leave it alone, and the oaks at night are the best part of the house.”
Services used
Services on this project
Portfolio
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Start with a free site walk
Forty-five minutes on your property with a designer. You'll leave with honest numbers and a clear next step. A fixed-price proposal with a 3D render follows within two weeks.