01Atherton
The Olive Court
A rear garden reworked around a existing mature olive. Decomposed granite court, silver and sage foliage palette, low-water irrigation throughout. Completed spring 2023.
Est. 1994 — Mid-Peninsula, California
Menlo Park · Palo Alto
Atherton · Woodside
Atherton · Woodside
SUSAN EDWARDS ogle— LANDSCAPE
Thirty years of residential garden design across the mid-Peninsula. Featured on the Garden Conservancy and Gamble Garden Tours — quiet, structural plantings built to outlast a single season.
Begin a Project
The Practice
30yrs
designing residential gardens on the mid-Peninsula, since 1994.
Susan Edwards Ogle has spent three decades shaping private gardens across Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, and Woodside — work that has appeared on the Garden Conservancy and Gamble Garden Tours across the past ten years.
The studio operates from a simple conviction: a garden is architecture made of living things. Every plan begins with the site's existing soil, light, and drainage, then layers in structure — paths, walls, canopy — before a single plant is chosen.
The result reads as inevitability. A garden that looks as though it was always there, yet functions precisely for the way a household lives in it: where the children run, where the dog wears a path, where the evening sun falls at seven in October.
Susan Edwards Ogle, Principal
ASLA · 30 yrs
Selected Work — 2019 to 2024
Five gardens, each specific to its soil and the household that lives in it.
01 / 05
02Palo Alto
Creekside Native
Riparian restoration planting along a San Francisquito Creek tributary. Ceanothus, manzanita, and western redbud layered for year-round structure and pollinator support.
03Woodside
The Rill Garden
A formal water rill running the full length of a south-facing axis, flanked by yew and boxwood. Designed for evening reflection and the sound of moving water.
04Menlo Park
Eighteenth Avenue Cottage
The studio's own street. A front garden rebuilt for curb appeal and cutting flowers — David Austin roses, nepeta, and a low boxwood edge that holds the line in winter.
05Atherton
Concrete & Grass
A modernist courtyard for a new-build by Feldman Architecture. Board-formed concrete planters, stipa and miscanthus drifts, integrated uplighting for night use.
Approach — I
Read the site first. Then draw.
Every project opens with a full site survey: soil composition, drainage patterns, shadow studies across the seasons, and the existing canopy we are duty-bound to protect. We do not sketch a single line until we understand what the land is already doing.
It is slower. It is also why our gardens, ten years on, look like they were never newly planted.
Site SurveyPhase 01
Approach — II
Build the bones, then the planting.
Hardscape comes before horticulture. Paths, retaining walls, drainage, and irrigation infrastructure are designed as a single integrated system — the architecture of the garden — so that what grows on top of it has somewhere to live for the next thirty years.
We work with a small group of stonemasons and contractors we have trusted for two decades. The work is built once, and built properly.
HardscapePhase 02
Approach — III
Plant for the decade after next.
A garden that peaks in year two is a garden in decline by year five. We specify plantings with their mature scale and character in mind — canopy trees that will define the property in 2040, perennials divided and shifted over time, and a maintenance plan written into the contract.
Every garden we deliver comes with a five-year stewardship schedule. Most clients keep us on beyond it.
PlantingPhase 03
Services & Indicative Fees
Six ways we work with you.
Fees below are starting points for typical mid-Peninsula residential projects. Final scope is fixed only after the first site visit. No two gardens are priced identically — and we will tell you honestly if your budget cannot reach the result you want.
01Design
Master Garden Design
Full site plan: survey, concept drawings, hardscape layout, planting plan, irrigation strategy, and a written five-year stewardship schedule. The complete blueprint for a property rebuild or new construction. Includes three revision rounds and contractor tender support.
$8,500starting, typical ¼-acre lot
02Design
Front Garden Redesign
Curb-to-door redesign for an existing front yard. Concept, planting, and hardscape plan for a typical 50-foot street frontage.
$3,200starting
03Hardscape
Hardscape & Stonework
Paths, retaining walls, patios, and edging. Specified and project-managed end to end.
$65/sq ft, installed
04Maintenance
Seasonal Maintenance
Quarterly visits by our stewardship crew: pruning, division, soil amendment, irrigation checks, and seasonal edits to the planting. For gardens we have designed or previously maintained.
$480/visit, typical lot
05Lawn Care
Lawn Care Program
Weekly mowing, edging, and seasonal aeration. Organic fertilization and integrated pest management as standard — no broadcast synthetic herbicides.
$95/week, up to 2,000 sq ft
06Consulting
Hourly Consultation
On-site advisory for DIY gardeners or second-opinion reviews of an existing plan. Minimum two-hour booking, written summary included.
$185/hour
07Planting
Planting & Installation
Sourcing, delivery, and installation of all plant material specified in a Susan Edwards Ogle design. Includes soil preparation, mulch, and a one-season establishment warranty on woody material. We do not install plantings from outside plans.
$4,200starting, typical installation
08Lighting
Garden Lighting Design
Low-voltage path, accent, and moonlighting plan. Fixture specification and installation supervision.
$1,800starting design fee
Have something else in mind? Ask us directly — most projects are a blend of the above.
Request a Quote
How We Work
A four-stage process, from first walk to fifth year.
01
Listen & Survey
First consultation on site. We walk the property, hear what the household wants, and return the following week with a measured survey and a written brief.
2 to 3 weeks
02
Concept & Plan
Concept drawings, then a developed master plan with hardscape, planting, and irrigation. Three revision rounds are included as standard.
6 to 10 weeks
03
Build & Plant
We tender to our trusted contractors, supervise installation, and plant in the correct season. Hardscape first, planting last, always.
3 to 9 months
04
Steward
A written five-year maintenance schedule, quarterly stewardship visits, and seasonal edits as the garden matures. Most clients stay with us for decades.
Ongoing
Begin a Project
Tell us about your garden.
We take on a limited number of new commissions each year — typically six to eight full designs, plus ongoing stewardship of past projects. The earliest design slots for new work usually open three to four months out. The form opposite is the fastest way to reach Susan directly.
Email
[email protected]
Telephone
650-327-4237
Studio
670 Eighteenth Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Hours
By appointment, Monday to Friday