GARDEN DESIGN & EDUCATION · SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Your yard could be the garden you've been dreaming about.
I help Southern California homeowners create beautiful, thriving veggie gardens and California native landscapes without the guesswork, wasted money, or overwhelm.
One hour. A personal plan. A garden that grows with you.
"I finally know exactly what to plant — and why it'll actually grow."
— Wild Joy Gardens client
You've been dreaming about this garden for years. So why does it feel so impossible to start?
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"I've bought plants before and they just… died. I don't want to waste another $200 at the nursery."
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"I have a Pinterest board full of ideas but no idea where to actually begin in my own yard."
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"Southern California gardening feels different, I don't know what works here."
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"Another season is passing and I just don't know where to begin. I want to start, I just need the right help."
Friend, I hear you. The problem isn't you, it's that nobody gave you a plan made for your specific yard, your soil, your Southern California sun. That's exactly what I do.
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Gardens that started with a single conversation.
★★★★★
I cannot say enough good things about Kristy. Our first consultation was so helpful; she gave a lot of great insights, ideas, and resources, and followed up our appointment with a thorough email recapping what we talked about and links and info about our visit. I cannot recommend her enough.
— BRITTANY S., MISSION VIEJO
★★★★★
Kristy was super helpful and informative in getting our tomatoes going and made other suggestions for vegetables and other plantings as well. She spent a full hour with us and provided several pages of instructions with links! Thanks so much for your help Kristy!!
— URSULA J., FOUNTAIN VALLEY
★★★★★
I booked a consult with Kristy and I am so glad I did! She has been such a huge help with my landscaping project! She is so kind, professional and goes above and beyond. I will definitely be using her for other gardening projects I have planned!
— KRISTEN S., NEWPORT BEACH
15+
Years gardening in Southern California
2+
Years as a certified California native plant landscaper
40+
Years as a nature lover, garden obsessive
3
Specialties: Veggies, CA Native plants & cut flower gardens
California native wildflowers blooming under a Desert Museum Palo Verde
My Costa Mesa client wanted a California native garden with a low water U.C. Verde buffalo grass instead of their thirsty, weedy front yard before.
The perfect homeschool garden space!
California native wildflowers blooming under a Desert Museum Palo Verde
THE CONSULTATION
One hour, entirely yours wherever you're starting from.
Maybe you're starting from a blank slate and don't know where to begin. Maybe you already have a garden but something isn't working and you can't figure out why. Maybe you just need a knowledgeable friend to walk through your yard with you and help you see it clearly. Every consultation is different because every garden, and every gardener, is different.
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A personalized plant list chosen for your exact yard, soil, and Southern California climate
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Layout guidance so you know where things go and why
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Seasonal planting timing so nothing goes in at the wrong time
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Water-wise strategies that work with California's climate
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Honest answers to every question you've been holding onto
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A follow-up summary you can reference as you plant
Whether you're dreaming of raised veggie beds bursting with tomatoes and cut flowers, a front yard full of California native wildflowers, or just finally figuring out why your existing garden isn't thriving, we'll make a plan that fits your yard, your budget, and your vision. Perfect for the DIY gardener who just needs the right roadmap.
FULL GARDEN DESIGN
Ready to go all in? Let's design your dream garden together.
✦ Your $200 consult fee is fully credited towards this service
If the consultation sparks something and it usually does, the next step is a full garden design made entirely for your yard. Every design is hand drawn, a one-of-a-kind, personal plan that feels as alive as the garden it describes. No software, no templates, no cookie-cutter layouts. Just a beautiful, thoughtful design rooted in your space, your climate, and what you actually want to grow.
Whether you're a DIY gardener who wants a clear roadmap to follow yourself, or you'd prefer to hand the plan off to a contractor, this design works for both. And if you need help finding the right people to bring it to life, I have a trusted referral list of contractors for landscaping, lighting, and irrigation who I know and trust.
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Hand Drawn Planting Plan
A one-of-a-kind, scaled layout drawing of your garden, hand drawn personally for your space. Where every plant goes and why, beautifully mapped to your actual yard.
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Plant List with Sourcing
Every plant selected for your specific yard, with guidance on where to find them including local nurseries and budget-friendly options.
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Phasing Plan
A clear sequence for what to plant first, second, and third — so you can build your garden over time without feeling overwhelmed or overspending.
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Follow-Up Support & Contractor Referrals
After you receive your design, I'm here for questions as you start planting. Prefer to hand it off? I'll connect you with my trusted referral list of contractors for landscaping, lighting, and irrigation.
FULL GARDEN DESIGN
$1,500 - $2,000
Sliding scale pricing because beautiful gardens should be accessible, not just aspirational.
✦ Your $200 consult fee is fully credited so you start at $1,300
Book the consultation first. If a full design feels like the right next step, we'll go from there. No pressure, ever.
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Most clients start with the consultation. We spend that hour getting to know your yard and your vision and if a full design feels right, your $200 goes straight toward it. It's a natural, no-pressure next step, not a separate sales pitch.
HOW IT WORKS
Your garden is closer than you think.
Three gentle steps between you and the garden you've been imagining.
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It Starts with a Conversation
Book your in-person consultation. I'll be in touch beforehand to learn about your space and your dreams for it.
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Get Your Plan
We spend one unhurried hour in your yard together. I listen, observe, and by the end you have a clear, personalized plan or the beginning of a hand drawn design that's entirely yours.
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Grow
Whether you use your consult plan or a full scaled design, you'll have everything you need to dig in with confidence at your own pace.
ABOUT ME
Hi, I'm Kristy and I believe your yard should be
unmistakably California.
I've been getting my hands dirty in Southern California gardens for over 15 years. I started as a UC Master Gardener, fell in love with the process, and when I moved into a house in Costa Mesa with a tired, dying landscape I didn't hire someone. I went back to school at OCC for horticulture and landscape design so I could bring it back to life myself.
That's where everything changed. I discovered what happens when art, design, and plants come together and I've never looked back.
I started Wild Joy Gardens because I wanted to help people experience what I found in that backyard: the quiet joy of a garden that feels alive. Not a yard that could be anywhere in the US, but one that is unmistakably here, rooted in California soil, buzzing with our pollinators, blooming on our timeline.
I'm what you might call a knowledgeable bridge to nature. My job is to connect you to the seasons, to our remarkable California plants, to the subtle rhythms of life that most of us walk right past. The first California poppy pushing through in late winter. The little bells on the manzanita. The low-chill peaches blooming before you even notice spring has arrived. These are the moments a well-designed garden gives you and I want that for every client.
I'm a certified California native plant landscaper and a proud volunteer with the California Native Plant Society because this work isn't just a business to me, it's a calling. I'm also not a purist. If you want roses, a cutting garden, raised veggie beds, or a backyard that feels like Tuscany, I'm here for all of it. What matters most to me is that your garden is beautiful, site-specific, and deeply worth tending.
My love for plants doesn't stop at the garden gate. You'll find me making flower bouquets from whatever is blooming, experimenting with plant dyes and inks, and steeping herbal teas from things I've grown myself. Plants are woven into every part of my life which means when I design your garden, I bring that same whole-hearted obsession to your space.
When I'm not in the garden you'll find me at the beach or curled up with a good book, usually with my husband, our two kids, and whatever the season has left on the kitchen table.
Above all, I want you to feel rested, relaxed, and part of the ecosystem right in your own backyard. Part of this planet. Home.
And for the little ones, I also offer small garden education classes for homeschool families with kids K–6th grade, focused on veggie gardening and California native plants. Because kids who grow tomatoes eat tomatoes. And kids who grow up in gardens grow up connected to the earth.
DON'T WAIT ANOTHER SEASON
What if this is the season everything changes?
The seasons keep turning. The California poppies bloom, the manzanitas flower, the tomatoes ripen with or without us. But imagine being in it this year. Tending something. Watching it grow. Feeling at home in your own yard for the first time.
You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need one conversation with someone who knows this land, these plants, and how to make it beautiful. That's what this consultation is.
One hour. A real plan. The beginning of something that grows with you.
FREE GUIDE
Not ready to book yet? Start here for free.
Download "Kristy's Picks. The Best Veggies, Natives & Cut Flowers for Southern California Gardens" my personal favorites list of the plants I recommend most, love most, and grow myself. Plus join my seasonal newsletter: what to plant right now, what's blooming in my garden, book reports, behind the scenes, and everything happening in the California plant world.
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