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Licensed & insured · serving Greater LA since 2015
Landscaping in Pasadena
Craftsman garden restoration, oak-safe planting and deep-lot design in the San Gabriel Valley.
Why Pasadena yards behave the way they do
Fast-draining fan soil changes the irrigation maths
Decomposed granite and cobble let water through quickly. Deep infrequent watering on this ground sends a good share of it past the roots. Shorter cycles with mulch to slow evaporation keep more of it where the plants are.
Frost is real here and it is local
Cold air drains downhill and settles. Two properties on the same street can sit a few degrees apart on a January night, and that difference decides whether citrus, bougainvillea or tender succulents survive. We plant the cold pockets differently.
Protected trees come first in any plan
Pasadena protects native oaks and designated landmark and specimen trees, and work in a protected root zone is regulated. We establish what is on the property before a design goes anywhere, because it changes what is possible.
What actually thrives in Pasadena
Six plants we specify here more than anywhere else in Greater LA, and the reason each one earns its place. This is a starting point, not the whole palette; the final list depends on your light, your soil and how much maintenance you want.
| Plant | Type | Water | Why it works here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quercus agrifolia | Native oak | None once established | The defining tree of these streets, and protected in the city |
| Camellia sasanqua | Shrub | Moderate | Period-correct for Craftsman gardens and happy in oak shade |
| Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' | Native shrub | Very low | Wants exactly the fast-draining fan soil this area has |
| Cercis occidentalis | Small tree | Low | Native redbud with spring colour and no frost trouble |
| Salvia clevelandii | Shrub | Very low | Thrives in inland heat and scents the garden in summer |
| Carex divulsa | Sedge | Low | Dry shade groundcover that works under a mature canopy |
Five things that go wrong in Pasadena gardens
These are the problems we are called out to most often in this part of the city. Four of the five are design or irrigation faults rather than plant faults, which is why replanting on its own rarely fixes them.
Lawn irrigated under a protected oak
The same mistake that kills oaks everywhere in Southern California, and here it also involves a protected tree. Irrigation comes back outside the dripline and dry shade planting goes underneath.
Tender material planted in a frost pocket
Bougainvillea and tender succulents at the low end of a sloping lot will take damage most winters. Twenty feet uphill they are fine.
Mature tree roots fighting old hardscape
Deodars, oaks and camphors on these deep lots lift paths and driveways. Rebuilding the paving over a flexible base and a root barrier keeps the tree and ends the repeat repairs.
Original clay and galvanised irrigation lines
Many Craftsman-era properties still have them underground. They fail quietly and the symptom looks like poor coverage. We check the mains before adjusting heads.
Heavy canopy left unthinned before the winds
The Pasadena and Altadena foothills take hard Santa Ana events. Dense, unthinned trees lose limbs. Thinning in late summer is the cheap version of that problem.
The year in a Pasadena garden
Southern California does not have four seasons, it has a wet half and a dry half. What you do and when you do it matters more here than in almost any other climate.
- October to December
First rains and shorter days
The best planting window of the year. Soil is still warm, rain does the watering, and roots establish before next summer. Controllers come off the summer schedule, rain sensors get checked, and drains get cleared before the first real storm.
- January to March
Wet ground and dormant growth
Pruning season for deciduous material and the right time for structural work: walls, paving, drainage and grading, while planting is cheap to move. Watch for standing water, because what the ground does now is what it will do every winter.
- April to June
Growth and the first heat
Everything puts on growth at once. Feeding, mulching to lock in winter moisture, irrigation audits before the hot months, and the last comfortable window to plant anything that will need to survive August.
- July to September
Heat, wind and water bills
Maintenance rather than construction. Watering before sunrise, adjusting run times as the heat peaks, thinning trees ahead of the Santa Ana season, and keeping an eye on the plants that are telling you they are in the wrong place.
Water, trees and the rules that apply here
Water in Pasadena comes from Pasadena Water and Power, which runs the city utility. Watering-day limits, tiered rates and turf replacement rebates change from year to year and from provider to provider, so check the current position with yours before you set a schedule. We program the controller to whatever is actually in force on the day we hand over.
Tree removal is the other rule that catches people. Street trees in the public parkway and protected or landmark trees on private land are regulated, and the requirements differ by city. We will tell you plainly which category a tree falls into before anything is cut, and we will not remove a protected tree without the proper approval.
Hours at this location
- Monday to Friday7:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Saturday8:00 am to 4:00 pm
- SundayClosed
Send plans, photos or HOA documents to in**@*************la.com and we reply within one business day.
How the Pasadena crew works a property
The same five steps on every job, whether it is a front garden conversion or a full rebuild. The order is the part that matters.
Walk the whole property, not the problem corner
We start at the meter and work outward. Sun exposure by elevation, soil texture in three spots, where water actually goes when it rains, what the existing irrigation is really covering. Most of what a yard needs is decided here, before anything is drawn.
Soil and drainage before plant lists
A hole and a hose tell us how fast the ground drains. Clay that holds water for a day needs a different plan from decomposed granite that drains in twenty minutes. Skipping this is why replanted yards fail in their second summer.
A plan with real numbers on it
You get a written scope: plants by name and size, materials by quantity, irrigation zones, what we remove and where it goes, and the price. No allowances, no vague line items, nothing that changes once work starts unless you change it.
Irrigation first, then hardscape, then planting
Order matters. Pipe and wire go in before paving, paving goes in before plants, and plants go in before mulch. Doing it out of order is how a new patio gets cut open three weeks later.
Handover with the controller programmed
We set the irrigation schedule for the season you are actually in, show you the valves and the shutoff, and leave a written plant list with watering notes. Then we come back to adjust it when the weather turns.
Neighbourhoods the Pasadena crew works
Coverage from this location is set by drive time rather than city boundaries. If your street is near this list and not on it, call and ask; it is usually a yes.
ZIP codes covered from Pasadena
30 ZIP codes run from this location. Where two locations overlap, the job goes to whichever crew reaches it fastest on the day.
Pasadena
91101, 91103, 91104, 91105, 91106, 91107
Altadena and the foothills
91001, 91011, 91024, 91214
South Pasadena and San Marino
91030, 91108
Arcadia, Monrovia and Duarte
91006, 91007, 91016, 91010
Glendale
91201, 91202, 91203, 91204, 91205, 91206, 91208
Northeast LA
90041, 90042
San Gabriel, Temple City and Alhambra
91775, 91776, 91780, 91801, 91803
Questions we get from Pasadena homeowners
Native oaks and designated landmark trees are protected in Pasadena, and work inside a protected root zone is regulated. We identify what is on the property first and design around it. We will not cut or excavate in a protected root zone without the proper approval.
Yes, in most positions. Avoid the low, cold end of a sloping lot where cold air settles, give it good drainage, and keep it out of the deepest shade. In a frost pocket a container that can be moved is the safer answer.
Keep the structure, fix what is underneath. Renovation pruning on mature shrubs, soil and mulch work, a modern irrigation system, and period-appropriate infill planting. Clearing it and starting again throws away the part that takes thirty years to grow.
It drains much faster. Decomposed granite and cobble instead of clay. That means different irrigation timing, more mulch, and a plant list that suits lean, sharp drainage rather than heavy ground.
Yes, all three from this office, along with Glendale, South Pasadena and Sierra Madre. The San Gabriel Valley is this branch's core area.
Every service available from the Pasadena location
All fifteen run from this office with the same crews, the same rate card and the same warranty as every other location.
Nearest other locations
Book a free walkthrough in Pasadena
We walk the property, talk through the options, and put a real number on paper. No obligation, and no sales pressure.
404 Cypress Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103 · Get directions · Opens 7 AM, Monday to Saturday