Beautiful, Waterwise Home Gardens
Voted “Best Landscape Design Services” in Best of the East Bay by Diablo Magazine editors and readers in 2023 & 2024
As a leader in waterwise plants and sustainable landscape design services, the Ruth Bancroft Garden and Nursery’s design team specializes in creating gardens that are beautiful and welcoming while also being climate-resilient. Whether you are looking to completely redo your garden or just add plants for better curb appeal and drought-tolerance, we can meet your needs with services ranging from hourly Garden Consultations to full custom design plans that include selecting the best plants for your garden given your microclimate, plant, color and style preferences. We only use climate appropriate plants in our designs. To get started, fill out the form below.
Portfolio
Quick Design Questions – Answered!
On the first Wednesday of every month from 9:30AM – 12:30PM, one of our Landscape Designers will be in the Nursery to help you with your quick design questions. Need to replace a plant or two? Have a couple of pots you want to fill? Want to know more about our Landscape Design services?
View Upcoming Drop-in Opportunities
Stop by!
1552 Bancroft Road
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
East Bay: Our general service area encompasses the area within a 22 mile radius of the Garden which is roughly north to Highway #4, south to Highway #580, west to Oakland and east to Antioch.
San Francisco and Marin: Additional hourly travel-time fees may be added to design work done in these areas.
Sites outside a 10 mile radius of service areas will incur additional travel charges.
The Nursery is stocked with water wise plants and natives. Our Nursery staff is also extremely knowledgeable and more than happy to answer any questions you have about whether or not a particular plant will thrive in your yard. If you’re looking for a plant that we don’t currently have in-stock, or want to make a large order of plants for your water wise garden, it is best to email the nursery at Nursery@ruthbancroftgarden.org
Meet the Team
Kate
Design Services Director
Garden making and growing professionally in the Bay Area for over fifteen years, Kate has learned, plants are powerful. As a designer, she believes that beauty and resilience go hand in hand, working with clients to realize their low water garden aspirations. Before coming to Ruth Bancroft Garden, Kate was the Horticulture Manager at Filoli gardens in Woodside. She studied Landscape Architecture at Merritt College, earned an MA in Museum Studies at the University of Washington and a BA in Biology at Boston College.
Gonzalo
Associate Landscape Designer
Gonzalo Mannucci is a CA licensed landscape architect. He has worked on designs for public spaces, wineries, large estates, and residences. Gonzalo has experience in the complete design process: Site analysis, to conceptual design with 3D modeling, to construction documents that are ready-to-build. He brings extensive design-build experience to his clients. Gonzalo is passionate about locally sourced materials, slow water, California native plants, and resilient landscapes. He has resided in the SF Bay Area for 27 years, becoming intimately familiar with the area's climate, unique topography, and plant palettes. Gonzalo is a life-long gardener, volunteered at the SF Botanical Garden’s nursery and completed a year-long internship at SFPUC’s native plant nursery in Sunol. His educational background includes a Certificate in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley Extension, an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from NYU. Gonzalo’s past career was as a marketer in the tech industry, where he honed a mix of creative and analytic skills he brings to every project.
Molly
Associate Landscape Designer
Since college, Molly has been interested in fostering connections between people and their natural environments. Molly's interest in horticulture blossomed when she was farming in Latin America for one year. Upon returning to the United States, she pursued a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from UC Berkeley. Since receiving her degree, she has worked in residential and restoration landscape architecture firms in the Bay Area. When she is not designing, she enjoys spending time with her family, painting, hiking and gardening.
