Every line begins by hand.
Before a single plant is chosen or a stone is placed, there’s a pencil, a page, and a conversation. My process starts with listening — to you, to the land, to the way light moves through a space at different hours of the day.
What you’ll find in this portfolio isn’t generated or templated. Each drawing is made by hand — sketched, layered, and refined the way landscapes themselves grow: gradually, with intention. I believe the hand-drawn process isn’t just aesthetic; it’s how I think through a design. The imperfections are part of it. So is the care.
These are spaces where people gather, rest, and grow. They deserve that kind of attention from the very first mark on the page.
The end results
Meet Doug
A native of East Tennessee, the seed of curiosity about the natural world was planted early — by a grandmother who understood that a garden exists in relationship with everything around it. One of his earliest memories is lamenting a strawberry pecked open by a bird, only to be met with his great-grandfather’s wisdom passed down through her: “Poppa always said you gotta grow enough for them and for you.” It was a quiet but lasting lesson in the balance between nature and the people who tend it.
That sense of balance has guided his work ever since. Transplanted to the Atlanta area, he deepened his roots in Georgia’s soils and broadened his appreciation for both the beauty and the function of the land. A summer job in a greenhouse sharpened his eye and his appetite for knowledge, leading him to study Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Georgia — a foundation that has supported decades of experience in landscape design and contracting.
What sets his work apart is how it begins: by hand. Every landscape plan is drawn the way the work itself unfolds — deliberately, with care, and with a deep attention to the particulars of each site and each client. No two properties are the same, and no two drawings are either. The hand-drawn process isn’t just a method; it’s a reflection of a practice rooted in observation, craft, and genuine relationship with the land.
Like planting trees for generations to come, he still has much to give — and looks forward to being of service.
Every great landscape begins with a conversation. Reach out to share your vision, your space, and your hopes for it — and we’ll go from there.
