Softscaping is Drift’s core design service, with natural materials and permeable paths favored for hardscaping wherever possible. Designs include a plant list with recommended sizes based on experience with growth rate and establishment needs. For example, if a 4” pot catches up to a 3 gallon plant within 12 months, we take the economical route. Designs are scaled so that you can see the amount of space a fully grown plant will take up, and your plant list contains quantities for purchase.

Drift considers how the overall design materials work together with each other, the plant palette, and existing structures. Stone, steps, decking wood, pavers, gravel, and steel are selected in the materials plan.

Landscapes provide places of reprieve, interest, play, a setting for community, and add beauty to a home. They can also be built in a way that restores soil health, benefits native wildlife, attracts birds, reduces water runoff and the need for heavy irrigation. Your family’s habits, hopes, and concerns are heard before a concept is created.

One way to bring seasons into your life is through perennial gardening. Texas native an adapted perennials and self-seeding plants really put on a show, with something of interest year-round. Drift’s gardens are built around seasonal interest, with successive blooms in growth season and interest for people and pollinators year round.

Native and truly adapted plants do well because they want to be here! They also work for you by helping to control erosion, reduce watering needs once established, and bringing pollinators and critters for added garden interest. There is a myth circulating, though, that they’re no maintenance or xeric gardens. If you plant a garden full of native plants, you will still be a gardener. Seasonal consulting in spring and fall gives you a plan for maintaining and thoughtfully adding to your space. I aim for 70% native typically, with the confidence to design 100% native as well.