Landscape design & build for Sacramento

Yardzen designs everywhere in the U.S. and the Sacramento area is one of our favorites. Nestled within the vast Sacramento Valley, the city of Sacramento lies low, though the foothills of the majestic Sierras are within spitting distance.

EXPLORE DESIGN PACKAGES
Sacramento front yard with wooden flooring and lawn area with grasses, alongside deck patio with pergola over seating area
Climate

Sacramento is a “City of Trees”, and thankfully so. A little shade goes a long way during the city’s hot summer days.

It’s also a city of rivers. Positioned at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers, Sacramento and neighboring West Sacramento both offer riverfront views. Being a river city, Sacramento is no stranger to flooding, either, making permeability of particular importance in landscape designs.

Outdoor Living

Hot summers aside, Sacramento is a great place to spend time outside any time of year. Looking for that indoor/outdoor lifestyle? Yardzen’s done it all outside, from cooking and dining, to work areas, to entertainment and lounge zones. Want to beat the heat? Landscape design can help, with shade trees, breezy pergolas, or space-efficient plunge pools all offering a chance to cool down and enjoy your outdoor spaces.

Want to stay outside when the weather turns chilly? Fire pits, pergola heaters, and planted windbreaks can extend the alfresco season considerably.

Design & Build

Whatever your vision, Yardzen is ready to help you enjoy all that Sacramento has to offer. We’ll work with you to develop a landscape design that achieves the look, feel, and function you are dreaming of, then connect you with a licensed, vetted contractor from the Yardzen Pro Network to get your design built.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA DESIGN GALLERY

POPULAR AMENITIES IN SACRAMENTO YARDS

How Yardzen Works

Simple and thorough online process

Take a style quiz, share videos and photos of your existing outdoor space, and learn about the costs in our Yard Builder™ tool. Our design team will help you at every step of the process.

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The easiest path to a final design you’ll love

Review your first design in our online Feedback Studio. You’ll be able to share feedback before we start incorporating your changes. A live design review call is also available to help get your project ready for installation.

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Built by someone you (and Yardzen) trusts

We’ll translate your 3D design concepts into a detailed CAD plan that’s ready to install. Next, we’ll connect you to a vetted, Sacramento area landscape contractor who can bring your dream yard to life.

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Custom designs for your unique outdoor space

We've built a database of plants, trees, and groundcovers that match to Sacramento’s planting zones, sun/shade/water requirements, aesthetic, and essential features like native plants. Using satellite and aerial imagery, coupled with your photo, video, and factoring in your details, we can create the outdoor space of your dreams.

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WHICH YARDZEN PACKAGE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Take our YardBuilder quiz to find out.
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1. Tell us about your unique outdoor space

2. Answer a few questions about your dream yard

3. Get a personalized design package recommendation

WHAT YARDZEN CLIENTS ARE SAYING

Sacramento pool area with pergola over fire pit seating area, outdoor kitchen in the background and sun loungers on pool side

SACRAMENTO LANDSCAPING FAQS

What design styles are popular with Sacramento homeowners?

Landscape designs in Sacramento run the gamut from modern to traditional, but almost always make some nod to the regional landscape in both planting and hardscape choices.

Hardscaping frequently features natural materials like stone paving, while planting tends to evoke the grassland or woodland ecosystems of the Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills. Decorative stone, from boulders to cobble-filled creek beds, features prominently. Designs on the modern end of the spectrum often adopt a rustic flavor, juxtaposing gravel or decomposed granite with clean concrete paving or retaining walls.

What are popular features in Sacramento landscapes?

Sacramento yards are often built for outdoor living, featuring a variety of amenities for spending time outdoors, from kitchens and dining areas, to pools and sport courts, to lounge and entertainment areas.

Shade is a vital resource, be it from trees, pergolas, shade sails, or even well-designed umbrellas, and designs pay close attention to creating comfortable, shaded environments.

Landscape lighting is another popular feature. By establishing an attractive and comfortable environment at night, lighting is actually another strategy for staying cool, luring folks outside to enjoy the cool of the evening.

Lawns were historically popular, but due to their high water demand, they are increasingly being replaced by more water-wise landscape choices (we love this!). Artificial turf is an increasingly popular lawn replacement, though take care to shade turf where you can – it gets hot in the sun.

Should I use plants native to Sacramento in my landscape?

Drought is a major factor throughout California, and Sacramento is no exception. It’s crucial that landscape designs in Sacramento do their best to conserve water.

Climate-adapted plants from regions like Australia, South Africa, and the Mediterranean can play an important role in a water-wise landscape. Lavender, rosemary, Leucadendron, and olive trees are a few of our favorite climate-adapted species in the Bay Area.

Having evolved to thrive in local conditions, plants native to the Sacramento region are also excellent choices for water savings and tend to require lower maintenance than introduced species.

Native plants also go a step further, offering unbeatable habitat value. By including native plants in their landscape designs, homeowners can help in the broader effort to restore biodiversity. Ceanothus, manzanitas, California fuchsias, and Salvias are just a few of the many fabulous natives available for Sacramento landscapes.

Looking to max out your bird and bee visitors? Include keystone native species like oak trees, California sagebrush, or wild strawberry groundcovers.

What are top considerations for Sacramento landscapes?

Intense heat and close proximity to the rivers place extra responsibility upon Sacramento landscapes to limit water use, capture stormwater, and block pollutants from entering the rivers. To help homeowners in this effort, the City of Sacramento offers rebates to incentivize river-friendly landscaping.

Low water native and climate-adapted plants should be a key part of any sustainable landscape design in Sacramento.

Landscape designs should respond to the climate in terms of comfort, as well. Provide shaded, breezy areas to stay cool during hot days, and well-lit, comfortable spaces to take advantage of pleasant evening weather. Pay attention to solar exposure, taking particular care to block harsh afternoon light from the west.

Do you design for wildfires?

We are happy to work with clients to develop designs that meet their level of comfort around fire safety. Choosing fire-resistant plant species and following best practices for fire-safe landscape design are options that our designers are happy to employ at a client’s request.

While design can help reduce your risk of fire damage, it’s important to note, that there are no fire-proof plants, and maintenance is the most important determinant of a landscape’s fire safety.

When should I start my landscaping project?

Now! Any time of year is great to begin work on a landscape project.

When possible, we suggest utilizing the winter to work through the design phase – this sets you up to get on contractors’ books early in the build season, so you can have your design installed and ready to enjoy in time for summer.

If winter has passed, don’t worry, it’s never too late in the year to begin work on a landscape design project.

Sacramento pool with tiled deck, pergola over fire pit seating area, decorative fence, plants and trees and hot tub in foreground

 

Highly suggest Yardzen. The online process made everything super easy and efficient. Thank you to the entire Yardzen team.

Shannon M., Yardzen client

Yardzen creates local landscape designs in:

Antelope, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Courtland, Elk Grove, Elverta, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Galt, Herald, Hood, Isleton, Mather, Mcclellan, North Highlands, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Rio Linda, Ryde, Sacramento, Sloughhouse, Walnut Grove, and Wilton.

Explore other California landscape designs by Yardzen

Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, Mill Valley, Napa, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura