Landscaping in California has to live through a dry summer and, in much of the state, a wet winter that the summer plan forgot. Coastal fog can keep a yard damp and mossy while an inland lot thirty miles away crusts and drops leaves. Clay soil in the valley holds winter water against foundations and then cracks in August. Sandier coastal soil drains fast, takes salt, and punishes a thirsty lawn. A planting plan copied from a different climate band yellows, rots, or blows over.
Irrigation is the skeleton of most yards here, and it fails quietly. A broken lateral, a tilted head, and a clock still running a summer schedule in a cool month will stain stucco, waste water, and drown a bed. Drip buried under mulch leaks without a puddle you can see. Spray that hits a window or a fence rots wood and marks glass. Hill lots need pressure that does not blow out the low heads. Flat lots need drainage so winter rain has a path that is not the garage.
Plants should match the exposure you actually have. West walls in the inland south and the valley reflect heat onto whatever you put there. Fog belts want plants that tolerate low sun, wind tunnels between buildings, and salty or damp air. Large shade trees are an asset until roots lift a path or pack a gutter. Lawns that were normal when the house was built may no longer match the way you want to use water, but ripping them out without a plan for dust, heat, and drainage just trades one problem for another.
Walk the yard before you call and say what is failing. Note standing water after rain, dry islands, a slope toward the house, or a tree that is lifting hardscape. Note whether you are in marine air, bay fog, or hard summer heat. Say whether you want a refresh of what is there or a different layout. The work is grading, water, and plant choice tied to that lot, not a row of pots with no plan for July.
Call the number on this page.