Seed Studio Landscape Design

Steve did a tremendous job with our project. Watching the plants grow in and experiencing the end result made me fall in love with our house. His commitment to native plants, sustainable materials, and his sense of placement makes me so thankful that we had the opportunity to work with him.

We are thrilled with our new backyard space, and it was a pleasure to work with Steve from beginning to end. We were initially drawn to Seed Studio by Steve's design aesthetic and skill in incorporating native plants to attract and support birds and pollinators in urban settings. The design process began with Steve working to understand how we wanted to use our space. He then guided us through a discussion of layouts, forms, materials, and plants (including how each plant species contributes to the ecosystem by season) to arrive at a final design. Our backyard has now come to life as a place for our gatherings (from family meals to small dance parties with friends) as well as a home to hummingbirds, bees and an occasional visiting hawk.

After interviewing multiple architects I hired Seed Studio and am extremely happy I did so. From the start Steve was clear about the process, realistic about timing, and very quick to respond to my questions. Steve listened to my general plan for the outdoor space and came up with an original design that incorporated both my rough plan and his excellent vision. The end product is the roof deck I always dreamed of, it really couldn’t have turned out better. I would recommend Seed Studio without hesitation.

We love our new yard! Steve delivered a very creative design for our challenging backyard. The deck and outdoor kitchen have greatly expanded the entertaining space, and the fire pit area is just what we wanted. We are ecstatic with the transformation!!

We really enjoyed working with Steve last fall on a design for our small San Francisco backyard. We love his esthetic but were also concerned about maximizing the limited space we had. He took the time to understand our needs/vision and came up with a design that was both beautiful and functional. He was available as well during the construction phase to answer questions as issues came up. It was a pleasure working with Steve. (And we love our new backyard!)

We've collaborated with Steve and SEED on two projects recently. After 30 years in the Industry I can honestly say he's one of the most talented landscape architects we've had the good fortune to work with. He tailors his designs to his clients needs and creates spaces that are functional, practical, and aesthetically pleasing. Everything on his projects have been extremely detailed and clear. He's very up front about his demands for quality. He's also extremely communicative, so that both client and contractor are clear on what's expected.

I used Seed Studio to redesign my outdoor space. Steve did an amazing job of taking what I generally knew I wanted and coming up with a design that far exceeded my expectations. The design turned out far better and more integrated than I had hoped. He really listened to what I wanted, delivered a design that reflected who I am and what my space is like. He was terrific. I highly recommend Seed Studio.

Steve at Seed Studio is a knowledgable, experienced, professional who listens to your requests and makes things happen in a timely, positive way. He answered all our questions and concerns in face-to-face meetings, over the phone, and email. He is very responsive and we felt well taken care of. He provided great advice and guidance as we made our decisions about the garden renovation. I'm excited to see his vision come to life this summer. when we break ground. We felt his price point for his landscape drawings was competitive. I would highly recommend Steve to anyone interested in renovating their garden.

Steve, the owner was professional, on time, responsive and most important creative and knowledgeable. He spent time understanding what my needs were and what appealed to me and incorporated into the design. Nearly Two years later, I love my back yard and it made it through the drought!

Steve has great ideas which he translates beautifully to his landscape design plans. Always on time ( a rarity in the Bay Area). My wife and I love working with Steve!

It was a true privilege working with Steve. I cannot say enough good things about his meticulous nature, out of the box thinking, and adherence to timelines and commitments. By way of background, we purchased a foreclosure and set about restoring the house and yard. Steve provided a compelling vision for the design – and we signed on immediately. The house is an English tudor, and we wanted to yard to have an English garden feel, while not being too stuffy. Steve fine-tuned the design and sought out feedback multiple times as we got near the design plan. It was quite an eye opener to learn the extent of the planning and detail required to execute a landscape plan. In short, if you want to do this right, you need a professional. And Steve is that professional. As an important part of the relationship, Steve helped us find several landscape companies to execute the design… after interviewing several teams (including two that were not on Steve’s list), it was one of Steve’s contractors that came through with the lowest price in the most realistic timeframe. The unique relationship Steve had with the landscaper made it such that we were able to achieve 95% of the intended original design plan on an aggressive budget. Finally, Steve didn’t disappear after he presented landscape plans – he was kind enough to check in and thoughtfully answer every question that came up in the implementation process. This back and forth revealed the depth of thought and planning that went into the design, which I did not initially appreciate. (think: matching curves and lines to sight lines on the house, foundation, etc. – a ton of details to consider and the whole design can be compromised if something is off!) It was a true pleasure watching the design come to life, and now to see it come to completion. We could not be happier with the outcome and would put Seed Studio and Steve Ritchey at the very top of a list of SF bay area landscape architects.

My wife and I recently worked with Steve Ritchey from Seed Studio Landscape Design. It was an extremely pleasant, and fun experience working with Steve. We have an existing yard that has a lot of mature trees and shrubs. Steve took notes of the existing environment, retained the majority of the existing trees and vegetation in his design. The result was a very practical, modern yet inviting landscape design that we know we'll enjoy for years to come. Besides his talents, Steve is extremely professional. He is careful, meticulous and most importantly - PUNCTUAL. For anyone who worked with designers, contractors before, I'm sure you appreciate how much joy it is to have Steve show up on the dot at the time of each of our appointments. It shows Steve's respect for his client's time, and for me, I can get on with the rest of my day on time. I highly recommend Steve for anyone who is looking for landscaping design.

Steve is amazing! He is always on time and very prepared. Steve gave us honest and helpful feedback when discussing how to design both our front and back yards. Our front yard is a neighborhood hit. We constantly have people tell us how amazing it looks:) can't wait to start the backyard now and Steves plans have been nothing short of creative, modern, and stunning. The Brooks thank you!

We had an excellent experience working with Steve on our backyard project. He was personable, prompt, diligent and had very creative and original ideas. He has an excellent knowledge base in design, materials, construction, planting and lighting. We will be hiring him again to design our front yard.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Steve from Seed Studio. From the moment we met him, he took the time to understand where we were coming from and develop an excellent final design. He helped us realize our vision for a modern yet kid-friendly back yard that worked within our budget. Steve has a great design eye and a very strong understanding of what plant and landscaping will make the most of the space. Also, Steve is really fun to work with and 100% professional. He worked quickly and was really patient with us as we landed on the final vision. Through the process, he helped us navigate through some tricky decisions such as what to do with a large tree and how to maximize the space we were working with. We can't wait to get started on the build this summer!

Steve from Seed Studio was referred to us for design planning from the landscape contractor we plan to use for the install of a whole yard redo including plantings, fence, patio, pergola, driveway. He was very professional: quick response time, easy to schedule times to meet. Steve came out several times to meet with me during the project: initially on the walk through of the property/ initial measurements, again after the first proposal and then finally with the final plan/ planting list. He asked good questions to help him get an idea of our ideal space and took into considerations our family dynamics and how we wanted to use the space. He made helpful suggestions regarding both use and design aesthetics and worked within our budget, desire to recycle certain aspects of our existing hardscape and accesability requirements. I am thrilled with the design plans he produced and look forward to seeing his design work become the reality of our new space.

Steve jumped on our small backyard project and through a crystal clear process he delivered everything he had promised, on time and on target. He has amazing skills at understanding what the customer wants by asking simple questions and surveying the area only once. The project plan delivered is complete with thorough Landscaping details for plants, irrigation, lighting and structural specifications on how to build the hardscape portion. overall: Very professional and creative. I would recommend him in a heartbeat.

From the get go I knew I had found the right designer for my project - communicative, extremely easy to work with, and creatively unique. I've lived in my space for 10 years and had spent countless hours (and dollars) trying to 'do it myself' in what I had always considered a tiny front yard, and one which has to withstand a busy urban environment and a neighborhood of dog lovers. Steve asked excellent questions to help establish priorities and produced a landscape beyond my expectations! The amount of privacy, lushness and beauty that greets me when I return home is both brilliant and an improvement that I could never have dreamed was possible. Finally, a piece of my home that I am in love with and can't wait to see grow and transform. This experience exceeded my expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend him.

Seed Studio Designed the perfect intimate space for our hot tub. Steve is a genius when it comes to working with small spaces. He created the perfect intimate backyard hot tub oasis.

We have four adults to share this space and Seed had to incorporate all our wishes. With Steve's magical insight he combined wants for an "English garden, Italian fountain and style, play and for kids, medicinal herb garden and area for grilling and entertaining" simultaneously. He was also practical in hiding ugly fences with beautiful vines, adding a stone wall for additional seating, adding a fire-pit for warmth. The lighting, the warmth of the fire-pit on a foggy SF evening, the fun of the garden, the sound of the fountain, the combination of elements created a space more beautiful than we ever imagined.

Steve Ritchey of Seed Design is a talent and was really cool to work with. He was exactly the type of landscape designer we were looking to partner with on redesigning our narrow and long backyard space in San Francisco. He designed a beautiful, unique, clean, modern space for us. Steve offered creative ideas and solutions, directed us to lots of good local and online resources for sourcing materials, quickly responded to all our questions, and was deeply committed to delivering us a beautiful design that fit our aesthetic and met our budget. And he did just that; our beautiful backyard is a testament to his vision and commitment. Highly recommend Seed Studio for city dwellers in San Francisco, and those around the Bay and beyond.