Father Nature Landscapes · Tacoma
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Detail of paver patio, outdoor kitchen, and covered structure — a Father Nature design
Design · Since 2006

See your yard before we touch a shovel.

Conceptual landscape design

001 · Design

A buildable plan, not a sales sketch.

Every renovation we build starts with conceptual landscape design. Chris Scheer or Cameron McGinnis leads it, and the plan covers the whole yard as one project: layout, materials, planting, lighting, drainage, and how you'll move from the back door to the far corner.

You see what we'll build and how each piece connects to the next before you commit to the build. The deck, the walls, the patio and the planting show up as parts of one plan, not a list of separate jobs. We build outdoor systems, not just components, and the design is where that system gets worked out.

Design starts at $2,500 and can run higher, and the renovations it leads to start at $50,000. It's paid work, and it's how every renovation here starts. Once you go ahead, the build runs on time and materials, so you pay for the actual hours on site and the actual materials.

Chris Scheer, Co-owner / Outdoor Living Specialist
Where we design

Every renovation we take on starts with design, wherever it sits in the South Sound. Each area has its own page covering what we've built nearby and what building there actually involves: Gig Harbor, Puyallup, Auburn, Bonney Lake, Federal Way, Olympia, Yelm, and Vashon.

What the design looks like

Conceptual design, drawn to scale.

A look at recent plans. Open any one full size to zoom in on the detail.

  1. I Before The Richmond front yard in Tacoma, WA before renovation — a tired, overgrown lawn and dated foundation shrubs in front of a brick-and-cedar rambler
  2. II The design Father Nature Landscapes conceptual master plan for the Richmond Residence — the whole property drawn to scale with the paver driveway, lawns, entry patio, cedar arbor, gravel seating, plantings, and lighting, plus a full plant schedule
  3. III After The finished Richmond front yard — a fresh lawn, new curved planting beds, and restored curb appeal at the same Tacoma rambler
Before, the plan, and after. Every renovation starts with a conceptual design drawn to scale, then our own crew builds it.
The whole hillside in one plan, with terraced walls, patios and plantings drawn to scale and a sketch of the finished yard beside it.
002 · How design works

From the first walk
to a plan you can build.

  1. I.

    Site walk

    Chris or Cameron walks the property with you, in person. We listen to how you want to use the yard, photograph what's there, and talk plainly about whether we're the right fit. The walk is free.

  2. II.

    Conceptual design

    A scaled plan of the whole yard, with layout, materials, planting, lighting, drainage and flow worked out together. Drawn under Chris or Cameron's lead, then walked through with you at the kitchen table, line by line.

  3. III.

    Estimate + build

    We turn the plan into an estimate built from real data. No off the hip estimates. Once you go ahead, our own crew builds it and we bill the actual time on site and the actual materials. Changes are conversations, not surprises.

003 · Selected design work

Plans that became places.

Drone view of porcelain paver pool surround with outdoor kitchen and water wall, Tacoma

Barrett Tacoma Backyard Resort

Tacoma, WA · 2018

Composite deck with a covered outdoor kitchen on a multi-generation Fircrest lot

Fircrest Renovation

Fircrest, WA · 2023

Custom outdoor kitchen with a deck, hot tub, and fire pit, Gig Harbor

Gig Harbor backyard oasis

Gig Harbor, WA · 2023

005 — How it actually goes

What the build looks like
from your side.

Most of our buyers have been burned before — by a quick-quote contractor, a vague estimate, a crew that vanished. Here's what to expect, step by step.

  1. I.

    The first meeting

    Chris or Cameron shows up. It's not a sales pitch — it's both sides deciding whether the fit is right. Bring your questions. We'll bring ours. If it's a fit, we keep going. If not, you've lost nothing.

  2. II.

    See it before the shovel

    Your conceptual landscape design is a real plan — materials, layout, planting, lighting, and a clear cost estimate — worked out at the kitchen table before the first day of work. No lowball quotes that balloon later. You see the project, then decide.

  3. III.

    Real numbers, walked through line by line

    No off-the-hip estimates. We sit with you and explain what each line item buys and where the cost comes from. From there the work runs on time and materials — you pay for the actual hours on your property and the actual materials used, never a guess that balloons later. It's the fairest model for both sides.

  4. IV.

    Same crew, every week

    The same crew builds your project start to finish. Same names on site through the whole build. Changes aren't arguments — they're conversations, talked through and approved before anyone swings a tool.

  5. V.

    We don't disappear at the end

    Walkthrough, punch-out, follow-up. Many projects roll naturally into a maintenance contract because the team you've worked with for weeks is the same team you'll see next spring. Most of our clients come back for a second or third project.

Cover of the Father Nature Landscapes Landscape Inspiration Guide
Free guide · Tacoma since 2006

Browse the design ideas first.

Our Landscape Inspiration Guide shows how we shape a Tacoma yard around all five senses, with decks, lighting, water features, and outdoor living, before you ever pick up the phone.

Get the inspiration guide
Begin

Start with a site walk.

Chris or Cameron walks the property with you, listens to how you want to live out there, and tells you plainly whether we're the right fit. The walk is free. If we are, your conceptual design comes next.

Request a site walk