CALVIN C. CRAIG: The company owner and lead designer was educated at Cal Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo CA in Ornamental (now called environmental) Horticulture. Prior to that he attended College of the Redwoods in Eureka and Colombia community college near Sonora CA. majoring in Forestry. He graduated from Northgate High School in Walnut Creek and was born in Berkeley CA.  He has since taken continuing education through Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill CA and University of California Extension to keep up on the latest in plants, irrigation, lighting, water features,  sustainable landscaping etc. His experience includes working for a couple of noted contractors who specialized in designing and installing high end residential estate gardens in and around the Bay Area. He also worked for an engineering and landscape contractor specializing in underground construction and drainage, water systems, retaining walls etc. Calvin has worked as a designer and construction and maintenance foreman as well as many years doing yard work and some Christmas tree farm work. He has always been passionate about nature and wanted to be a ranger from when he was a young boy. Calvin is a member of CLCA Californian Landscape Contractors Association, California Horticultural Society and California Native Plant Society. As a teenager he was involved in Boy Scouts, 4-H and volunteered at he Lindsay Museum (wildlife) in Walnut Creek. He is also interested in vintage cars, trains and more things than he has time for while his own business.

JILL SALMON: Design Partner, educated at Oxford Polytechnic, England with a masters in planning and Locally in Horticulture and Garden Design at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill and Merritt College in Oakland CA.  She is originally form Exeter( Devonshire county) England though has lived in Lafayette for the past 20 years with her Scientist husband where they raised 3 kids now graduating from Grad school.

Her design style is versatile, though she specializes in contemporary and modern California gardens which are colorful, water-wise and low to moderate maintenance. They are often naturalistic (curvilinear lines) or may have a Formal hardscape (constructional elements) and a naturalistic or formal planting depending on the client. She also enjoys designing classic Mediterranean and  English gardens , using Natives,  Habitat gardens that attract birds, butterflies and hummingbirds, edibles and Asian-esque gardens. She is a good at listening, observing and giving the client options so as to find what is most needed and wanted in their design so as to have a very satisfied client.

She is an avid life long gardener, with a collectors garden, hiker, equestrian, horse show announcer, and now taking up fly fishing and lives in a solar powered home.

FERNANDO PONCE ACOSTA: Lead Construction Foreman. Joined our company in 1998 where his father has worked since 1989 he is from the State of Jalisco, Mexico originally where he worked building homes. He learned quickly on the job here and not only has many versatile skills but is instrumental in making the crew work like an finely tuned team and keeping the customers happy. He lives in Concord with a wife and two small children.

CHARLOTTE BLOME: The most recent addition to our team of talented landscapers. Charlotte works as a garden designer. Her background is in foreign language, art, and garden design and maintenance. Her horticultural training was in Kyoto, Japan under a master gardener where she lived a total of seven years while studying Japanese as well. More recently she has worked at managing and renovating a small number of estate gardens in the Chicago, Illinois area for several years as well as doing floral design for private and corporate events.

Charlotte has a B.A. in foreign language from University of Wisconsin, and a B.A from Chicago Art Institute where she studied as a portrait artist. She speaks fluent English, Japanese and German, Lives with her husband, noted bronze sculptor Erik Blome  ( and two boys, one adopted from Ethiopia, 2 cats,  a dog and a rabbit  in Martinez, CA. Charlotte and Erik also founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit “When I Grow Up I Want To Be…” benefiting children  of Ethiopia. Charlotte’s most recent accomplishment is having a formal garden she designed and maintained in Illinois featured in the summer 08 Better Homes and Gardens “Garden, Deck and Landscape”. Examples of her work can be viewed at www.charlotteblome.com and her husband’s sculptures at www.figurativeartstudio.com  

HOWARD D. MALONE: Garden Maintenance Foreman: has over 20 years experience in landscaping as well. He has completed the Horticulture program at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill and has worked for Fiske landscaping for 9 years and now Calvin Craig landscaping for over 12 years. He specializes in roses, natives and organic gardening, has a wealth of knowledge and is honest to a fault not to mention conscientious. He plays Harmonica in a blues band and lives in Martinez, with his cat and dog.