Young communities, hot gardens, and a committee to satisfy

We quote per property rather than from a price list, because Katy lot sizes, drainage requirements and community standards vary enormously between Old Town, Cinco Ranch and the newer west-side developments. The honest answer is that drainage and site preparation usually drive the number more than material choice does, and both are only knowable after a site visit. The visit and the estimate are free and carry no obligation.

They affect what will still look good in year three. Utility districts across the Katy area set watering schedules that tighten in a dry summer, and a scheme designed as though irrigation were unlimited loses its thirstiest planting first. Grouping plants by water need so each zone runs correctly, using drip in beds rather than spray, and sizing turf to what is actually walked on all make a garden that survives a restricted season rather than merely a wet one.

To a permitted outlet, and identifying it is the first design decision rather than the last. Depending on your property that means the street, a drainage easement, a community storm system, or a dry well sized to hold the volume where no outlet exists. You cannot direct concentrated runoff onto a neighbouring property, and easements have their own rules. We confirm what governs your lot before specifying a single component.

Yes, as part of the project. Cinco Ranch, Cross Creek Ranch, Firethorne, Grand Lakes and the other master-planned communities each have architectural review requirements and their own drawing formats. We read the community documents before designing, prepare the submission in the format expected, and build the review period into the schedule. A submission that is right first time avoids a revision cycle that can cost a planting season.

Species that tolerate heavy clay and a genuinely brutal summer. In sun, live oak, dwarf yaupon holly, loropetalum, Texas sage, gulf muhly and other ornamental grasses, lantana, esperanza and knockout roses perform reliably. In shade, azaleas, camellias, cast iron plant and holly fern hold up well. The real work is matching each plant to the light and the drainage of its specific bed rather than applying one list to the whole lot.

Design takes three to six weeks, plus the architectural review period where one applies. Construction depends on scope: basic front yard work is a few days, a comprehensive scheme two to four weeks, and a full backyard transformation four to eight weeks or more. Wet weather is the main variable — saturated clay cannot be graded or compacted, so earthwork stops entirely during a wet spell.

Frequently, and the earlier the better. New-build lots almost always have soil compacted solid by construction equipment and grading set for the builder rather than the finished landscape. Ripping the compaction, correcting the grade and installing irrigation sleeves before the drive and turf go in costs a fraction of retrofitting all three later, and it largely decides whether the lawn ever performs.

By interrupting the specific sightlines that matter instead of enclosing the whole boundary. On master-planned lots the problem is usually two or three views — a neighbouring upstairs window, a gap between houses — not the entire perimeter. Screening planted at those points, seating oriented away from them, and a structure that gives overhead cover where you actually sit will do more than raising the fence, and it keeps the air movement a hot Katy garden needs.

Indirectly but genuinely. Katy drainage sits within a managed system of channels, detention basins and easements shaped by regional flood control, and that determines where water from your property is permitted to go. It rarely restricts what you can plant; it frequently determines how a drainage scheme has to be designed and discharged. We check what applies to your specific lot before designing rather than assuming a general rule.

Yes, and they work best designed with the terrace rather than added to it afterwards. Gas, water, power and drainage runs go in while the ground is open, at a fraction of what cutting them into finished paving costs later. Appliance positions are worth deciding early because they set the counter run and the utility layout, and any covered structure attached to the house will normally need architectural review.

October through March for planting — soil is still warm, air temperatures are moderate, and roots establish before the next summer. Hardscape, drainage and grading are year-round work in principle, but saturated clay stops earthwork whenever it rains heavily. Summer planting is possible with attentive watering and costs more in establishment care, and we say so rather than book it quietly.

Build it rather than wait for it. Newer developments here are planted with saplings, so a rear garden can bake from mid-morning to sunset for a decade before the canopy catches up. A pergola, a shade sail or a covered structure over the seating area makes the space usable this season, and fast-establishing canopy trees positioned for the afternoon sun — rather than for symmetry on the plan — close the gap over the following years.

Yes. Katy is at the western end of our Greater Houston service area rather than in our home county, so we are straightforward about it: travel is factored into the quote honestly rather than absorbed into a vague figure, and for smaller jobs we will tell you if a local contractor makes more sense for you. For design-build work and drainage schemes, where the value is in the design and the engineering, it makes good sense for us to be there.