My wife and I recently closed on a brand new home, complete with about 1/3 acre of grass... and nothing else. While we're good at the "playing in the dirt" part of gardening, laying out an organized plan, with the right plants in the right spots while maintaining a good design ethic is not our forte. In addition, though, we love doing a lot of the work. We genuinely enjoy digging holes, planting plants, and watching our landscape take form. So, we set out to find a "design only" service that could match our vision for this new space, and found Michelle Austen and Red Sun Landscape Design here on Yelp. I'm usually a little wary of businesses that have all 5-star reviews with no negatives listed, because they sometimes turn out to be falsely inflated, or fake reviews that don't match real experience with the company. Our experience with Michelle proved why she has all five star reviews - she's simply great to work with! To echo the other reviews, Michelle met with us on several occasions, taking our input on style, plant preferences, design goals (we wanted to incorporate multiple outdoor living areas, a pergola, and space for a hot tub, among other needs), and installation plans, and then synthesized all of that input into a plan that full matched our desires and expectations. She included a number of practical elements, as well, including a dry creek bed that follows the natural swale in the yard, which should insure that water flowing through the yard will not disturb our finished beds, but also won't prevent water from flowing out of the yard successfully. She kept accurate deadlines, and communicated very well along the way, and provided a good amount of input into efficiently installing the resulting plan. Her final plan includes a number of great details, including the area each bed covers in square feet, the linear foot of edging required, etc, making estimating costs for installation a breeze. We can't wait to start making this plan a reality in our yard! I can recommend Michelle's work without reservation. read more

We met with Michelle back in 2019 to help us design our dream backyard. It took a long time (5 years) to actually execute the vision, but we finally did this year! Per her recommendation, we worked with Austin Gardeners, who were incredible. We changed a few things about Michelle's original design but kept a lot of the inspiration in tact. So big shout out to Michelle for her help with our backyard transformation!! read more

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Michelle is amazing. She works with you to learn exactly what you're looking for. She has fantastic suggestions and understands the aesthetic you seek. Highly recommend her. She worked with Austin Gardners and they executed the plan quickly. read more

Red Sun Landscape Design - Landscape Architects or Designers Near Me

Michelle was a pleasure to work with and I undoubtedly recommend her. She spent time to understand our style before setting off to work and listened well. She was a great communicator and kept all her commitments and promise dates (in my experience, a real rarity). In addition there were thoughtful bonuses like an online folder for the design that included a couple handfuls of additional information about native plants, care, and design. Very nice. The added bonus is Michelle's long standing and trusted relationship with Manuel and Austin Gardners. They delivered the install on time and on budget with a full crew from start to finish. And it looks great. Small details like not burying tree root bulbs, not overmultching, twisting ivies thoughtfully...they did it all. This is just a well run company. Thanks Michelle, Manuel and the rest of the crew! read more

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Was looking to get a patio extension a concrete pathway on the side of my house a limestone grill enclosure and some iron planters like in the awesome photos they have on the homepage. My rating is not on the service I got from landscaping but the fact I was told it was $120 for a consultation when I asked if they could give me a quote. I was told "things get messy when someone doesn't have a design plan " ok I get it you like structure and control but I was asked "do you have a drawing and design already made up? " I simply said no what I'm asking for is pretty self explanatory and asked so you cannot come out for a quote ? I mean a patio extension that I have to measure a concrete pathway that I have to measure and a grill enclosure that I again have to measure out might not be the best thing especially if your worried about things getting messy because your companies measurements might be different from mine when you arrive . Second of all if I send you a drawn out plan with all the measurements in place and design what is the point of you giving me a consultation that you yourself say is a design and drawing of the work to be done . In other words I do the hard work then you go in an architectural computer program and make it look pretty for $120 bucks wether I like it or not ??? That's why I asked for a quote so that you can tell me these things rite so we can get a plan in motion then I'd be open to a $120 HGTV quality design plan . After all that I'm told I don't think we are a fit for your needs because I mentioned the fact a $1800 minimum and $120 for a "consultation " was odd considering the work I'm asking for is more than likely way above $1800 meaning she's letting me know she's high end and doesn't deal with peons like myself lol . Why would I offend her by asking for a quote and then having her tell me "I draw out everything and only do consultations for $120 " then asks me if I have a drawn out design already at hand ? How can you trust my drawings or design and measurements being so anti chaotic that she claims to be without coming over and giving me a quote . I just told her her company was a bit too fancy for me and hung up I really like her work I really would recommend them to people with money to go crazy with . As for me, I have two kids a budget and just needed some simple concrete projects a grill enclosure and some nice planters . I get companies don't want to waste time I get having a plan is a good idea in every aspect but when you only go for the big fish on every project and leave out the little guys your basically still turning down good money decent people want to pay you. Most people justify this with good ratings but there are a lot of good rated landscapers on yelp to use, being cocky about your work means you probably over charge and don't take criticism very well . Kinda glad she was so caught up on her fees because it seems like money comes before service here . But what do I know she has awesome reviews and great pictures ... like I said I'd recommend her to people with a high budget because her work looks excellent you get what you pay for for sure . I just cannot do $120 consultation . read more

We had a new construction home with a large backyard that sloped, so our first goal was to level the side yard. We had no idea where to start with adding hardscaping and landscaping. I found Michelle at Red Sun Landscape Design and loved the pictures of projects she's done before - we wanted clean and modern. We really liked her approach of asking us lots of questions about what we were looking for and the meetings to refine the design. Her idea for how to level the yard while adding plant beds along the house and vegetable gardens was better than we could have imagined! The installation crew she works with does a great job and is very flexible. We are so happy with the diversity of plants and flowers she recommended and all the plants are thriving! I've even started a vegetable and herb garden for the first time ever. We have already recommended Michelle to a few neighbors. read more

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Michelle drew us an excellent plan. She listened carefully, including things we wanted, but also listening to the sort of experiences we wanted to have in the new space. That's a really important quality in a designer. She listens more than talks and she produced a great plan which we referred to at many many points in the months that followed. We hired her recommended crew, Austin Gardeners, and they know her work well so were able to execute it if not with ease, certainly with competence. In the hellscape that is the summer of 2022, the landscaping is holding on and we get comments from Mueller neighbors nearly every time we're out: "looks great!" "we love it!" etc. While we weren't looking to impress the neighbors as much as we were just to improve our space, it's lovely to know it gets good reviews all the way around. read more

We are so glad that we found Michelle to do the landscape design for our newly constructed home! She was so easy to work with, provided great suggestions, and took in all of our feedback. We wanted a more modern design, but didn't want everything to be just straight lines. She came up with the great idea of adding the dry creek bed that added some curvature to the design as well as drainage functionality, which was needed since our lot is sloped. She also referred us to an excellent landscaping company, Austin Gardeners, to carry out her design. Michelle and Manuel's crew from Austin Gardeners have completely transformed our backyard into the outdoor space of our dreams. read more

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Michelle has a great talent for design. She was very consultative and really listened to what I wanted in the design. She made great suggestions and made the back yard look beautiful. Everyone that comes over looks and says - WOW!! I recommend Michelle for any project large or small. I especially liked being able to see the design on paper before he project started. We absolutely love our backyard and the great design. Thanks Michelle. read more

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Michelle was amazing to work with through the planning and design phase of the backyard. She was always on time, prepared and took the time to listen to our ideas. Her drawings and advice transformed our ideas and vision into a concrete plan. Thanks again for everything!! I highly recommend you give Michelle a call for any landscaping design ideas. read more

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When we finally accepted that our sad, weedy backyard needed some love, we decided to have it done the right way. Start with a plan in mind, so it doesn't end up like most of our projects, when you get halfway through and realize 100 ways that you would have done it differently if you knew what you were doing. So we decided to go with a professional this time and Michelle design our backyard. Michelle asked lots of questions to find out exactly what a couple of indecisive people might like. She met with us multiple times to make sure we liked each part of the process. She has worked with some of the best nurseries in town and shared lots of useful gardening information with us. We have a lot to learn, but with her help, we feel confident we can make it work and do a lot of it ourselves. Michelle also specializes in native plants and has lived in our area, so she knows what plants will do best in our soil, and won't take too much upkeep and water. Very helpful, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. read more

We have worked with Michelle on two landscape projects for two different properties over the last 8 years. She has an excellent process for visiting with her clients (on-site), asking the right questions to get feedback, and taking in to account the unique needs of the client and the surrounding environment. Michelle is very efficient at delivering plans, and responding to follow-up inquiries. Our first landscape design project with Michelle, was in 2006 at our property in Forest Creek in Round Rock. We wanted to enhance a neglected landscape, and add an extended deck and water feature, while maintaining the "forest" feel of our neighborhood. Michelle's landscape design exceeded our expectations, and continued to surprise us as the plants and flowers grew over the 7-year period. We received numerous compliments from friends and neighbors on our beautiful, natural and relaxing landscape. When we built our new home in Georgetown in 2013, we again asked Michelle to design our landscape - a natural hill country design that was fitting with our new home and neighborhood. Michelle did a great job of helping us meet our landscape goals (including 'limited watering'), and maintain conformance with the stringent landscape restrictions set forth by our neighborhood's Master Design Committee. We are looking forward to the final implementation of the plan this Spring - we have already received several compliments on the new landscape. We highly recommend Michelle for any type of landscape design or planning need. read more

We love the landscape design for our front and back yard. Michelle is so easy to work with and so responsive to our questions and concerns. The first phase was done this winter creating beds and planting winter trees, shrubs, and plants. We look forward to the spring planting of phase 2. Included with our design plan were two metal planters by the front door and under the living room window as well as a gorgeous trellis for the climbing shrub in the backyard. The hard labor was executed by Austin Gardeners and they were fantastic. I'll be adding to the review as the rest of the plan is completed. We are very happy and satisfied with Michelle and Red Sun Landscape Design. read more

Red Sun Landscape Design met with my husband and I to determine what we wanted our landscape to look like and what we wanted to avoid. Michelle Austin kept in contact with us as she was developing our landscape plan. What she designed was exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a low maintenance but gardenlike backyard with a flagstone patio with water feature, an area for a fire pit and seating and a bbq pad hidden from the main patio. We have about a million deer so we needed deer resistant plants. She gave us everything we wanted. There have been changes that we have requested to the plan after she had completed it and she was very patient and responsive. We absolutely love our backyard and spend more time on our patio than we do inside. We are planning to have the front yard completed this Fall and know that it will also be beautiful. I highly recommend Michelle and Red Sun to help you get exactly what you are looking for in your yard! read more

Working with Michelle to plan and design our front and back yards was one of the best decisions we've ever made in hiring a contractor. We loved her designs and followed them exactly because she had so clearly understood what we wanted and needed. Our yards are beautiful and she was able to design a fix to some of our run-off issues. She had ideas we wish we had thought of years ago, but never did. Communication is so smooth and effortless with Michelle. We had never worked with a landscape designer before and can now clearly see the value in having a wonderful one. We will enjoy our yards for years to come and our neighbors are coming by to rave over the work. Michelle also led us to work with Austin Gardeners and that was another wonderful experience. From beginning to end it was a great experience. You can't go wrong! read more

Michelle was very detailed in providing us with a landscape plan that exceeded our expectations. Although I feel as though I influenced a great deal of it with my wish list, she still managed to add her touch and add things that I had not even thought of before. She was very forthcoming about her price for the work as well as how detailed the end plan would be. If you are needing a vision for your landscape, I would not hesitate to call Red Sun Landscape Design. They are very understanding of your needs from the simple landscape to the master plan. read more

Last year, we had a pool installed. Once everything was finished, we knew we had a major job ahead of us - creating the landscape design to fit our needs. My husband and I were clueless about where to even begin, so we hired Michelle to help us out (in a HUGE way). All we knew was that we wanted pretty, colorful plants and a tropical feel. Michelle was there every step of the way and walked us through the entire process. The final product turned out amazing. We love our back yard and couldn't be happier! I would highly recommend Michelle! read more

We really enjoyed working with Michelle on our landscape design. She was friendly, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. Her timeline was very reasonable. She came up with an exciting design and now that it has been executed by Austin Gardeners, we love spending time in our yard, which honestly feels more like a beautiful oasis now. I highly recommend Red Sun. read more

We could not be happier with how our landscape design turned out working with Michelle at Red Sun. She is a true professional at what she does and we are not the easiest clients since both my wife and I are not very creative so we let Michelle put together a vision and design for our front yard project. She listened to all our concerns and put together a beautiful design that we just love. She also works with a great contractor to implement her ideas. Austin Gardeners were great to work with as well and all her thoughts came to a reality. I highly recommend her for your next landscaping project! read more

Since it is difficult to keep a yard green in our summer heat I decided to change it to Xeriscape. More Texas friendly. I met Michelle and described what I was looking for. She took pictures, made measurements, and created a really good looking design that met my needs and budget. The HOA approved the design the same day I submitted it. I had her design installed and it looks fantastic! Her design will set the standard for Xeriscape yards going forward for our neighborhood. Michelle is very professional, listens well, and completes a thorough design. read more

We initially worked with Michelle a few years ago to design our front flower beds and stone patios in our backyard. Working with her was such a great experience that we contacted her again this spring to work on an extension to our patio and an outdoor kitchen. The results are beyond every expectation we could possibly have had. Michelle is easy to work with, designs for your needs and within your budget, and creates beautiful spaces! read more

We chose Michelle and Red Sun strictly based on her Yelp reviews as we moved here from CA. We made the perfect choice! Michelle designed both our front and back yard for us and both turned out spectacularly. She listened to our wants and needs and combined them with what works here in Austin and what is native. We have a larger lot and now it has a much more intimate feel. Working with Michelle was a fantastic experience. She also referred us to Austin Gardeners to bring her plans to life and that experience was just as positive!! You cannot go wrong with choosing Red Sun to make your landscape dreams come true!! Thank you Michelle!!! read more

We cannot say enough good things about Michelle and her design work. She is so talented! There is a reason all of her clients give her 5 stars! I loved that she took the time to listen and educate us about the process and what we were getting. She took the time to really capture exactly what we wanted in a much more beautiful, creative way. She made the right call on every design choice. We absolutely love our landscaping and have gotten so many compliments from neighbors and friends. Michelle works with Austin Gardeners to implement her ideas and they are by far the best contractors we have ever used. We LOVE our landscape and we owe it all to Michelle. read more

We hired Michelle the same day she came by to inspect the property and tell us about her design process. What a mistake? She never mentioned that she will do one and only design and that for changes we'll have to pay her additionally by the hour. Granted we were little green behind the ears how to go about the landscape design, but were hoping she would help us with her experience what to choose. Not only that Michelle did not care about telling us about options and letting us pick, but she completely "misunderstood" our intentions, presented us with a final design, and we had to make all changes over the phone. The final installation estimate came out 2 times more expensive than what we targetted (and what she was supposedly designing against). At the end, we trashed her design, wasted the expensive design fee (more than $1,000) and learned the lesson. If you don't know much about landscaping don't hire Michelle. If you do, or you don't mind learning a little bit, you can do the design sketch yourself. The installers will do all the measurements anyways, and do what you want them to do. read more