Design that works around heritage oaks, drainage on clay and tight lots, courtyard fountains, native and edible, organic pest control. Built for established in-town lots and mature oak canopy — not a one-size catalog. The first Site Read is free.
78209 · our own neighborhoodBexar CountyFree Site Read
Alamo Heights is its own kind of ground. Established, affluent, just north of downtown — older homes on tight lots, all of it held together by a canopy of mature live oaks that took a century to grow. The soil underneath is clay that swells, cracks, and holds water at the surface. The lots are small and the access is tighter, which rules out the heavy equipment a lot of crews lean on.
That combination is the whole challenge here. You can't trench like you're in open country — the oak roots are right there, and one careless cut can cost a tree. You can't drown a tight lot in pooled water near a hundred-year-old foundation. And you can't drop a generic catalog yard into a neighborhood this defined by its character.
We read your ground before we build on it. This is our own neighborhood, and that's the only honest way to work it.
Catch the storm instead of fighting it on a tight lot. Sized for older homes — and it can qualify for a SAWS rebate where eligible.
§ 2 · The local reality
Clay, tight lots, and the oaks.
Most of the landscaping failures we get called to fix in Alamo Heights come from ignoring what's already there. A patio poured over an oak's root zone that slowly chokes the tree. A trench cut straight through feeder roots to run a line the short way. Sod laid over unbroken clay that drowns its own roots. A bed graded toward a hundred-year-old foundation on a lot too tight to drain.
The fixes aren't exotic — they're just careful. Map the critical root zone and design around it. Break and amend the clay so it actually drains. Send the storm to a planted swale instead of the slab. Choose a palette that thrives in oak shade and already knows this heat. On lots this small, we work by hand and with small equipment so the yard — and the canopy — comes through clean.
§ 3 · Heritage oaks & tight lots
Protect the canopy.
The mature live oaks are why Alamo Heights looks like Alamo Heights, and they're the first thing we plan around — root zones mapped, no careless trenching, minimal grade change near the trunk. On tight lots we keep the work clean: hand-work and small equipment where access is limited, so we solve drainage and build courtyard-scale features without tearing up the ground or the trees.
Can you landscape around Alamo Heights' heritage oaks without hurting them?
Yes — that's the whole point. Alamo Heights is defined by mature live oaks, and most of the damage we see comes from careless trenching that cuts feeder roots or piling soil and patio over the root zone where it suffocates. We map the critical root zone first, then design around it: no careless trenching, minimal grade change near the trunk, hand-work and small equipment where access is tight. The canopy is the asset. We build to keep it.
Can you fix drainage on a tight Alamo Heights lot?
Yes — it's one of the most common calls we get here. Alamo Heights sits on clay that holds water, with older homes on tight lots where there's little room to move water and little tolerance for it pooling near a foundation. We read the actual flow path on the property, then build the right fix: a planted swale, a regrade, a French drain only where it's truly needed. On small-access lots we work clean by hand and with small equipment, so we can solve drainage without tearing up the yard or the oaks.
Are there rebates for water-wise landscaping in Alamo Heights?
Yes. Alamo Heights is served by SAWS, which offers rebates for water-saving landscape conversions and, where eligible, for rainwater harvesting. We design projects to qualify where they can, and we'll point you to the current programs. See our rebates page for what's available now — we never quote a rebate figure we can't source.
Do you offer a free estimate in Alamo Heights?
The first Site Read is free — a 60-to-90-minute on-site reading of your property (soil, water, sun, drainage, canopy) plus a written summary within 48 hours. It's the honest version of an estimate: you get a real plan and a price range, whether or not you build with us.
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Book a Site Read.
60-90 minutes on your Alamo Heights property. Written summary in 48 hrs. No charge — the first Site Read is free.