Landscape Design and Installation Services in Santa Maria, California


Thoughtful Landscape Design Built Around Your Property

A yard rarely fails because of bad plants. It fails because no one planned how the space should work before the digging started. Cullen Landscaping approaches landscape design and installation the other way around, planning first so every choice has a reason. We serve Santa Maria, California, along with Orcutt and the wider Central Coast, shaping custom landscaping that fits your property's light, slope, and soil rather than fighting them from day one. The plan is where a lasting yard is actually won or lost.


Craig runs this as an owner operated business, so the person designing your yard is the same one standing in it as the crew works. As a licensed C-27 contractor who has been maintaining the 805 since 1993, we treat quality materials and clean workmanship as the baseline, not the upsell. Start your project through our contact page for a free consultation and estimate.

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What Our Landscape Design and Installation Covers

Custom Landscape Design Plans

Every great yard starts on paper. We map how sunlight, slope, and daily movement flow across your property, then translate that into a detailed plan covering plant placement, hardscape, and focal points so nothing gets built by guesswork or afterthought.

Complete Property Installation

Turning a plan into reality takes coordination. Our crew handles grading, planting, hardscape, and finishing in the right sequence, managing each phase from bare ground to a fully realized outdoor space matching the approved design down to the smallest detail.

Hardscape and Walkway Construction

Paths, patios, and walls give a yard its structure. We build durable walkways and hardscape features that connect spaces, guide foot traffic naturally, and stand up to years of use while complementing the planting and overall style of your landscape.

Garden Bed and Border Planting

Thoughtful planting brings a design to life. We select and arrange trees, shrubs, and perennials suited to local conditions, building layered beds and clean borders that fill in beautifully over time and hold their color and texture across changing seasons.

Soil Preparation and Site Grading

Healthy landscapes begin below the surface. We assess and amend your soil, then grade the site so water drains correctly and roots have room to thrive, creating a stable foundation protecting every plant and structure installed on top of it.

Design Consultation and Space Planning

Not sure where to begin? Sit down with us to talk through goals, budget, and how you want to use the yard. We turn scattered ideas into a clear, prioritized plan you can build all at once or in phases.

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What Makes Landscape Design and Installation Worth It

Every Dollar Spent With Intent

Because the layout is decided before work begins, your budget flows toward what actually matters to you. Nothing gets installed twice, nothing fights for space, and you avoid the scattered spending that comes from tackling a yard piece by piece.

A Design You Can See First

Rather than hoping it works out, you understand the plan before a shovel moves. Seeing how spaces connect, where shade falls, and how you will move through the yard removes the guesswork and the anxiety of committing to something unseen.

Built to Grow In, Not Grow Over

Plants are chosen for their mature size, not just how they look at the nursery. That foresight means your beds fill in and settle into balance over the years instead of crowding walkways and swallowing windows that framed a view.

Room to Build in Stages

A complete design lets you tackle the yard in stages without losing coherence. You install the essentials now and add later phases whenever timing suits you, confident that each piece still fits the larger picture you already reviewed and approved.

Function Matched to How You Live

The layout answers to your habits, whether that means space to entertain, a low upkeep garden, or a safe stretch for kids and pets. You end up using the whole yard instead of decorating around parts you never actually touch.

A Property That Reads as Finished

When every element belongs to one plan, the result looks deliberate rather than assembled over time. Guests tend to notice the difference immediately, and the sense of a complete, considered space lifts how your home presents itself from the street.

Start Creating a Landscape Built Around You

The best yards feel inevitable, as though the space could never have been arranged any other way. That impression is no accident; it comes from planning every relationship in the landscape before the work begins. It is the standard Cullen Landscaping brings to homeowners across Santa Maria, California, where a considered design turns a plain lot into a place that fits your life for years. If you have been picturing a better outdoor space, our contact page is where to begin, with a free consultation to talk through your ideas and map a realistic plan. We will help you build something that still makes sense a decade from now.

client testimonials

Read Reviews From Happy Customers

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Theresa M.

With our schedules, we just don’t have time to maintain our yard the way we would like to. I always assumed we wouldn’t be able to afford a gardener. We had our first bi-weekly service with Cullen Landscaping last week and they did an amazing job! I can’t tell you how nice it is to have someone do a great job, but also at an extremely reasonable price! It was the best feeling to come home from work and have our yard look so nice. Best decision we’ve made!

Bruce L.

Removed our uneven pavers and replaced them it is beautiful looks great Craig thanks

Vincent L.

Excellent work hard workers!! They can take care of our your landscape needs.

Christopher F.

Awesome job done by Cullen Landscaping! Easy to work with and great customer service!

Eric H.

Cullen Landscaping gets a big thumbs up. A+++ work

Rick C.

Takes Pride in what he does highly recommend Cullen landscaping

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why choose us?


  • What is the difference between a landscape designer and a landscape architect?

    A landscape architect is state licensed for large or structural projects, while a designer focuses on residential planting and layout. For most home yards, a design and build contractor covers everything you need under one accountable roof start to finish.

  • How long does a new landscape take to grow in?

    It depends on plant maturity and the design scope. A bed of grasses and perennials can fill in within a season, while a plan built around trees and large shrubs may take a few years to reach its intended look.

  • Should the same company design and install my landscape?

    Keeping both under one roof usually pays off. The team that drew the plan understands the reasoning behind every choice, so the intent survives into the build instead of getting lost in a handoff between two separate designers and contractors.

  • Do you offer maintenance after the landscape is installed?

    Yes. A landscape performs best with ongoing care, and staying involved after installation lets us protect the investment as plants establish. Cullen Landscaping supports Santa Maria, California properties well beyond the day the final plant finally goes into the ground.