Linda Chisari Landscape Designer

about Linda

bio
I grew up on the on the East Coast in a family that encouraged my love of music and gardening. Some of my happiest childhood memories include playing the piano endlessly for my parents' enjoyment and helping my grandfather pick gooseberries and tomatoes in his kitchen garden in New Jersey.

I began my college education at Mount Holyoke College with an emphasis in music but transferred to Columbia University in my junior year and graduated in 1965 with a B.S. and an R.N. I worked for five years as a nurse in Chicago and New York where I married and our first child was born.

In 1973 my husband and I relocated to Del Mar. Since I wanted to spend more time with our children, I began giving piano lessons in our home. I was also finally able to plant a garden of my own and experience the thrill of making things grow. To learn what plants would thrive in this unique climate and how to care for them, I enrolled in a program of Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design at Mesa College and took every course that was offered. It was pretty clear, after spending four years of study, that a career as a Landscape Designer could combine many things I loved: gardening, math, art, problem solving and helping people.

In 1981, my first design project was an Ornamental Edible Garden that won the Grand Prize in the landscape division at the Del Mar Fair. That was the springboard I needed to launch an incredibly rewarding career. I have since designed nearly 800 gardens for residential clients throughout coastal San Diego County. These projects range from courtyard gardens for condo owners to complex landscapes for large estates. I emphasize drought-tolerant designs that are appropriate to the Mediterranean climate that San Diego enjoys. I have also enjoyed writing and lecturing about how to garden in our special environment.

philosophy
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Let me help you design a beautiful garden!

Whether you want bright colors, fragrant, intimate spaces, a quiet retreat, flowering trees, herbs, or tomatoes, I can help you develop your property so that it reflects your personality and takes advantage of San Diego's splendid climate.

Over the past 30 years I have helped hundreds of San Diego families create private gardens that are lovely to look at, extend their livable space, and fit their budgets, large or small.

Typically, these gardens are filled with colorful, multi-textured plants offering an abundance of seasonal interest. I use plants that are native to San Diego and other Mediterranean climates. I encourage organic gardening practices.

I design many kinds of gardens from condo patios to large estates. Depending on your preferences, they might include

Cottage gardens filled with flowers
Bird and Butterfly habitats
Mixed perennial borders
Vegetables, herbs and fruit trees
Swimming pools and spas
Patios, gazebos, shade structures, fireplaces
Fountains and lighting

I have written gardening columns for local magazines and newspapers. My gardens have been featured in Sunset, Better Homes and Gardens publications and others; many have won awards for their beauty and drought-tolerant design.

If you live in the Del Mar–Rancho Santa Fe–La Jolla area, I would love to help you create a beautiful, personalized landscape that fits your lifestyle, interests and budget.

awards
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AWARDS:

1981 Vernon Berg Memorial Award for Academic Excellence
1981 Grand Prize for Ornamental Edible Garden--Southern California Exposition

WATERLESS GARDENS AWARDS (San Diego Water Authority and San Diego Home and Garden)

1990 1st Place, Existing Homes - Loskutoff Garden 2nd Place, Existing Homes - Dawson Garden
1991 1st Place, New Commercial - Santa Fe Irrigation, Rancho Santa Fe
1991 Honorable Mention, Existing Homes - Grier Garden

XERISCAPE SOCIETY AWARDS

1992 1st Place, residential - Grier Garden
1st Place, commercial - Del Mar Post Office

SUNSET MAGAZINE

1991 Citation for achievement

SAN DIEGO HOME GARDEN LIFESTYLES

2000 Garden of the Year-Hannan Garden (Editor's Choice)
2000 Garden of the Year-Torre-Bueno Garden (Editor's Choice)
2003 Garden of the Year-Brown Garden (Grand Prize)

memberships
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Mediterranean Garden Society
Pacific Horticulture Foundation
San Diego Horticultural Society
Quail Botanical Gardens
Del Mar Garden Club (President, 1997-2000)
National Wildlife Federation (My garden is designated a Backyard Wildlife Habitat)

media-cited work
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• "Yards That Make Every Drop Count"
by Tom Stacey, Los Angeles Times (North County Focus), June 28, 1990, p.1.

• "Drought Landscaping"
by Pat Stein, Blade Citizen, July 23,1990, p.C-1.

• "Water District Sets Own Example for Conservation"
by Julie Brown, Rancho Santa Fe Times, September 6, 1990, p.1.

• "Garden Club Plans Postal Paradise"
by Julie Brown, Del Mar Surf comber, January 24, 1991, p.A-2

• "Life-Saving Tips Offered For Yards"
by Liz Swain, Del Mar Surfcomber, March 1, 1991.

• "Stop and Smell the Flowers at the Post Office"
by Julie Brown, Del Mar Surf comber, March 7, 1991, p.1.

• "Days of Water and Roses Come to Close"
by Julie Brown, Del Mar Surf comber, March 7, 1991, p. 1.

• "Yard Appeal"
by Pat Stein, Blade Citizen, August 23, 1991, p.C-1.

• "Wild About Natives"
by Pat Stein, Blade-Citizen, April 11, 1992, p. D-1.

• "Let It Snow"
(Grier Garden) by Bob Smaus, Los Angeles Times Magazine, December 12, 1992, pp.54-55.

• "Make Gardens with Less Water"
Del Mar Surf comber, 1992.

• "United They Stand"
(Dawson Garden) by Bob Smaus, Los Angeles Times, January 23, 1994, pp.24-25.

• "Secret Gardens"
by Karen Wilson, San Diego Union, April 9, 1995, p. H-13.

• "Designing Woman"
by Cathy Hendrie, Del Mar Sun, October 6, 1995.

• Low Maintenance Gardening, Sunset Books, 1998

• "Timeless Tuscan Style"
by Mary Hellman James,San Diego Union Tribune, August 26,2001

• "Gardens of the Year"
by Nan Sterman, San Diego Home and Garden, September, 2001

• "Beautiful and Unthirsty"
by Sharon Cohoon,Sunset, September, 2001

• "Urban Renewal"
by Sharon Cohoon, Sunset, March, 2002

• "Chisari Creates Magic in Local Gardens"
by Loralee Olejnik, Del Mar Times, March 7,2003

• "Vines of Restraint"
by Karen Dardick, San Diego Home, Fall/2007

Garden Designs photographed and featured in Better Homes and Gardens::

Waite Residence, April 1995, p.114 and June 1996, p.135 Christiansen Residence, April 1996, p.180
Burgener Residence, June 1996, p. 116.
Jasin Residence, February, 1998, p. 106-107
Gillis Residence, April, 1998, p. 62
Carl Residence, August 1998, June 2000 Petersen Garden.May 1999
Tuttleman Garden, June 2000
Strangman Garden, January 2003 in Country Gardens:
Del Mar Post Office, Fall 1997 James Garden, Summer 2004 In Garden Ideas and Outdoor Living:
Scher Residence, Spring 1999, p. 106-7, Spring 2000 Ettari Residence, Spring 2000, pp.72-76 In Garden, Deck and Landscape
Amin Garden, Spring, 1999, Cover photo and p.55 In Christmas Ideas, 2001
Villasenor Residence, pp. 74-83 In Garden Shed, Spring 2003
Brewer Garden, pp.14-24 In Flower Gardener, Summer 2002
Torre Bueno Garden, pp.41-51 . In Remodeling, April/May 2003
Peterson Garden, pp. 108-112, January 2007 Jasin Garden, February 2007
Duff Garden, in Gardens, Decks and Patios, Spring 2008
Thompson Garden, in Exteriors, Spring 2008

Garden Designs photographed and featured in Los Angeles Times Garden Calendar:

Dawson Residence, 1993
Grier Residence, 1994
Dawson Residence, 1995
Jasin Residence, Winning arbor and gate, 1998
Torre Bueno Garden, 2001

Garden Designs photographed and featured in Time-Life Garden Books Series:

Combining Plants, Time-Life Inc., Alexandria, VA, 1995. Gardens featured on pages 2, 78, 79.
Practical Guide to Garden Design, Time-Life Inc., Alexandria, VA, 1996. Garden featured on page 32.

Torre-Bueno Garden cited in plenary address by Robert Perry at Pacific Horticulture Symposium entitled' Gardening Under Mediterranean Skies', September, 2000, Los Angeles County Arboretum.

Torre-Bueno Garden featured in Sunset, September 2001

Petersen Garden featured in San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyles, January 2001.

Brewer Garden featured in Sunset, March 2002 Brown Garden featured in Sunset, November 2003 Brown Garden featured in Sunset, April 2004

Brown Garden featured in Sunset 'Garden Color: November 2004

Petersen and Burgener Gardens features in Landscaping with Stone by Pat Sagui,2005

Landscaping with Roses, Multiple references, Jeff Cox, Taunton Press, 2002