Madroño Landscape Design Studio - San Francisco, California

Pawan A.

Geoff and his team at Madroño transformed our overgrown backyard, once dominated by invasive blackberries and vines, into a beautifully landscaped, terraced garden. The project included building a hardwood deck, stairs, and fences, as well as terracing the sloping garden into distinct areas connected by meandering paths. They also constructed retaining walls to create a flat, functional space.

From the outset, Geoff’s meticulous attention to detail stood out. He ensured a surveyor marked the property lines, designed the landscaping to harmonize naturally with the slope, and carefully considered our concerns, including cost.

We wanted a low-maintenance garden, and Geoff’s expertise in local flora proved invaluable. He recommended drought-tolerant native plants, including a local grass variety that thrives without watering. When unexpected issues arose—such as aligning the deck with the house—Geoff resolved them efficiently, even pouring cement to achieve a seamless result.

Geoff also thoughtfully incorporated spaces for our children, designing areas for a sandbox and a playhouse. Throughout the project, he remained highly accessible and committed to delivering his best work.

The transformation has dramatically enhanced our garden’s aesthetics, usability, and even the resale value of our home. Beyond his exceptional skills, Geoff is one of the kindest people we’ve had the pleasure of working with. His knowledge of Bay Area flora is remarkable—he once owned a nursery specializing in native plants and has even published on the subject.

Madroño is truly one of a kind. You simply cannot go wrong with them!

Scott F.

When we needed to replace leaky roof decks, Madroño delivered. We're thoroughly delighted with the end result.

Geoffrey and his team, including Daniel and Tomas, were exceptional to work with. Beyond fixing the structural problems, we wanted to enhance our outdoor space. We had a few ideas before we started, but Geoff’s very practical recommendations and design additions really elevated the end result from usable space to “show stopper.”

Geoff was respectful of our budget. He provided an array of cost-conscious options, helped us understand tradeoffs, and was a supportive thought partner throughout the design process.

The renovation has significantly increased our usable space, and it's now a favorite spot for our family and friends to hang out.

Thanks to Madroño for a fantastic experience and outstanding results!

Madeleine R.

An excellent experience. Geoff's patience with clients who don't garden (and therefore could not tell him exactly what we wanted) was amazing. The team was responsive to questions and feedback, offered ideas and solutions, and clearly took pride and ownership of what they were creating. Throughout the experience--design through substantial demolition through the creation of a beautiful, livable, relaxing space--it was clear that everyone from the top down cared about making our back yard the best it could be. 10/10 would hire again.

Clint S.

For a long time, I wanted to have a professionally landscaped backyard garden to serve as a special retreat for me. I finally decided on Madrono Landscape Design, and the owner, Geoffrey Coffey was very helpful in laying out a landscape that reflected the type of garden I had envisioned, sort of a "controlled jungle". I didn't cut corners finance wise, but I am very happy with the results. Geoff suggested various flowers and shrubs, plus incorporating what plants I did have already into the new design, including a drip irrigation system. Now I just have to wait for the shrubs and vines to grow to maturity to get the garden that I've always wanted.

MPIC P.

We hired Madrono Landscape Design to implement the redesign of the Miraloma Park Improvement Club native plant garden. Geoff met with us multiple times at the project site to go over the detailed goals that we required including staying within our limited budget. Geoff offered many suggestions and was always responsive by phone and email. He prepared a detailed contract, general site, drainage, elevation and planting plans for the project. The lead foreman Daniel and crew were very professional. The extremely hard soil conditions made the project much more challenging to (1) grade the soil, (2) install a lot of drainage pipes, (3) install a crushed gravel path and circle, (4) created a walking path, (5) installing new plants and (6) removing a huge amount of old pavers installed in the 1940s and repurposing them to redirect rainwater runoff from our adjacent parking lot into the garden. The crew also removed a huge amount of dead vegetation and trimmed many trees which allowed a lot more light. Geoff later helped us to identify which of the existing and new plants would be best for educational signage. We are very happy with the results.

Todd H.

Madrono installed a rainwater harvesting system and did a great job. The crew was super friendly, the work was quality and the system works great. They were very knowledgeable about the process and had some great ideas on how to maximize the output of our system. Thanks!

Duncan R.

I recently engaged Geoff and Madroño Landscape Design Studio for a maintenance project at my home in San Francisco, and I could not be happier with the outcome. Geoff is responsive and helpful, and his colleagues were friendly and thorough, and I will certainly work with Geoff and his team again in future.

Jeffrey M.

It was a big complicated project involving a neighbor, a large retaining wall, and structural engineering. The end result was beyond my expectations. There were hiccups along the way, but none were the fault of Madrono. Geoffrey is a good communicator and his crew were excellent. Not only is an old and failing retaining wall replaced, but I have a beautiful California native garden and more usable space in my yard.