California contractor (License #963784)
California contractor (License #963784)
A complete landscape design and build in San Jose runs $10,000 to $250,000 depending on scope, and most residential projects take four to twelve weeks from approved plan to final walkthrough. JPM Landscape has worked as a design-build landscaping contractor across Silicon Valley since 1984 under CA Contractor License #963784. We design in-house and build with our own crew, so the person who drew your plan is on site while it gets built.
12 Best of Houzz awards, 2014 to 2026 · 92 Houzz reviews averaging 4.9 stars · 40+ years building in Santa Clara County · CA License #963784
Before you read further, look at real projects our team has completed. The gallery answers more questions than any paragraph will.
Most homeowners calling us have no idea what a design deliverable is, and most contractors never say. Here is what leaves our office before anyone breaks ground.
A scaled site plan showing every hardscape element, its dimensions and its position relative to the house and property line. A planting plan naming each species, its mature size and its water needs, grouped into hydrozones so the irrigation can be zoned correctly. A grading and drainage plan showing where water goes when it rains. A material schedule covering interlocking pavers, stone, concrete finish and lighting fixtures so nothing is decided on the fly. Where a space is hard to picture, a 3D view of the finished yard.
You approve that package before we order a single pallet. That is the entire point of it. Changes on paper cost nothing, changes after installation cost a great deal, and the design phase is where every dollar of a build is either protected or wasted.
| Element | Typical range |
|---|---|
|
Paver or concrete patio |
$15–$30 per sq ft |
|
Artificial grass |
$8–$18 per sq ft (pet $10–$18, putting greens $14–$22) |
|
Irrigation system installation |
$3,500–$8,000, or $600–$1,000 per zone |
|
Pergolas |
$2,500–$6,500 standard 10×10; $6,000–$15,000 custom |
|
Complete design and build |
$10,000–$250,000 |
Prices verified August 2026.
That top range is wide because it covers everything from a single patio to a full property rebuild. As a working example: a mid-size backyard with a 400 sq ft patio, 800 sq ft of artificial grass and a new irrigation system lands around $16,000 to $34,000 using the figures above. Access, grade and soil condition move the number more than square footage does, and a sloped lot with no side-yard access costs more to build than a flat one of the same size. Our design fee is folded into the project rather than billed separately, and the first site consultation is free. For a line-by-line breakdown, read our landscape design cost guide.
Santa Clara County sits on expansive clay. It swells when it takes on water and shrinks when it dries, and that annual movement is what lifts patio seams, cracks slabs and tips retaining walls built on an inadequate base. It is also why a lawn can brown out in August while being watered daily, because clay sheds water sideways instead of letting roots drink it.
We test percolation before selecting plants and specify base depth to match what the soil is doing rather than to a standard spec. Species chosen for clay tolerance survive; species chosen from a catalog get replaced in three years. For the fuller picture, read our guide on climate and soil.
Drainage gets designed in on day one, not added after the first wet winter. If your yard already floods, our drainage systems page covers how those systems are built.
Retaining walls over three feet require a permit, which changes both the engineering and the schedule. California’s MWELO water-efficiency standards kick in once a new or rebuilt landscape crosses 2,500 square feet, governing plant selection, hydrozoning and irrigation design on larger lots. Los Altos enforces separate tree protection rules under Chapter 11.08, so mature trees there shape the layout rather than the reverse. Setbacks and utility easements limit where structures can sit, and utilities get marked before any excavation.
We pull the city or county permits ourselves on projects involving hardscape, drainage or structural work, so you never deal with the permit counter directly. Valley Water also runs rebates for water-efficient landscaping and turf replacement, worth checking against current funding before you set a budget, and our guide on cutting your water bill covers what actually moves the meter. Full detail on what permits landscaping requires.
Three different professionals get called for this work and they are not interchangeable. A landscape architect is state-licensed, and an engineer’s or landscape architect’s stamp is required on structural or public projects — necessary for a large hillside retaining structure, rarely necessary for a residential yard. A landscape designer produces the plan but does not build it. A design-build landscaping contractor does both under one contract, which is what we are.
| Design-build (one team) | Designer + separate contractor | |
|---|---|---|
|
Who prices the plan |
The team that will build it |
Nobody, until bidding |
|
Budget overruns |
Caught at design stage |
Found after the plan is paid for |
|
Accountability for defects |
One contract |
Split, usually disputed |
|
Timeline |
Continuous |
Gap between sign-off and bid award |
|
Change orders |
Handled internally |
Renegotiated |
The split model is where most budget overruns start. A designer with no build responsibility can draw something that prices at double the budget, and the contractor who inherits it has every incentive to blame the plan. Before you sign with anyone, our guide to the most common design mistakes will help you ask sharper questions, of us as much as anyone else.
JPM Landscape offers full-service residential landscape design in San Jose — meaning we handle everything from the first concept sketch to the last piece of sod. Our design-build model keeps your project on budget and on schedule because the people drawing the plans are the same people executing them. Whether you need a complete backyard rebuild, a water-wise front yard redesign, or a single hardscape upgrade, we tailor every plan to your property, your budget, and the way you actually use your outdoor space.
Below is the full range of what we install. If you don’t see something on this list, ask.
Most projects combine several of those. A backyard build typically pairs a paver patio with planting, lighting and drainage. Outdoor living projects add a pergola, BBQ island or fire pit, plus arbors or lattice screening where a neighboring second story looks straight down into the yard. Water cost drives most material decisions here: artificial grass is the most requested backyard upgrade because it takes lawn irrigation to zero and holds up past 100 degrees.
Front yards are usually the smartest place to start. They deliver curb appeal immediately and carry the clearest resale case, and low-water landscapes built on natives and Mediterranean planting cut outdoor water use sharply without leaving a yard that reads as gravel. Our guide to landscaping ROI covers which projects actually return.
| Phase | Typical duration |
|---|---|
|
Design and revisions |
2–4 weeks |
|
Permitting (where required) |
2–6 weeks |
|
Focused hardscape or planting install |
1–2 weeks |
|
Full backyard build |
4–8 weeks |
Winter rain is the main scheduling variable, because saturated clay cannot be compacted. We sequence grading and concrete around it rather than working through it and rebuilding later.
A well-built landscape is low maintenance, not no maintenance: drip emitters need replacing every few years, paver joints need sand topped up every two to three years, and native planting needs real water through its first two summers. The failures we get called out to fix almost always trace back to base preparation rather than age.
Each city comes with its own conditions — clay soil depth in some areas, tree protection rules in others, water district requirements that vary block by block. We’ve navigated all of it across every neighborhood we serve, and that local knowledge shows up in every design we produce.
Don’t see your city? View all service areas →
Both, under one contract. We are a licensed design-build landscaping contractor, which means we produce the plan and build it with our own crew. You are not hiring a designer and then finding someone to execute the drawing, and there is no gap between the two where responsibility disappears.
Complete design and build projects run $10,000 to $250,000 depending on scope. A mid-size backyard with a patio, artificial grass and new irrigation typically lands around $16,000 to $34,000. Our design fee is folded into the project rather than billed on its own, and the first site consultation is free.
A scaled site plan, a planting plan with species and hydrozones, a grading and drainage plan, and a material schedule covering pavers, stone, concrete finish and lighting. Complex spaces also get a 3D view. You approve the full package before anything is ordered or excavated.
Most planting, irrigation and patio work does not. Retaining walls over three feet do, as does structural work or anything altering drainage onto a neighboring property. Landscapes over 2,500 square feet fall under California's MWELO water rules. We pull the city or county permits ourselves on projects that need them.
Design and revisions run two to four weeks. Permitting adds two to six weeks where required. Installation runs one to two weeks for focused hardscape or planting work and four to eight weeks for a full backyard build. Winter rain is the main variable, since saturated clay cannot be compacted.
Rarely, for a residential yard. An engineer's or landscape architect's stamp is required on structural or public work — a large hillside retaining structure, for example. A licensed design-build contractor covers everything a typical property needs, and will tell you when a project genuinely requires one.
California natives and Mediterranean species handle expansive clay best because they tolerate the wet-dry swing. Manzanita, ceanothus, salvia, rosemary and native grasses establish reliably. Soil preparation and drainage matter more than the species list, though, and the right plant in unamended clay still struggles.
You have the cost ranges, the timeline and the permit picture. The next step is someone standing in your yard.
Request a free on-site estimate and we will assess your soil, grade and drainage, talk through what you want the space to do, and give you a clear plan with honest pricing. No pressure, no obligation to move forward.
Design-build since 1984 · CA License #963784 · 12 Best of Houzz awards
Call (408) 636-6442
If water use is the driver on your project, see how we approach drought-tolerant design, or view our work in Menlo Park and across the Peninsula.
See what homeowners across Silicon Valley say about working with JPM Landscape. We have designed and built landscapes in San Jose since 1984, and our work has earned 12 Best of Houzz awards. Read the reviews, then judge for yourself.
JPM Landscape has designed and built landscapes in San Jose since 1984 — 40+ years, twelve Best of Houzz awards, and a design-build model that keeps your project in one team’s hands from the first sketch to the final walkthrough. If you’re still researching, our guide to the most common design mistakes is worth reading before you hire anyone — it’ll help you ask the right questions and avoid the decisions most homeowners regret. When you’re ready, call (408) 636-6442 or request a free estimate online.
