Garden Design Images

Fragrant Tropical Garden: A vibrant and aromatic garden design focusing on fragrant tropical and subtropical plants. The garden is filled with species like gardenias, jasmine, and frangipani, creating an intoxicating blend of scents. Central to the garden is a small, shaded seating area, where one can relax and enjoy the fragrances. The layout includes raised flower beds and hanging planters to maximize space and add vertical interest. Twinkling fairy lights and soft lanterns provide a warm glow in the evenings, enhancing the sensory experience.

Xeriscape with Native Flora: An image showcasing a xeriscaping garden design, utilizing drought-resistant native plants to create an environmentally sustainable landscape. The garden includes a variety of native wildflowers, succulents like agave and sedum, and ornamental grasses, all thriving in a natural, arid setting. A winding path of flagstones cuts through the garden, with a dry creek bed lined with river rocks, adding interest and helping with rainwater drainage. The design emphasizes water conservation and natural beauty.

Innovative Water Garden: A creative garden design focused on an original water featuring a series of interconnected, naturalistic streams and small waterfalls, flowing through the garden. The streams meander around islands of lush greenery and colorful aquatic plants, like water lilies and lotus flowers. Strategically placed lighting enhances the water's reflective quality, creating a mesmerizing effect in the evening. The edges of the water features are lined with smooth pebbles and ornamental grasses, blending seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.

Decorative Rock and Zen Garden: A serene rock garden design, featuring an array of decorative rocks of various sizes and shapes, arranged artistically among raked sand to create a Zen-like atmosphere. The garden includes a central rock feature, resembling a miniature mountain range, surrounded by moss and low-growing ground covers. A simple yet elegant bamboo water fountain adds a soothing sound element. This garden is a blend of simplicity and tranquility, evoking a sense of calm and contemplation.

Garden Designer Luis Llenza

Garden Designs Llenza prefers ground covers to grass to solve a multitude of garden problems. Ground covers inject color, texture and shape into your landscape. They also define boundaries, highlight flowerbeds, discourage foot traffic, conceal unsightly tree roots and reduce maintenance. This photo demonstrates a sweet potato vine, Ipomoea batatas 'Margarita'. It's bright, and it's a great way to cover a large span of land quickly.

Landscape designer Luis Llenza designed and installed the landscaping for an estate in Puerto Rico that was featured in the December 2003 issue of Architectural Digest magazine.

"It's wonderful news, but national publicity is a little scary," said Llenza when news arrived about the Architectural Digest story. "I like to concentrate on uniquely creative designs, like this project, instead of high volume work," he said. The featured project demonstrates the broad range of Llenza's style, from the uniquely contemporary, yet formal, monochromatic front gardens to the more casual rear grounds, which feature a multi-colored palette of tropicals, highlighted by a cutting garden.

A native of Puerto Rico, Llenza has long been recognized as one of the island's premier experts in residential and commercial landscape design. He was chosen to design Aula Verde, an enclosed butterfly garden created as an educational environment for the children of San Juan.

In 2001, Llenza decided to relocate to South Florida, bringing his 20-plus years of experience to new territory. "I was drawn to the tremendous diversity of plants here, the opportunities for new projects and the challenge of building a business in fast-growing South Florida," he said. In the short time since, Llenza has been winning new clients with the freshness and unique creativity of his work.

"We expand living spaces by transforming traditional yards into garden rooms that offer privacy and shade, perhaps an orchid-filled arbor for dining al fresco, or custom plantings to define play or pool areas," he said. Llenza's repertoire includes original water features, decorative rock gardens, Xeriscaping with native plants and highly specialized use of fragrant tropical and sub-tropical plants.

Llenza's custom designs can be seen in residential and commercial projects throughout southeast Florida and also in Fort Myers Beach and Naples on the west side of the state. He has donated his talents for entranceway landscape designs to local neighborhoods, including Coral Ridge Country Club Estates, The Corals of Oakland Park, West Homeowners Association of Wilton Manors and Imperial Point.

Several of Llenza's custom garden designs have been published, most recently in Home Fort Lauderdale magazine. He contributes a monthly garden article to Stephen M. Kelley Publications of Fort Lauderdale for distribution in newsletters for local homeowner associations.