Elizabeth Mannix Klein

The owner and head landscape designer for DESIGN MY YARD, graduated from the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Ornamental Horticulture- the study of plants specifically used in the decorative art of landscaping.

After graduation, Liz headed to San Diego, landing employment as an assistant landscape designer, for what is today Green Thumb Nursery in San Marcos, part of a large family run retail chain in Southern California. She honed her craft by creating landscape plans for homeowners, mostly do-it-yourselfers, who needed step by step guidance and instruction on all facets of landscape installation. After a few years, she went out on her own, doing free lance consultation and landscape design, while raising three small children, with her husband.

Ten years in semi tropical, San Diego were followed by 6 years in Flagstaff, Arizona- designing high elevation, low water usage, xeriscape gardens on the arid, volcanic soils of Northern Arizona. Here Liz studied native plants, collected by the local Navajo Indians, in the valleys of the San Francisco Peaks, for use as medicinal tinctures. At 7,200 ft, this high altitude climate exposed her to a new array of plant material- vastly different from those in coastal Southern California.

 

In 1996, her husband accepted a job offer and with it came relocation to Austin, Texas and yet another landscape adventure. Liz was employed by the wholesale division of John Deere Landscapes, as the Nursery Accounts Manager, supplying central Texas landscape contractors with plant material, for a few years. But ultimately, her overriding attraction to creating her own landscapes inspired her to start the company- DESIGN MY YARD.

Specializing in residential design and installation, Liz believes her greatest gift is in paying attention to each client’s unique wish list. “I have the skill and experience to be able to listen to what you say you want but more importantly to distill the “underlying feeling” that you want to create in your outdoor space. The beauty and harmony of nature should surround you, in a setting which beckons you to relax and unwind. Creating a peaceful refuge, uniquely suited to you, is what I do best and should inspire you to say, "Please... Design My Yard!"