We enjoy being hands-on and working closely with our clients to design and build sanctuary gardens, outdoor havens and outdoor living areas that beautifully & functionally integrate the home & garden. Our award winning projects are expertly crafted, built to last and artistic too! We especially strive for sustainable and eco friendly solutions that are healthy for people, plants, pets, wildlife and our planet.
You will be working directly with us from design thru completion of construction. Anything desired for the outside of the home is within our scope. We’re also very capable of designing the porch, portico, sunroom or other room addition & outbuilding that completely unifies your home with your landscape. These transition spaces as well as decks, patios, swimming pools and driveways are carefully considered, proportionately designed then softened with skillfully selected plant material. We design in whatever style suits you and the architecture of your home, be it modest or grand.
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Overview
Open or CloseFrom each project’s inception, we take the time to really listen then search for creative, innovative and insightful design solutions that fit the family’s specific lifestyle and objectives while ensuring that all choices are environmentally friendly, use water efficiently and meet zoning requirements.
Throughout the process, Home & Garden Design offers unparalleled service & proactive communication for homeowners with distinctive tastes who appreciate directness, integrity, professionalism and true value.
We have a proven reputation and longevity as a company specializing in integrating the home & garden for projects ranging from modest to grand. No matter the size, each project receives the same level of detail, concern and attention for everything from hardscape construction to planting installation. Our company thrives because we thoroughly enjoy every step in creating amazing sanctuary gardens and outdoor havens.
Embodying these words has manifested into a very successful and respected business within the landscape industry. Let us create something wonderful for you!
Our projects vary greatly in size and complexity. The simplest projects may involve only bed preparation and plantings. More extensive projects include grading, drainage, water conservation and hardscaping such as a prettier and more functional driveway, walk, walls, patio and/or deck that create an outdoor living area.
More complex projects often address the complete integration of the home and garden such as the inclusion of a room addition, sunroom, swimming pool, or other structure.
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About the owners.
Open or CloseAbout Danna Cain:
My grandparents were gardeners. My aunt worked at a garden center. My mother was a dreamer who wanted a beautiful yard and talked about it all the time. I drew a landscape plan for her yard in New Orleans when I was in the fourth grade. As I grew, I continued to help them garden and I was always drawing or designing something.
In college I majored in Commercial Art and Graphic Design where I learned technical drawing, drafting, painting and illustration techniques. I also received a solid foundation in design principles.
My first job out of college taught me quickly that I was not the type of person who could sit behind a desk all day. When a landscape design/build firm offered me a position as a “landscape illustrator”, I gleefully jumped to a new job. Soon I was also drafting plans. They taught me all about plants and how to install them so I became a landscape designer & contractor too. When I became self employed, I added hardscapes to my repertoire.
That’s when I first met Conrad. Shortly after that, new licensing laws were put into effect. I had only two years to become licensed as a landscape architect. I accomplished that by passing the national board exams. No formal schooling. No college degree. Just a lot of practical experience, study and passion. Armed with my Louisiana license, I sought and received national certification then my Georgia license.
I married Conrad and moved to Atlanta where Home & Garden Design, Inc. began. I’ve been a leader in the industry serving on GGIA’s Board of Directors. I’ve acquired many other certifications, licenses and even another landscape architect license for North Carolina.
About Conrad Cain:
My father was a general contractor who first put put me to work sweeping up job sites when I was 4 years old. I’ve been in construction ever since. Being raised in Ohio, I was instilled with a fierce work ethic as most mid westerners are. We were trained to work hard, build only the best and always do what we promise. Integrity remains one of my core principles. I, too, went to a community college. I couldn’t stand sitting behind the desk there, so I went to work. Having been raised in a family of entrepreneurs, it’s no surprise that I soon started my own business.
Over the years, I’ve built just about anything and everything. I’ve even done historic preservation work in the French Qtr. of New Orleans and was later selected by the Captain of the Steamboat Delta Queen to become a crew member and restore parts of the boat while she was underway. That was very near and dear to my heart as I grew in a riverboat town and the Delta Queen is legendary there.
When I moved to Atlanta, I did trim and finish carpentry in the finest homes in Buckhead and even remodeled homes that I designed. I became one of NARI’s first Certified Remodelers and served on the Board of Directors. I drifted more and more to building sunrooms, room additions and decks as well as retaining walls and drainage systems as Danna needed more and more of my expertise on Home & Garden Design’s projects. I’m now a Georgia licensed residential general contractor spending most of my time as project manager and detailing our hardscape & drainage projects.
About us:
Over the years we’ve won lots of prestigious awards, been published in local, regional and national magazines. We’ve been speakers at home & garden shows, garden clubs, and professional conferences … even on the radio! Be sure to check out our Awards and Press page as well as our Blog for recent happenings.
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Our Philosophy
Open or CloseWe call our creations “Sanctuary Gardens” and “Outdoor Havens” because they provide an enticing outdoor environment to be truly lived in and enjoyed by the whole family. They are designed and built to delight the senses, soothe the soul and uplift the spirit thus giving reasons for everyone to go outside and enjoy nature on many levels.
These beautiful outdoor living spaces are inviting, unique & environmentally sound. Of course they also solve grading, drainage and erosion issues. This maximizes the effectiveness and functionality of the entire site while also increasing the value of the home.
Being keenly aware of the long-term impact that our recommendations and services have on the environment, we’ve developed a synergetic design & installation protocol that creates a balanced ecosystem and sustainability while also recycling, reusing, and repurposing where feasible.
Our approach to landscaping is holistic. It unites art, landscape architecture, construction, horticultural expertise and organic gardening with an intuitive sensitivity to person and place.
When we are given the opportunity to create a long lasting, well-built project that is delightful to the eye, comforting to the soul and enriches the quality of your lifestyle, it pleases us.
Since our success is determined by your satisfaction now and in the future, we will never sacrifice service, quality, safety or health. We feel that this integrity builds long term, win-win relationships based on honesty, fairness, respect and professionalism.
Success, happiness and health are a manifestation of well-balanced ideals and spirituality in our lives and surroundings. When we help a client to create this, we feel we’ve done our part to make this world a better place for all.
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Our Ideal Client
Open or CloseWe seek those who appreciate creativity, innovation, exceptional quality and integrity because they understand the intrinsic value of these things.
Our clients have specific goals they want to achieve and want someone who will listen, integrate and advise in a creative manner based on proven knowledge and experience. They want to increase the beauty and meaning of their surroundings for a more profound connection with self, family, friends and nature. They also want to be assured that the project can be built on time and on budget while meeting all requirements of zoning, permitting and their homeowner's association.
Most of our clients are well educated due to having landscaped or remodeled before. They know the value of hiring a designer/consultant who fully understands the inherent complexities of a project and is capable of handling the process. They are looking for someone with vast knowledge and vision to tie the project together, navigate zoning/permitting and provide drama-free construction that minimally impacts their daily routine. They also realize that the broad perspective that we offer will address all parts of the puzzle that might be overlooked by other companies/individuals who have limited specialties. They also realize that with Home & Garden Design, they will get the personal attention and longevity that is lacking in large companies.
Our clients differ greatly in their preferred style and budget and want a solution that matches their needs. Most are unpretentious, caring thinkers who have viewed our portfolio and checked our references to the extent of knowing & trusting that we design according to our client's preferred style, offer options, educate and advise. Clients on a limited budget like that they have the option to construct in phases or hire us to do only the heavy construction thus giving them the opportunity to handle the parts they feel capable of tackling. Most clients, however, are looking for trustworthy professionals to handle every detail of the process for them so they don't have to. These are the clients who have the finances available for their dream.
Some are advocates of everything green, environmental and health conscious while others realize there are benefits in such but it's not their primary concern. They just want something pretty and long lasting. The main things that all of our clients have in common are that they choose to invest in beautiful & functional surroundings and choose to participate in the design process of creating the ideal environment for them. After that, they also choose to trust our company to get it done right, on budget and on time.
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About being Eco friendly and Sustainable
Open or CloseWe have a passion for ecological design and have been "green" pioneers and advocates for the benefits of being water-wise, sustainable and organic long before it became trendy. With our palette, of over 100 eco-friendly proven solutions, we design, reclaim and recycle landscapes and hardscapes, into healthy environments for family, pets, and wildlife.
The three keys to building an organic & sustainable landscape are skilled plant selection, building the soil fertility and chemical-free maintenance. This allows the intrinsic relationships of soil, plants and wildlife to thrive. In return, you enjoy a lower maintenance garden that beckons you to experience all that this “living” landscape has to offer: thriving plants, beautiful colors, wonderful fragrance, the songs of birds and other pleasures.
At the core of our projects are deeply prepped or raised beds using our very fertile, premium, proprietary, organic soil mix that supports healthy, thriving plants that don't need chemical life support. This bed prep encourages roots to quickly grow deep thus rewarding you with increased drought tolerance. The deep roots also mean fast establishment so you will have fuller growth, more flowers and greater yield from edibles in an amazingly short period of time.
Every project is designed to attract and support a wide variety of birds, butterflies, pollinators and beneficial insects. We’ve seen many arrive as we install the plants. This attraction is initially due to specially chosen plants that provide nectar or seed. The continued attraction comes from providing bio-diverse habitat, which simply means a wide variety of plant material and naturally good things that allow the landscape to adapt, evolve and regenerate itself.