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Jessica Viola

@violagardens

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𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙧
•Ecological Landscape Design & Build
•Serving LA, Santa Barbara & Beyond 🌱 •Licenced CA Contractor #1067210
•Woman Owned🪴

POSTS STORIES REELS

There are projects that somehow gather the threads of your life and hand them back to you in a new form. 🌿

When I first moved to Los Angeles more than 20 years ago, I lived just down the road from the Pacific Design Center. Those enormous red, green and blue buildings were part of the landscape of my early life here, when Viola Gardens was barely a seed and I was beginning to understand that plants could become my medium.

Years later, I was incredibly honored to be nominated by the PDC as a Star of Design for landscape architecture. Shortly after I was graciously invited to design and install the gardens of the Pacific Design Center itself.

We imagined the campus as a living work of art: layered, sculptural, colorful, drought-tolerant and alive with California natives and climate-adapted plants that create habitat for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators.

The former fountain became a living garden, and the courtyards became places to gather, sit, breathe and connect.

I wanted the planting to hold its own against the extraordinary scale and color of the architecture, while softening it with something alive and constantly changing.

More than two decades after arriving in LA with an idea that I wanted to make life-sized paintings with plants, I got to make one here.

At the Pacific Design Center. ❤️💚💙🌿

So deeply grateful for the trust, the collaboration, and the opportunity to bring this garden to life. This is a full-circle gift. I look forward to fostering the gardens growth for years to come 🌿

#landscapedesign #connection #living #painting #urbanecology by @violagardens

Elevated entry in Northern Malibu—
a threshold and a walkway.

Custom limestone pavers ground the approach,
water moving gently,
a drought-tolerant garden layered with native plants and pollinator-loving perennials.

Entrances and exits shape our days more than we realize—
small crossings, often unnoticed.

Arriving. Leaving. Returning.

A moment to come back into presence.

Design, at its best, becomes a quiet ritual of awareness. 🌿

#entrance #sensory #mindfulness #details #landscapedesign

Collab with @studio_atkins by @violagardens

Grateful to be recognized by @sunsetmag in the 2026 Home & Design Awards for Best Regenerative Outdoor Rooms.

This work has always been about more than design. It’s about creating living spaces where nature can return, where hummingbirds arrive, and where people feel a sense of ease and connection.

We had the great honor of our work and non profit studio space being featured last February 2025 in the wellness issue 🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽 truly one of the most intelligent and insightful interviews I’ve had with @tendingwest

To be included alongside peers I deeply admire this year in their best of is truly meaningful. Thank you for seeing and honoring this work.

#violagardens #sunsetmag #homedesign #landscapedesign #womenindesign by @violagardens

Nature rarely moves in straight lines. It curves, spirals, wanders and finds its way.

There is wisdom in these rhythms. In softening the edges, making space for the unexpected and allowing beauty to unfold.

Gardens can be invitations to live this way. To wander, breathe, move, rest. To follow a winding path, feel the warmth of the sun, watch pollinators dance between blossoms and reconnect with the natural world.

Wellness lives in these moments. In movement and stillness, in the quiet regulation of the nervous system, in connection to the earth, to one another and to ourselves.

Perhaps living well is less about finding perfect balance and more about embracing the curves, the changing seasons and the beautiful, unpredictable flow of life.

A little more wildness. A little more wonder. More room to bloom. 🌿

Photography @laurenexploren

#connection #wellness #biophilia #natural #regenerativedesign by @violagardens

Thank you again to @socallifemag for inviting me to be a part of this month’s masters of design feature! And alongside so many designers whose work I respect and admire. It’s an honor. 🙏🏽 Also thanks @philipmmacias for the new headshots ✨

#landscapedesign #mastery #craft #connect #nature by @violagardens

Designing with fire safety in mind 🌿🔥⁠
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A look at how @violagardens chooses plants with both beauty and fire resilience in mind.⁠
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#la #losangeles #latodo #malibu #shoplocal by @violagardens

Tucked into the hills of Highland Park, alongside a stellar team, we set out to create a sense of place on a barren hillside.

Working with the natural grade, we introduced movement and rhythm through timber stairs, shifting angles and carefully considered transitions—letting the landscape lead and allowing the design to unfold from the terrain.

The planting palette restores habitat with native, pollinator-friendly, drought-tolerant and erosion-controlling plants, creating a resilient landscape that supports both ecology and everyday life.

Together, we shaped gathering spaces and touchstones of connection for a growing family.

Life is a series of ups and downs, and change is inevitable. Maybe the beauty is in how we move through the terrain: finding our footing, making room for change and creating space for life to unfold.

A landscape shaped by the hillside—and by the lives growing within it.

#leanintoit #landscape #elevate #perspective #highlandparkla by @violagardens

I don’t often post about things like this, but a recent experience felt worth sharing.

I’ve spent nearly 25 years as a landscape designer and licensed contractor, working alongside extraordinary builders, craftspeople and tradesmen, many of whom I deeply admire and respect.

And yet, I’m still often met with surprise when people learn that I’m both a designer and a contractor. Sometimes it takes standing on a job site, talking shop, solving problems and sharing what I know before that respect is established.

And most of the time, it is. I’m grateful for the wonderful men I work with every day, many of whom have become dear friends and collaborators over the years.

But every so often, I encounter a kind of thinking that reminds me how easily the knowledge, experience and contributions of women can still be overlooked or diminished.

What has been particularly disheartening during the rebuilding process here in Los Angeles is witnessing how an opportunity to help people restore their homes, their land and their lives can sometimes become overshadowed by competition, profit and self-interest.

There is so much more at stake here.

I believe we have an enormous responsibility in the work we do. We’re not simply building things or creating beautiful gardens. We’re helping people heal, restoring damaged landscapes, rebuilding ecosystems and creating places where life can begin again.

There is room for all of us to do meaningful work, to respect one another’s expertise, to collaborate generously and to lead with integrity. In fact, I believe the work is better when we do.

After all these years, I still love what I do, the people I get to work with and the opportunity to bring something beautiful and restorative into the world.

And yes, I love flowers. But there’s a whole lot more to what I do. 🌿

#womeninconstruction #landscapedesign #equality #peoplecare #earthcare by @violagardens

14 photographs for my sweet 14 year old. Happy birthday, Vianna!

Those close to us know what we have moved through these past couple of intense years. And through it all, the ups and downs, the changes and movement, we continue to grow deeper.

Raising her up all these years, I am ever more grateful and amazed to witness the woman she is becoming. She’s wise, funny, super smart, compassionate, balanced… and also now living through all the richness (!) of becoming a teenager, navigating her own expanded autonomy, her own process and her own way in the world.

I watch how she deals with conflict and crushes, school and friendships, her love and passion for music and art, balancing her emotions (mostly :), and, like a good Libra, finding the middle ground and always the beauty.

I’m so lucky to be her mama. And even though the story is not exactly what we might have scripted, getting to be with just her fills my heart with a swell of love like no other.

Listening to her sing or play piano or guitar astounds me. Quietly taking in the wisdom she holds at such a young age makes me so proud. And watching her become more and more herself is one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Happy day, my sweet girl!

These are a few pics from the past epic year. From Italy to the central coast to Malibu. You can’t photograph all the quiet, in between moments filled with everything outside of these smiling photos, but it’s fun to look back at these touchstones and reflect on how she grows and I alongside her ❤️ happy birthday v ❤️ by @violagardens

What is firescaping? 🌿🔥 @Violagardens breaks down how thoughtful landscape design can help create more fire-resilient outdoor spaces.⁠
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#la #losangeles #latodo #malibu #shoplocal by @violagardens

Sweet little front garden retreat in Rustic Canyon. 🌿

The goal here was to create privacy without overwhelming the space. We layered handmade Orca bricks, boulders, pollinator-friendly plants, and lots of beautiful colors, textures and tones to make this small garden feel cozy, interesting and alive.

We were also thoughtful about resilience, keeping woody plants away from the house and making fire-conscious choices without sacrificing beauty.

A small garden with a lot of heart. ❤️

#front #landscape #ecologicaldesign #southerncalifornia #madewithlove

Photos @byamysmyth by @violagardens

Cultivating Place

There is a difference between creating a space and creating a place.

A space is something we occupy. A place is something we experience, return to, and build a relationship with.

Our landscape work at the Pacific Design Center explores how architecture, nature, and creativity can come together to create a place that feels connected to its surroundings.

Plants, texture, movement, light, and the living landscape all shape how we experience a place. When we design with these elements intentionally, we can create environments that invite us to slow down, gather, restore, connect, and simply be.

We’re grateful to have the Pacific Design Center landscape featured in the Summer/Fall 2026 Lookbook.

Swipe through to explore the Lookbook and see the landscape by Viola Gardens.

A garden can become more than a beautiful surrounding. It can become a place of wellbeing, creativity, connection, and belonging.

#ViolaGardens #PacificDesignCenter #LandscapeDesign #LandscapeArchitecture #EcologicalDesign by @violagardens