Santa Rosa fine gardens designed and built by Details Landscape Art feature thoughtful, artistic plant selection. Choosing plants is partly a science, but mostly an art. 
The scientific or botanical aspect has to do with identifying the conditions where the plant will be placed. Will the plant or plants be located in the sun or the shade, or part sun part shade? We would never put a shade plant in the sun – it would burn. Conversely a full sun plant, such as a rose, will not thrive in the shade, and certainly flower less.
What is the climate of the property? Is it hot dry in summer? Do temperatures drop below freezing in winter? Although nurseries sell bougainvillea, and we see contractors plant bougainvillea, we know it will freeze in the winter in Northern California, and we refrain from planting it – unless the homeowner is willing to treat it as an annual and replace it every year.
What is the nature of the terrain? Will the plant or plants be located in a low spot where bog conditions exist? There are plants that love wet conditions – tulbaghia (society garlic) comes to mind. 
Otherwise a drought tolerant native such as salvia or lavender will not thrive in constant moisture.
The presence of deer is critical in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties and requires deer-resistant plants. In the North Bay, and especially Sonoma County, freezing temperatures in winter can kill plants that cannot tolerate the cold. Is erosion control a requirement?
Once these physical conditions and requirements have been considered, creating a beautiful garden is an art form. Details Landscape Art is a Petaluma landscape contractor that specializes in designing and installing beautiful gardens. Creating Santa Rosa fine gardens requires that we select plants with varying heights, textures and bloom seasons. Trees, plants and groundcovers of different heights allows the eye to see each plant…plants of the same height planted adjacent to each other compete for light and visual impact. We like planting spiky foliage, ornamental grasses, chunky shrubs, and open habit branching structures for a variety of textures (as well as other elements such as rock and wood structures). And a successful garden design always includes blooms or foliage or interesting branching structures that are interesting all year long. When one plant’s flowers fade, others spring to life, and deciduous trees may provide fall foliage and then vertical interest in winter when the leaves have fallen.
We also consult the homeowner to determine the style they may favor. Does the house have a red tile roof and a Tuscan style flavor? Would they like a Mediterranean style garden with olives and rosemary? Or do they prefer an Asian style? We usually ask the homeowner to provide a list of plants they love and a list of plants they hate, and we work with those lists.
It is not an accident that our gardens look the way they do. Santa Rosa fine gardens are the result of Details Landscape Art selecting plants that meet cultural needs, the homeowner’s taste, and then doing our artistic thing.