Sam Whitford
Founder · Principal Designer
Sixteen years of landscape architecture in Central Texas. Draws every master plan by hand before touching a CAD file.
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One property.
One property.
One crew. Sixteen years.
Verdant Edge is a landscape architecture practice in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2009 and still owned by the same team — designers, masons, irrigators, and grounds techs on payroll, not subcontracted out.
18Full-time staff
2,400+Properties tended
0Subcontractors used
01 · Founder's note
A landscape is a slow thing. It doesn't want to be rushed, doesn't respond well to shortcuts, and won't perform for a deadline. Sixteen years in, that's still the first thing I tell a new client.Sam Whitford · Founder & Principal Designer
Sam Whitford · On site
02 · How we started
From one truck, one client at a time.
Sam started Verdant Edge in 2009 after a decade of working for larger landscape firms where the work was always rushed and the crews always changed. The idea was simple: one property at a time, one crew, one standard — and stay with the client long enough to see the yard grow in.
Sixteen years later, that's still the model. The foreman who walks your site is the foreman who plants the last agave. The irrigation tech who commissions your system is the tech who returns in year five to fix a valve. The designer who drew the plan is the designer you call when a tree needs pruning.
Everything we do lives in-house because the alternative — subcontracting pieces to different crews who've never met — is how most landscape projects fail. We've never done it that way, and we never will.
03 · Timeline
Sixteen years, in milestones.
The moments that shaped the studio — from a single truck in 2009 to eighteen staff and sixty commercial contracts today.
Studio history
2009
Founded
Verdant Edge opens with one truck, two crew members, and a focus on residential design-build in central Austin.
2012
First HOA contract
A Cedar Park HOA awards us our first commercial grounds contract. The relationship is still active today — four years past the original term.
2015
Irrigation division added
We bring irrigation fully in-house rather than subcontracting it. Two licensed irrigators join the team, backflow testing and permit filing become standard.
2018
Studio moves to Burnet Rd
The studio relocates to 7201 Burnet Rd — a yard and workshop space that consolidates equipment, materials, and the sample library.
2021
2,000th property
We cross the 2,000th property mark. Same year, we add 3D visualization capabilities and begin offering estate-scale master plans.
2024
Commercial expansion
Commercial grounds contracts grow to 60+ active properties across Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties. Retention rate holds at 98%.
2026
Today
Eighteen full-time staff, a two-year workmanship warranty on every install, and the same one-property-at-a-time model we started with.
04 · The team
Eighteen people, one standard.
Every person on the Verdant Edge payroll — from designers to maintenance techs — is invested in the properties we tend.
Elena Ríos
Design Director
Leads the residential design studio. Ten years in Austin, focused on native plant communities and water-wise layouts.
Marcus Bell
Lead Foreman · Installation
On payroll since 2013. Runs every hardscape install — 320+ builds under his belt, zero settled walls since 2020.
Priya Shah
Commercial Account Lead
Manages all 60+ commercial grounds contracts. The name on every HOA and property manager's speed dial.
Daniel Okafor
Licensed Irrigator
Handles all system design, permits, backflow testing, and audits. Licensed by TCEQ since 2016.
Hannah Cole
Maintenance Supervisor
Runs the weekly mowing and grounds care crews. Manages 620+ residential maintenance plans across the metro.
Tomás Herrera
Stone Mason
Twelve years setting limestone and paver work in Central Texas. Sets every retaining wall we build.
Rachel Kim
Studio Manager
Keeps the schedules, permits, and client communications running. The person who answers when you call the studio.
05 · What we believe
Six principles, no exceptions.
These aren't marketing copy — they're the rules we run the studio by. Every crew member hears them on their first day.
/01
The land speaks first
We start every project by walking the property without a shovel in hand. Where does water go? Which side bakes by two? What was here before the developer scraped the lot? Those questions shape the plan.
/02
Native-first plant palette
Our species list skews native and adapted to the Texas Hill Country. Not out of ideology, but because these plants settle in faster, ask for less water, and look like they've always been there.
/03
In-house crews only
Designers, masons, irrigators, and maintenance techs are all on our payroll. No subcontractors, no handoffs, no finger-pointing when something needs a fix. Same faces, year after year.
/04
Fixed pricing
Every estimate we write is a fixed number, not a "starting at" range. If we under-quote, that's our problem. The number you sign is the number you pay.
/05
Two-year warranty
Every installation is covered for two full years against defects in workmanship. If a paver settles or a tree fails within the window, we come back and fix it — no invoice, no debate.
/06
Slow growth
We've grown deliberately — adding capacity only when we can staff it with the same standard. We'd rather turn down work than do it badly. That's why retention has stayed at 96%+.
06 · Next step
Come see the studio.
The Burnet Road studio has the material sample library, the equipment yard, and the team. Stop by, or book a site visit and we'll come to you.