Hello!  I am Lisa Charpontier, Owner and Principal Designer at Botany of Design.  A desire to understand and sculpt the land came to me at an early age, as I was born into a family of ranchers, and grew up on a 1500 acre ranchland playground.   Here the cycles of life were always present around me.  I recall one of my favorite annual rituals would be to help my Grandpa in the garden.  His garden was grand-- nearly the size of an alfalfa field, and he was the primary caretaker.  My brother and I, his faithful shadows, would join in the gardening.  At harvest time, my Grandpa would lift us up into the fruit trees to pick our favorite fruit.  He'd then wash it and cut it with his pocket knife, and we three would eat our fruit right there in the garden.  Thus, from childhood, the garden was associated with love, cooperation, diligence, and a sense of wonder. 

With this foundation of appreciation for the outdoor environment, I learned at an early age to live in close contact with the land.  And as I worked with the land, I found that this work not only sculpted the environment, but it sculpted my spirit as well.

As I grew older, and moved to the urban environment, I realized that I missed the large expanse of land from my childhood, but I learned that the City also offered magical places in the outdoors; and often these magical places were sculpted through much thought and planning.  In high school, I would spend my summers terracing and planting my urban hillside garden.  After high school, I studied Landscape Architecture at UCBX, completing the certificate program.  I have now been designing gardens in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 10 years.

As a new mom, I have yet another new perspective on life and in my work.  I have reignited my childhood sense of wonder and peace in the outdoor environment, and I have been able to apply this in my designs.  I strongly believe that every design should offer the garden inhabitants a sense of wonder and peace, reflecting the love of family, bringing a sense of tranquility, and monitoring the tradition of ritual with annual passages within the garden.  The garden grounds us as it sends out roots, and inspires us with each new sprout that reaches for the sun.