Welcome To
Smart Yards Cooperative
OUR WORK
“The backyard turned out amazing!”
“We moved in a few years back and the backyard just needed a lot of work. We kind of just let it go and it grew into this big pit. We knew we needed to get it remodeled but we pushed it off for various reasons. The weeds were really high. It was pretty bad!
So Elizabeth and her team came in and gave us a great quote and we were happy they were willing to work with such a small yard, which is hard to find surprisingly.
They came in and there was a whirlwind of activity — great work, great employees. They answered all of our questions. They were easy to work with and were flexible with any changes we wanted. They also offered great ideas we hadn’t thought of.
The backyard turned out amazing! We are looking forward to spending many a spring and summer sitting, drinking cocktails, and hosting parties out here.”
- MARY AND MICHAEL
“Their expertise, speed, and attention to detail truly set them apart.”
I couldn't be happier with my experience as a client of Smart Yards Co-op. When we initially reached out to them, we were dealing with a broken irrigation system and frequent flooding in our yard after heavy rains. It was a frustrating and disheartening problem that had been plaguing us for a while.
From the moment we contacted Smart Yards Co-op, their team was incredibly responsive and professional. They quickly assessed the situation and put together a comprehensive plan to address our issues. What really impressed us was their dedication to not only solving the problems but also enhancing the overall look and feel of our yard.
One of the most pleasant surprises was the beautiful flagstone patio art they created. They skillfully blended different colors of natural stone to create a stunning and unique patio that exceeded our expectations. It's become a focal point of our outdoor space.
Another aspect that stood out was the speed at which they worked. We anticipated the project would take a while to complete, but Smart Yards Co-op's team was efficient and diligent. They finished the project ahead of schedule, which was a pleasant surprise.
To top it all off, they went the extra mile by cleaning up the back of our yard and spreading some mulch. It was these small touches that really showcased their commitment to customer satisfaction.
In summary, I can't recommend Smart Yards Co-op enough. They transformed our problem-plagued yard into a beautiful, functional outdoor oasis. Their expertise, speed, and attention to detail truly set them apart. If you're looking for a company that can turn your outdoor space into something special, Smart Yards Co-op is the one to call.
-EUGENE AND LAUREL
“We are excited to get to see our garden blossom.”
At the beginning we had grass in our front yard, it was a lawn that we didn’t water at all, we stopped watering because of the drought so it became yellowish like hay and looked really bad and ugly, for us it was like a sour side to our home. We hired the Smart Yards Co-op team, they designed and installed an eco-friendly, pollinator garden, welcoming butterflies and bees. They also removed all the concrete pathways and replaced it with a handmade natural stone pathway. We are reusing our washing machine water as they installed a greywater system and also we are taking advantage of the rain with a beautiful dry creek that leaves water in the ground. They planted native California plants and also did a tiny food forest because we wanted it to be useful. We are really happy with how smooth the process went with them and are really pleased with the results.
-CHRISTINE AND BERTRAND
“My garden now looks awesome!”
It’s been awesome working with Smart Yards Co-op. They designed and built a wonderful garden that is Eco-friendly. They planted just native California plants that don’t require too much water, and a path way. So we are saving water and helping the planet at the same time. They were super easy to work with, very flexible and really easy to communicate. We are super happy with the finished product. Thank you so much Smart Yards Co-op.
— KYLE AND ALISHA
“You kind of feel like you're in nature.”
My husband I decided that we have to worry about the water shortage and go ahead and take the lawn and convert it. I really dreamed about having native plants and saving water and having a habitat garden and making a home for birds, lizards and bees. A friend of mine told me about Smart Yards Co-op. They built a spectacular stone wall. The old stone wall one that we had, it had cement in it and the one that they did is so much more beautiful and incredible. I love that it provides home for the lizards and insects and I really love that idea. Now we have more natives plants and you kind of feel like you're in nature, surrounded by little hills. We just love it. Working with them was a really great experience. Thank you Smart Yards.
— NICOLE
“Elizabeth and her team at Smart Yards Coop recently transformed our water-guzzling front lawn into a beautiful, sustainable and diverse garden that is now an oasis in our neighborhood. Their design and installation teams worked collaboratively and enthusiastically with us to design the perfect landscape, front and back for us. A PG&E underground lines barrier; conversion of over 3,500 square feet of grass with a food forest, pollinator, habitat and veggie raised beds gardens; permeable paver patios and driveway; veggie raised beds; a greywater Laundry to Landscape for fruit trees; beautiful dry laid stacked stone work; redwood decks; a custom shed with barn doors; rain harvesting and rain gardens; a jacuzzi; grape and flowering trellisses and much more. We’re so happy with our new outdoor living space, where we’ll be hosting family and friends to enjoy it too. Thank you Smart Yards for the great work. We look forward to continue working with you on sustaining and caring for our gardens.
— Jessica, San José
Why choose Smart Yards?
We have the skills, experience and commitment to design, build and transform yards into stunning, fun, productive and ecological outdoor living spaces for people and our California native flora and fauna to thrive. Our designs, installs and garden care services focuses on urban permaculture and regenerative principles: People Care, Planet Care, Fair Share.
Habitat Garden with a focus on California native and drought tolerant plants.
Food forest and vegetable gardens.
Greywater (Laundry to Landscape), shower (permits are needed for shower and shower sinks) systems.
Slow it, Spread it, Sink with our rain harvesting, rain gardens, and storm rain management- permeable patios and driveways.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle, creatively doing this when building your outdoor living space and also using local and recycled materials.
Sustainable design
Our gardens incorporate plant combinations that are both beautiful and functional as a complex ecosystem. Hummingbirds, chickadees, bushtits, cedar waxwings, thrushes, and phoebes, are some of the regular birds nesting and feeding in native gardens. Our inspiration comes from Bay Area, which inform our selection of grasses, perennials, shrubs, vines and trees.
Save water, energy, money and time
Native plants are drought tolerant and require minimum water. Native gardens do not need fertilizers and constant maintenance compared to conventional (grass/lawn/shrubs), which requires regular mowing and pesticides that poison our native flora, fauna and soil. We use sustainable irrigation systems such as, drip irrigation systems, greywater (Laundry to Landscape) and harvest rain for our rain gardens that keep the soil healthy and prevent erosion.
Bring beauty to your home
Guided by permaculture and regenerative design principles and inspire by nature, we create spaces that are both beautiful, functional, productive and sustaninable. We expertly choose plants that provide seasonal interest and bloom year round. Design features such as dry stacked stone structures and pathways provide space for recreational activities and great for children and pets. Grow lots of fruit with the use of greywater and lots of veggies with local, and home made compost.
Organic living
Our work is primarily based on permaculture design principles and install methods to develop sustainable gardens that provide for human needs and foster biodiversity and resilience. We create spaces that work in harmony with nature, without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or other products that disturb the balance of the ecosystem.
Impact of our work
322
Gardens
282,400 Sq’ of lawn Replaced
623 Gallons of Water Per 1 sq’ of grass
999+
Million Gallon water saved per year
Educational Workshops
Our focus for this year’s Earth Month was to understand the permaculture design principles: the benefits of capturing rainwater and using grey water for outdoor irrigation.