Every Landscape Begins with Understanding
Every home has its own character. Every property presents different opportunities. Every client has a unique way of enjoying the outdoors.
That’s why no two projects are ever the same.
At CG Garden Design, I believe the best landscapes begin by listening, observing, and understanding before a single line is drawn.
Meet Charlotte Gray
I’m Charlotte Gray, founder of CG Garden Design and a licensed landscape contractor serving the Greater San Diego Area.
My path into landscape design wasn’t traditional.
Before founding CG Garden Design, I earned a degree in Psychology and spent many years as a pastry chef. While those careers may seem unrelated, they continue to shape the way I approach every project today.
It was during those years that I began creating my own garden at home. What started as a personal passion became years of learning through trial and error, refining ideas, and discovering what truly worked. More importantly, I experienced firsthand how a thoughtfully designed landscape could change the way my own family enjoyed our home. That journey shaped the way I design today and ultimately became the foundation of CG Garden Design.
Psychology taught me to listen carefully, observe, and understand how people experience the spaces around them. As a pastry chef, I learned that every detail matters and that creating something exceptional takes patience, precision, and care.
Today, I bring those same principles to every landscape I design and build.
Every project begins with a hand-drawn sketch.
I still design by hand because it allows ideas to evolve naturally. It gives me the freedom to explore the relationship between the home, the land, and the spaces that will eventually become part of everyday life.
That drawing becomes the foundation for every decision that follows, from grading and hardscape to planting, lighting, and water features.
More Than a Designer
As both the designer and licensed contractor, I remain personally involved from the first conversation through construction.
Rather than passing your project from one team to another, I guide each phase to help ensure the original design intent is carried through to completion.
By intentionally taking on only a select number of projects each year, I’m able to give every client and every landscape the attention it deserves.
My Hope for Every Garden
I’ve always been drawn to nature. Not just for its beauty, but for the way it makes us slow down, breathe a little deeper, and feel more connected to the place we call home.
When I design a landscape, my hope is to create more than an outdoor space. I hope to create a sanctuary in your own backyard, one that feels welcoming, timeless, and as though it has always belonged.
My hope is that, years from now, your garden is still a place where family gathers, quiet moments are shared, and every season brings something new to enjoy. If I’ve created a landscape that becomes a meaningful part of your everyday life, then I’ve done my job
