Urban Oasis Landscape Design

We worked with Debbie on our landscaping project, in Highland Park. She designed a beautiful native garden plan, involving a multi-level terraced land on a hill and transformed our concrete dominant outdoor space into a lush paradise filled with layers of biodiversity. She is innovative and creative, thoughtful and budget conscious, and very skilled and knowledgeable. The sophisticated end product included a stunning wood deck, a flagstone pavement, a water feature, an intricate irrigation system, light installation, a rain garden, and an array of native plants. Working with her was such a joyful experience. We shared what we envisioned with our budget in mind. She studied the space, visiting it multiple times. Then taking our budget into consideration, she proposed three different design options. She communicated the different components of the design plans clearly with us, answered all our questions and concerns during this period. The level of professionalism and the ease of communication at the same time made this entire process flow very smooth. Once we decided on the design and signed the contract, her team started working on the project within two weeks. They were extremely reliable, professional and skillful. While the team was working on the yard, Debbie was frequently visiting the site to check on the progress. We didn’t need to worry about anything because she literally was on top of everything. Due to the complexity of the land, occasionally a challenge emerged. Debbie and her team discussed the problem each time and found a logical solution very quickly. We only have wonderful things to say about our experience with Debbie. She was the perfect designer for us and upgraded our land to its highest potential. She has given us the oasis we envisioned all along!

When my husband and I began looking for a landscaper, Debbie stood out to us right away. She was extremely knowledgeable, clearly an expert in her craft, and was not trying to sell or oversell us on anything. We also loved her experience with building diverse and native gardens that required low water and maintenance - this was very important to us long term. Throughout the process, she listened to what we wanted and how we hoped to build the space and it clearly showed in design plans and execution. She also worked diligently to find cost-effective alternatives (when needed) without sacrificing the overall vision. In our case, our backyard started as a blank slate (i.e. a bare concrete lot) and Debbie was able to transform it into a native landscape that is functional, visually stunning, and eco-friendly. Working with Debbie was definitely a win for us and we would highly recommend her services.

Debbie designed our front and back yards into official natural habitats with native plants. I’ve literally had neighbors walk by and ask me for my landscape designer’s number and also thank me for beautifying the neighborhood! She found an amazing bench and gate and natural stone fountain and made the garden into a healing space. She really understands what thrives in our climate and makes you think about the whole ecosystem of the garden—from the soil and the creatures and organisms living in it to the pollinators and birds visiting also.

Debbie did an amazing job on our yard. We love the final product. Easy to work with and gives a lot of useful advice for long term maintenance. Good communication. Would use her again (if I had another yard to landscape lol).

Debbie was such a pleasure to work with, and she provided us so much invaluable guidance and expertise through the entirety of our background renovation project. We came across Debbie and Urban Oasis just through organic online searching and were very impressed with her portfolio of prior work and very positive reviews. We could not have been more impressed and pleased with Debbie and the outcome of our project. Our backyard is totally transformed and was done within our initially discussed budget.

Debbie did a phenomenal job designing our front and back yards. She listened carefully to our needs and wants, and produced the most beautiful, sustainable designs. She has a great eye and very creative ideas. She was very involved throughout the installation and came to check on the workers daily (who did a great job as well!). I loved the fact that Debbie kept us informed throughout and made every effort to work within our budget. Overall a great experience and the results speak volumes.

I love Debbie's process. It's very clear, structured, and I value nurturing a sustainable and healthy garden. Working with her has been a very positive experience. I also love her design aesthetic and options she provides. I highly recommend transforming your space with her help.

Debbie was great to work with. She created a beautiful plan based on what we wished for and was really attentive throughout the process of conceptualizing and implementing our vision. She knows her stuff and cares deeply about creating a beautiful setting that enhances our home! We highly recommend Debbie for her expertise and talent!

Debbie designed and managed a beautiful backyard reno for us, combining Spanish and modern styles in our hardscape features to make a gracious space for relaxation, and choosing really beautiful plants as well! She has great taste and keeps costs in mind. Our project was a challenging job in many ways: the site had some existing features that required careful planning and workarounds, and we faced some hiccups in the building process as well. Debbie maintained her calm though it all and was a great problem solver.

We found Debbie on Houzz and we are really happy with the results, especially the hardscaping. She, along with the help of her contractor, Ivan of Pajaros Landscaping, really transformed our front and back yard into something beautiful. We liked Debbie right away when we met with her as she asked us questions and listened to what we wanted. Her biggest strengths are that she has a fantastic sense of design and materials. She also provided fresh ideas like creating the decorative privacy wall for our back porch and pergola. Debbie provided many design options and let us pick and choose, and tweak the final design. She also gave us options to not have to do everything at once. She picked out the basic materials but always gave us many options to choose from. Debbie’s contractor, Ivan and team, do quality work and we feel like they’ve really added value to our home. The front and back yard landscaping makes us feel like we've really have created a sanctuary for us and our guests. We highly recommend them!

Debbie was very easy to work with, listened to my initial ideas, and translated them into an overall plan for my backyard. She brought in very responsible workmen to complete the project.

Debbie took the time to bring her clients to our show yard, and gave me the opportunity to demonstrate our fire bowl and burner, and let them see and absorb it all. She guided them through the selection, and facilitated the connection between the clients and us the manufacturer, and even encouraged a direct communication. Debbie helped her clients through the color selection, and later through a change in the color the selected. I love the end results, with everything that goes around the fire bowl, and I was very happy to work with Debbie on a professional level. Good to see someone who is committed to great design.

We hired Debbie from Urban Oasis to refresh our backyard, poolside garden and to reimagine our front yard garden to be more lush but also water wise. A tall order! The result was a beautiful, unique garden that looks like one you would find in Provence but that uses half the water. Our garden looks so original and creative and we like it even more as it grows in. During the course of our project we had some major complications unrelated to the project that caused many interruptions and delays to the schedule. Through it all Debbie was so patient, professional and accommodating and we appreciated that very much. The subs she used for carpentry and irrigation were also very professional. Overall we were very pleased with the job that Debbie did for us and would recommend her to others enthusiastically.

I retained Urban Oasis (Debbie Gliksman) to first design a complete redo of my backyard - water feature including "creek" and waterfalls, raised planter beds, pergola and eating area, redo of concrete block walls with stone, a fire pit and all new landscaping (trees, bushes, plants etc.) and some landscaping in the front. Debbie and I talked over my ideas and her suggestions at length. I thought the design was taking a bit of time until I got the plans. I was amazed. They included a complete layout of the project with exact measurements for each feature, detailed drawings and pictures and even what plants would go where. Then, when I decided to proceed, things got even better. This was a very large job with at least 11 separate trades and subcontractors - laborers, stone masons, brick masons, irrigation, steel fabricators for the raised beds, carpenter for the pergola and matching side fence, lighting designer, electrician, tree trimmer, landscape installation and waterway/falls company. She had to deal also with many different suppliers. Debbie coordinated and supervised all the trades and the timing of when they would work, even to the extent of deciding where to put individual stones in the proper design for the retaining walls and the waterway, finding logs for seating for the fire pit, designing the pergola and fence and then even changing things to improve on original design. I think, while all aspects of the job were done to high perfectionism, Debbie's ability to listen to my ideas and improve them in theory and then to improve even her plans on the fly as the job was progressing was quite remarkable. She has a great "eye" and vision and is quite knowledgable. The job was done almost within the original time estimate even though we added many significant items and made changes as the work went on. The only "delay" was, that after 98% of the job was done, the lighting supply company closed for 3 weeks over the holidays so we couldn't get the extra lighting (over and above the original design) right away. That slight (and comical) problem shows how well the major issues were handled so that the job could be done within the time forecasted. I could go on and on about the details of this job but sufficed to say I now have an astonishingly beautiful yard and would strongly recommend Urban Oasis for landscaping projects.

We contacted Debbie from Urban Oasis on the basis of her reviews and photos here. When we met her, we immediately felt that she understood our goals, even though we had a very limited idea of what we wanted, ourselves. Debbie designed and oversaw installation of our entire yard, which consists of 4 distinct areas, most of which we previously had not used. She is meticulous in her work, hired quality construction people and really took our wishes into consideration. We love our new yard and now we really utilize all areas.

Debbie did a nice job on my garden. She was very detail oriented and also valued my input, which was nice. She spent a lot of time with me deciding exactly what we were going to do- for example, I wanted more color and flowers. She also had good people working for her. I am happy with the way the garden turned out.

I worked with Urban Oasis on a full remodel of my front, side and back yards hardscape and landscape. The design was beautiful and the execution was as per the design. It was a smooth and easy design process and the work was completed with relative ease. The subcontractors were also easy to work with and reliable.

Debbie did a wonderful and imaginative job both in the front and back yards of our home in the hills of Studio City. Her work has stood the test of time and we will be forever grateful.

Debbie G. planned and designed a substantial area of my garden, connecting the front courtyard to the back garden with extensive, beautiful landscaping. The project entailed determining plants for pots around a courtyard and planting all alongside our house and integrating the front and back outdoor spaces. The result is beautiful and I always get inquires about who did my landscaping... I also know a few of Debbie's clients and have seen their gardens. The work is beautiful and well integrated into the natural, so cal landscape. I highly recommend Debbie.

Debbie Gliksman of Urban Oasis changed my back yard from one that was destroyed by an ADD puppy to one that is not only dog proof, but provides flowers, fragrance and very low maintenance. Debbie is a consumate professional who's knowledge of botany is unsurpassed and her artistic ability is of equal measure..

We wanted a change to our rather pedestrian front lawn. We were recommended to Urban Oasis by a satisfied friend. Essentially, we wanted a grassless front lawn with herbs - drought resistant plants - rocks and gravel artistically placed with some color highlights and an overall feeling of serenity. We reviewed some lawns that we liked and Urban Oasis came up with a unique design that met our needs but was cost effective. Debbie G. submitted drawings and estimates. Her crews were superb. She worked right along with the gardeners and supervised the tree trimmers, etc., Project came in under estimate..