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About us!
"Zone 9" is the USDA hardiness zone of our operating region which serves as the standard for gardeners and landscapers when choosing plant species.
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Our specialties are residential landscapes and private gardens. Our services include but are not limited to: landscape design, planting, hardscaping, water features, meadows, specialty maintenance (not mow-blow), ecological consultation, food gardens, playgrounds, patios and pathways. We bring excellence and enthusiasm to every project we take on.
Our
Story
Zone 9 Design is owned and operated by Blake and Preston West, two brothers with a drive to create excellent landscapes and private gardens. We are born and raised Floridians who became gardeners in high school as our Dad launched a community garden out of our backyard. That garden, VISTA Gardens is now a thriving county park in Tampa, Florida with over 100 members.
Blake is the designer/project manager and Preston manages the crew.
Blake West
Design and project manager
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B.S. Botany 2017
M.S. Urban and Regional Planning 2021
University of Florida
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Blake West is the primary designer and owner of Zone 9 Design. He is an experienced landscape designer, gardener, and botanist. He designs in coastal North Florida and in the mountains of Western North Carolina. His design philosophy is based on extending the home into the landscape and bringing nature into the garden, all together creating natural, social spaces for people. He brings technical expertise, a designers eye, hands on experience and a genuine enthusiasm for landscapes to each project.
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"I started landscaping to pay my way through college, I had the experience I needed from working at my local community garden and from small organic farms. The first time I saw a landscape design, I just thought it was magic, the way paper could transform land, and I knew I wanted to switch paths and study landscape. When I finally stood in a fully blooming landscape which I designed and built, the first one that turned out really, really good, it was like an entirely new emotion I had never experienced. Usually when I feel exhilaration, it's in the midst of effort, like a sport or musical performance, but in garden projects, the thrill comes well after the effort."
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Mission
The mission of Zone 9 Design is to enrich lives by creating landscapes for people. We create the venues where people develop greater appreciation for and connection to each other, nature and their landscape setting.
We strive to create excellent landscapes and so we keep our projects in line with these principles: (1) increase the value of the land (2) cultivate social connections (3) become ecologically positive (4) use modern techniques and materials (5) be maintained with ease or enjoyment. Especially, we make certain that each project integrates (rather than removes or destroys) higher order species richness like hummingbirds and songbirds.
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For designer Blake West, landscape design is a creative discipline of seeking and attaining a higher order culture by integrating knowledge from science, art, landscape architecture and direct experience of nature. Each project is theory and experience brought to life.
Hire us!
We have our processes down and systematized so that each client has a clear understanding of the work to be accomplished and a solid set of documents to formalize the work. Our contracts, warranties, workmanship standards and design process are strongly organized and clear so clients don't end up in any headache situations.
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Our tools and trailers are highly organized as well. We like good, smooth work flow.