Maria has been creating distinctive gardens in the greater Philadelphia area since 2003. Her passion for horticulture began in the 90's while tending a postage stamp size container garden on Waverly Street in Philadelphia. She specializes in landscape design, garden coaching and consulting services that maximize use of precious outdoor urban space and creates a stylish room to relax, retreat and enjoy nature amidst the city chaos. For 13 years she was President of Livable Landscapes, a landscape design install company, that specialized in creating gardens in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Following that she was the lead designer for several years at Graceful Gardens in Philadelphia.
Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, This Old House Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly.com Haven, Philly.com Garden Section, Philadelphia Home and Garden Magazine and in many other online, trade and local media sources. She has participated in the prestigious Chestnut Hill Designer Showhouse. Maria received her B.S. in Horticulture from Temple University and in addition, a B.S. in Business, with a minor in Art & Communications from Drexel University. She is a member of APLD, started the PA/DE Chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers in 2003 and served as Chapter President for 5 years.
She is regular participant of Perennial Plant conferences in the region and is a judge for the Philadelphia Horticultural Societies city and community gardens contest. Her design skills are honed through continual exploration of historical and contemporary gardens throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Maria's designs and garden coaching skills are all inclusive, allowing everyone from the client to the installation contractors clarity to achieve the final design vision.