Garden design · Norwood, NC
I’m Islay. From my studio on Pee Dee Avenue I draw planting plans, hardscape layouts and 3D renders for homeowners — remote or on-site, one invoice per package, packages from $685.
35.22° N · 80.12° W — drawn from the Piedmont red clay up
Fig. 01 — terrace + borders, from above
What lands in your inbox
A note from Islay
Every yard I’ve drawn started with someone standing at the back door, telling me what they were tired of. The mowing, the bare slope, the patio nobody sits on. So I begin with a call, not a catalogue, and I draw until the plan sounds like you. Then I hand you drawings your installer can price and your own two hands can plant from.
— Islay Combe
Sheet 01 · planting plan
Per package, by invoice
One yard zone, one invoice. No hourly clock running while I think.
Remote or on-site
Or I come to Norwood and measure it myself.
My one rule
“I only draw what I’d be happy to weed on a Saturday.”
Sheet 03 · concept render
Not sure what you need?
Recent projects
Project 01 · Courtyard
The owners had a slab of concrete and a view of the neighbor’s fence. I turned the slab into a round terrace, wrapped it in boxwood and low grasses, and moved the seating to catch the last hour of sun.
Project 02 · Slope
Red clay, full sun, and a mower that kept sliding. We planted the whole bank in drifts of little bluestem and coneflower, with a switchback path so the groceries make it to the door.
Project 03 · Front yard
A pollinator border in three seasons of color, a flagstone walk laid out on the plan to the inch, and a redbud placed so it frames the front door from the street.
How a project unfolds
You tell me where you drink your coffee, where the dog runs and what you’re tired of mowing. I listen, sketch while we talk, and tell you honestly which package fits. The call is free.
Remote projects start with four-corner photos, a tape-measure sketch and a note on where the sun lands at 4 p.m. With the Walk-Through, I visit Norwood and take the measurements myself.
The planting plan and hardscape layout come first, because a pretty picture of a bad plan helps nobody. Then I model it in 3D so you can stand in it before it exists.
Two rounds of changes are included. You get print-ready PDFs at 24 × 36 in, a plant list with sizes and quantities, and a call with your installer if you want me on it.
Design packages · billed by invoice
One yard zone, planted on paper: plant schedule, spacing, a bloom calendar and a shopping list your nursery can fill.
Planting plan, hardscape layout and three concept renderings, with two rounds of changes until the drawing feels like home.
Everything above, plus a site visit in Norwood, measured drawings, contractor-ready sheets and a call with your installer.
Need one more view? A single extra 3D render is $395. A third round of changes is $145.
Request a quote
Write a few lines, or just call. I answer quotes myself, usually within one working day, with a price for the package that fits.
Not for the Planting Plan or the Whole Yard. Most of my work happens from your photos, a measured sketch and a video call. The Walk-Through includes a visit to Norwood for the full survey.
PDF drawings sized for printing at 24 × 36 in, a plant list with sizes and quantities, and 3D renders where your package includes them. Everything is yours to hand to any installer.
No. I draw it, and I’ll gladly talk your contractor through the sheets. If you’re planting yourself, the plant list is written to be carried into a nursery.
That’s what the plant list is for. I specify for Piedmont red clay, July heat and the occasional dry August, with natives and tough ornamentals that hold up.
Come by the studio
“Come to Pee Dee Avenue for a coffee and a roll of tracing paper, or never leave your sofa. Either way, the first call is on me.”— Islay
