The people behind the gardens
Beyond Gardens is led by its founder and shaped by a crew of designers, builders and gardeners who share one habit: working with the land rather than against it.
Elizabeth Sarmiento has a deep love for nature and a strong belief in its inherent value in our lives. Originally from Honduras, she holds a degree in Environmental Studies and is deeply committed to conservation. Elizabeth is trained and certified by Greywater Action to design and install greywater systems. She is also a certified Bay-Friendly Regional Landscape Designer, a Santa Clara County Master Composter, a permaculture designer, and a Landscape Water Management Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) Specialist.
With a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience, Elizabeth addresses the challenges of water supply, lost habitat, soil depletion, and energy demand by designing, installing, and maintaining ecological gardens. She empowers others by sharing her expertise on sustainable landscaping practices. Through her work, Elizabeth applies ecological principles to install native and drought-tolerant plants, drip and greywater irrigation systems, rainwater systems, pervious paving, and reusable materials.
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Beyond Gardens is led by its founder, Elizabeth Sarmiento, and shaped by a crew of designers, builders and gardeners who share one habit: working with the land rather than against it. Originally from Honduras, Elizabeth holds a degree in Environmental Studies and is deeply committed to conservation, designing, installing and maintaining ecological gardens and sharing her expertise with others.
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Elizabeth is trained and certified by Greywater Action to design and install greywater systems. She is also a certified Bay-Friendly Regional Landscape Designer, a Santa Clara County Master Composter, a permaculture designer, and a Landscape Water Management Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) Specialist. The company itself holds a California C-27 landscaping contractor license, number 1085195.
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Yes. Grading, hardscape, stonework, planting, irrigation and soil preparation are all handled by our own crew of designers, builders and gardeners. For licensed construction that goes beyond landscaping, such as an ADU or a home remodel, Elizabeth refers clients to our partner, Lopez Remodeling Construction, and the two teams coordinate so the build and the garden work together.
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The team's work addresses four linked challenges: water supply, lost habitat, soil depletion and energy demand. To tackle them, we install native and drought-tolerant plants, drip and greywater irrigation, rainwater systems, pervious paving and reusable materials. Elizabeth also shares this expertise through teaching, so more people can apply sustainable landscaping practices at home.
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Yes. Beyond Gardens is on Valley Water's Approved Professional Landscape Designer list for the Landscape Design Assistance Program, and Elizabeth is a member of Valley Water's Landscape committee. Before founding the company, she interned in water conservation at the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Our nonprofit sister organization, Beyond Gardens Education, also partners with Valley Water on hands-on training.