Bay Area · Estate Landscape Design
Luxury Landscape Design
Bay Area
For Silicon Valley’s most distinguished estates — bespoke landscape design and installation by Ward Dilmore and a team of 30+ master craftsmen. Where artistry meets horticultural mastery.
Bay Area · Estate Landscape Design
Luxury Landscape Design
Bay Area
For Silicon Valley’s most distinguished estates — bespoke landscape design and installation by Ward Dilmore and a team of 30+ master craftsmen. Where artistry meets horticultural mastery.
30+
Master Craftsmen
3
The Bay Area's most revered estate landscape atelier
When the world’s most influential families choose to invest in their estates’ outdoor environments, they do not simply hire a landscaping company. They seek out a trusted artist and advisor — someone who understands not only plants and stone, but the character of the land, the architecture of the home, and the life lived within it.
That is what Petrus provides. Founded by Ward Dilmore — a landscape artist raised by two artists, educated at the University of Sussex, and shaped by decades of work within some of the most private and extraordinary properties in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons — Petrus is not a landscape company. It is a landscape atelier.
Every project begins with Ward. His fluency in French palace garden design, Mughal landscape traditions, English estate horticulture, and California native rewilding gives him a design vocabulary unlike any practitioner in the Bay Area. His team of 30+ master craftsmen — each selected for a shared commitment to precision and craft — brings that vision to life with a level of execution that endures for generations.
Petrus serves estates across Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Hillsborough, Saratoga, Menlo Park, Pacific Heights, and Pebble Beach — and accepts a carefully curated number of new estate partnerships each year, ensuring every project receives the full depth of Ward’s personal attention.
The Bay Area's most revered estate landscape atelier
When the world’s most influential families choose to invest in their estates’ outdoor environments, they do not simply hire a landscaping company. They seek out a trusted artist and advisor — someone who understands not only plants and stone, but the character of the land, the architecture of the home, and the life lived within it.
That is what Petrus provides. Founded by Ward Dilmore — a landscape artist raised by two artists, educated at the University of Sussex, and shaped by decades of work within some of the most private and extraordinary properties in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and the Hamptons — Petrus is not a landscape company. It is a landscape atelier.
Every project begins with Ward. His fluency in French palace garden design, Mughal landscape traditions, English estate horticulture, and California native rewilding gives him a design vocabulary unlike any practitioner in the Bay Area. His team of 30+ master craftsmen — each selected for a shared commitment to precision and craft — brings that vision to life with a level of execution that endures for generations.
Petrus serves estates across Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Hillsborough, Saratoga, Menlo Park, Pacific Heights, and Pebble Beach — and accepts a carefully curated number of new estate partnerships each year, ensuring every project receives the full depth of Ward’s personal attention.
Every dimension of your estate's outdoor world
01
Ward’s signature service — a fully bespoke landscape masterplan drawn from deep site analysis, your personal vision, and influences spanning the world’s greatest horticultural traditions. No templates. No shortcuts. An original work, authored for your land alone.
– Full-property site analysis & reading
Concept development with Ward personally
– Plant palette curation & species selection
– Construction documentation & phasing plans
– Lighting & irrigation design integration
02
The bones of a great landscape are as important as its living layers. Petrus specialises in hand-laid stonework, bespoke hardscape architecture, and built elements that marry seamlessly with your estate’s character — and endure for generations.
– Motor courts, driveways & arrival sequences
– Stone terracing & retaining walls
– Hand-laid pathways & garden steps
– Outdoor kitchens, fire features & pavilions
– Natural stone selection: travertine, limestone, bluestone
03
Water is the soul of the great landscape traditions Ward draws from — the reflecting pools of Versailles, the rills of the Alhambra, the koi ponds of Japanese tea gardens. Petrus designs water features that feel eternal, not added.
– Reflecting pools & formal rills
Koi ponds with professional filtration
– Tiered stone & wall fountains
– Natural creek restoration & bioswales
– Mughal-inspired water channels
– Smart filtration & low-maintenance systems
04
Ward’s most personal passion — restoring the ecological vitality of land while creating profound, living beauty. California native meadows, drought-tolerant estates, and rewilded corridors that support biodiversity and reduce long-term maintenance.
– California native planting design
– Xeriscaping for water-wise estates
– Native meadow restoration
– Old-growth corridor rewilding
Edible garden design (kitchen gardens, orchards)
Rain garden & permeable drainage design
05
The finest estates in the world blur the threshold between inside and outside. Petrus designs outdoor living environments — dining terraces, pool surrounds, meditation gardens — that feel as intentional and refined as any room in the home.
– Dining terraces & entertaining lawns
– Pool surrounds & cabana landscapes
– Meditation gardens & private retreats
– Rose gardens & formal parterres
– Garden rooms & hedged enclosures
– Seasonal planting programs for year-round colour
06
The most magnificent landscapes are not created once — they are tended with care, year after year. Petrus offers white-glove estate maintenance programs that protect and advance your landscape investment, managed by the same team that built it.
– Weekly, bi-weekly & monthly estate programs
– Seasonal planting rotations
– Irrigation system management & auditing
– Annual estate landscape health reports
– Multi-property programs for family offices
– Dedicated account management
A Selection of Works
Las Olas
Taj Place
Fern Hill
Vista Verde
Luxury landscape design across the Bay Area's finest communities
Atherton
One of the most exclusive zip codes in the United States, Atherton estates demand landscape design that matches their extraordinary scale and calibre. Petrus has designed and maintained some of Atherton's most celebrated properties.
Woodside
Set within the natural grandeur of the Santa Cruz foothills, Woodside properties offer unique opportunity for landscapes that integrate seamlessly with California's native terrain — Ward's naturalistic style finds its fullest expression here.
Portola Valley
Portola Valley's undulating terrain and open space character calls for landscape design of restraint and ecological sensitivity. Petrus creates spaces that honour the land's natural beauty while delivering refined elegance.
Palo Alto & Los Altos Hills
From formal estate properties in the flats to dramatic hillside homes with panoramic views, Petrus brings the same standard of artistry to every engagement across the Peninsula's premier residential communities.
Hillsborough
Hillsborough's grand estates, many dating to the Peninsula's gilded era, require a designer who understands formal landscape tradition. Ward's study of European estate gardens makes him uniquely suited to this work.
Pacific Heights & Pebble Beach
From Pacific Heights' celebrated Victorian estates to Pebble Beach's dramatic coastal properties, Petrus extends its expertise beyond the Peninsula — delivering the same white-glove standard wherever extraordinary properties exist.
Atherton
One of the most exclusive zip codes in the United States, Atherton estates demand landscape design that matches their extraordinary scale and calibre. Petrus has designed and maintained some of Atherton's most celebrated properties.
Woodside
Set within the natural grandeur of the Santa Cruz foothills, Woodside properties offer unique opportunity for landscapes that integrate seamlessly with California's native terrain — Ward's naturalistic style finds its fullest expression here.
Portola Valley
Portola Valley's undulating terrain and open space character calls for landscape design of restraint and ecological sensitivity. Petrus creates spaces that honour the land's natural beauty while delivering refined elegance.
Palo Alto & Los Altos Hills
From formal estate properties in the flats to dramatic hillside homes with panoramic views, Petrus brings the same standard of artistry to every engagement across the Peninsula's premier residential communities.
Hillsborough
Hillsborough's grand estates, many dating to the Peninsula's gilded era, require a designer who understands formal landscape tradition. Ward's study of European estate gardens makes him uniquely suited to this work.
Pacific Heights & Pebble Beach
From Pacific Heights' celebrated Victorian estates to Pebble Beach's dramatic coastal properties, Petrus extends its expertise beyond the Peninsula — delivering the same white-glove standard wherever extraordinary properties exist.
What exceptional landscape design does for your estate
It transforms how you live
The most immediate value of a great landscape is deeply personal. Your outdoor environment is the first thing you see each morning and the last at dusk. A landscape designed with Ward’s level of care — one that considers fragrance, sound, light, and seasonal change — becomes an extension of your inner life. Clients describe it simply: “It changed how we live at home.”
It commands a significant premium in the market
For Bay Area estates, a distinguished landscape is among the most powerful value-creation tools available. Real estate professionals consistently report that Petrus-designed properties sell faster and at higher premiums than comparable homes — in some cases, significantly above asking price. The landscape is the first impression. Make it extraordinary.
It creates a legacy that compounds over time
Unlike interior design, which may require refreshing over years, a well-designed landscape matures and deepens in value. A ward-designed garden in ten years is more magnificent than the day it was installed. The trees are larger, the hedges more defined, the plantings more abundant. It is one of the rare investments that grows more beautiful — and more valuable — with time.
It signals something money alone cannot buy
Among those who truly understand the great estates of the world — who have visited Sissinghurst, or walked the gardens of the Villa d’Este — a landscape of genuine artistry signals taste, depth, and a commitment to the extraordinary. For those operating at the highest levels of life and business, this matters profoundly.
From first conversation to living masterpiece
01
Private Consultation
A personal conversation with Ward. We listen to your vision, walk the property together, and understand what your estate means to you.
02
Concept & Design
Ward develops a bespoke design concept — drawing on global influences and deep site analysis — presented in a personal creative review.
03
Master Installation
Our team of 30+ craftsmen installs with meticulous precision, supervised by Ward. Every element — from stonework to planting depth — is inspected personally.
04
Ongoing Stewardship
Your landscape continues to evolve under Petrus’s care through our estate maintenance programs — ensuring it reaches its full magnificent potential over time.
What our clients say
I have been working with Ward, Gabe and their team of gardeners at my clients estate for the past 5 years. I have found them to be reliable, professional, and extremely knowledgeable of landscapes. They certainly know their plants, and have been instrumental in bringing a fine level of detail to the estate I manage. Their team of gardeners are respectful, attentive, and go above and beyond to create the well manicured gardens that the estate requires.
Darryl H
Estate Manager, Los Altos
Ward and his team completed two complex projects for our Silicon Valley client at their Sunnyvale campus. One involved redesigning a large atrium’s hardscape, requiring careful weekend transport of heavy materials through a newly renovated cafeteria—executed flawlessly without disrupting operations. They also revamped the main entrance planters, replacing an unsatisfactory installation with a more elegant and formal design.
Carmen Jiron
Bay Area
Frequently asked questions
Ready to transform your estate?
Speak directly with Ward Dilmore about your vision. Consultations are private, personal, and held by appointment.