Molly was wonderful every step of the way. She helped us with the redesign of both our front and back yards for our townhouse. She walked us through the entire process very clearly. She then created a beautiful hand drawn plan for both spaces. She met with us and described the plan carefully, explaining all the plant choices she had made. Molly has wonderful design skills. She even helped us re-design storage cabinets in a way that would never have occurred to me, creating more space than we had before. She then helped us hire the landscaper to do the work and he did a beautiful job, under her supervision. After all the plantings were in, Molly came by several weeks later to make sure everything was thriving. I can’t say enough good things about Molly.Read More

We worked with Molly on a redesign of our front yard. From beginning to end, Molly was terrific. She came up with a design that fit our yard, our life, and our budget, and when we needed to rework a few elements midway she was completely flexible. Ultimately, we ended up with a design that works even better than the preliminary one we started with, thanks to Molly's ingenuity and problem solving. It was a priority to us to re-use some of the existing greenery (there was a lot of it, just in a very choatic and haphazard space). This meant moving a lot of shrubs and perennials around and supervising the landscaping company to be sure everything that we needed was kept wrapped and watered while waiting for replanting. Molly honored these wishes while adding complementary native vegetation, and the results are a low maintenance new yard that enhances the character of our house. We spend time in the yard now, which we never did before! And when we do, neighbors walking their dogs or passing by all stop and rave about the work - both the design and the speed with which it was accomplished. Every day there was a new stage complete to arrive home to, which made for a very satisfying and fun few weeks, seeing what surprise lay in store that day. And all were good surprises! I'd highly recommend Molly if you are thinking of redesigning your yard. We couldn't be happier with her design work.Read More

We loved working with Molly on our new backyard! This was a total renovation, where we removed everything and started over from a scratch. The yard now gets rave reviews from everyone who sees it and we love spending time out there. Molly handled everything for us, including: DESIGN: We had a basic vision, and Molly turned it into a professional design. She solved some things that we never could have fixed, like elevation changes and getting the space to flow properly. PLANT SELECTION: Molly recommended a great mix of things that meet our interests, like year-round color, low maintenance, a clean look, and some edible plants. In just six months, the plantings have all filled in nicely and survived a very dry summer. CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT: We're glad we asked Molly to manage our contractors. She helped us choose some great people to work with and acted as our advocate with them throughout the project. She was also on site almost every day to make sure the work was done correctly. It was a huge load off for us and a big relief to know she was in charge! This was an expensive project, but I'm glad we paid to get it done right. I'm very comfortable with what we ended up paying. Molly also helped us manage the budget throughout. Finally, Molly's just great to work with. Her whole process was transparent and fast. She invoiced the right amount every time, so I know the project was financially well-managed. And, she's always nice to be around! We would definitely work with Molly again and highly recommend her to anyone.Read More

Our landscape design experience with Molly Scott was outstanding. Molly took the time to understand our specific desires and then put together a holistic plan that we love. The transformation was well thought out and she adjusted certain elements as some of the plant-environment dynamics changed over a few months. Molly's flexibility and commitment always came with a smile and upbeat attitude so working with her was fun! We highly recommend Molly Scott for her deep understanding of plants, flowers and design.Read More

We loved working with Molly. Ours was a small project, which didn’t bother her at all. She applied all her concentration and professional eye to figuring out what would work best in our back rowhouse patio, including an Italian garden look. She does beautiful drawings and on line presentations. She is both an artist and knowledgeable about all the plants that will thrive or not in the Washington area in specific spots, which was a real benefit to an ignoramus like me. Another big benefit is her business model, which unlike other landscapers, does not involve some major purchase of furniture or construction. We really were grateful that her objective was beautification of our garden, period. We cannot recommend her enough!Read More

Marvelous Molly! She is a truly talented landscape architect and wonderful to work with. Molly is kind and easy-going. She’s thoughtful and creative. She’s a consummate professional. I fancy myself a gardner, or at least, I love plants and landscapes. For years I played around in the garden of my semi-detached Northwest brick home, experimenting with different plantings, some designs more successful than others. I changed organizations and with this change came little time to garden. My concrete steps in the front of the house and the concrete driveway in the back were crumbling. My neighbor and friend across the street kept asking me what was going on with my yard. Enter Molly. After studying Molly’s work on Houzz, I reached out to her. She came, we talked, we started working together. After a robust consultation with a couple of back-and-forth exchanges, Molly presented a design which took into account my wishes and the realities of my yard, including the drainage issues on the side of my house. She accommodated my late request that the small strip I share with my neighbor be a planting garden so that I could have fresh cut flowers in the summer. Molly also created a design that could be done in phases to accommodate my budget. Phase I, the repair the crumbling hardscape, took place in June 2017. Phase II, the plantings, took place in spring of 2018. Molly’s design included granite boulders, plenty of plantings, and wired path lighting (if you’re on the fence about lighting, definitely do it)! She figured out to address my 60 year-old oak tree in the back by putting in gravel. The dark roots of the tree peak out through the light-colored gravel and it’s lovely. I cannot wait to see what my garden looks like this spring and summer. I am still in contact with Molly a year after we wrapped up the project. I email her with questions about plant care and she still checks in with me to see how the garden is doing. She’s committed to her clients and her designs. I have recommended Molly to a few friends. One friend worked with Molly and her project, so different than mine, is just as stunning as mine!Read More

I hired Molly to design our DC rowhouse front and back yards. I wanted an easy to maintain design that only required moderate trimming/upkeep. I strongly wanted to incorporate native species that would thrive in our climate. Molly did a great job of selecting a variety of plants that would stagger blooming from early spring until late fall. Since our outdoor space is small, she also selected plants that not only provide beautiful foliage and blooms but also have interesting bark textures and colors to give visual appeal during winter. I wanted to protect my investment from the swealtering DC summers so she brought on an irrigation company to design and install a sprinkler system. She also designed an outdoor lighting scheme to not only highlight the landscaping but also the house and walkways. She has amazing artistry skills and her drawings gave us a good sense of how the project would turn out. As a supplement to the drawings, she created a slideshow that shows each plant as it goes through its seasonal growth cycle. I felt confident that my yard will mature nicely but not overgrow the space. Molly is very responsive, answered all of my questions and was a pleasure to work with.Read More

Molly helped identify plants and plan the layout for our landscaping. She did an awesome job and was wonderful to work with.Read More

Molly is truly a miracle maker. I dreamt of creating a backyard oasis for over 15 years but didn’t know where to begin. Molly has a fantastic eye for landscape design and was an absolute joy to work with. I’ve been through several renovation projects and this one was completely stress free because Molly handled everything, even helping to pick a top-notch landscape company. Molly goes the extra mile...even offered to water my newly installed plants while I was away on a work trip. You will not regret hiring Molly.Read More

Molly is truly a miracle maker. I dreamt of creating a backyard oasis for over 15 years but didn’t know where to begin. Molly has a fantastic eye for landscape design and was an absolute joy to work with. I’ve been through several renovation projects and this one was completely stress free because Molly handled everything, even helping to pick a top-notch landscape company. Molly goes the extra mile...even offered to water my newly installed plants while I was away on a work trip. You will not regret hiring Molly.Read More

Molly was fantastic to work with. She was easy to communicate with and fast to reply whenever we reached out. As a designer, she was very creative and had some amazing ideas for our backyard. She put together a beautiful design that was exactly what we were looking for -- but was better than we could have imagined! She worked with our schedules well during the design phase, was very helpful with questions, and was a great resource when it came to choosing a contractor. I would highly recommend working with Molly.Read More

Molly came recommended by a principal of a hardscape company and proved to be everything promised, and more. She developed a detailed design for my problem backyard and worked with me and a landscape company to turn a poorly designed backyard into an inspiring new garden, complete with a new patio, steps and walkways, a curved lawn, a complementary curved wall with a raised bed, and several additional beds. Her design included trees, bushes, grass, and perennials incorporated to create an inviting and comfortable new environment. During the process, Molly worked with me to make refinements that met my vision and goals. She obtained proposals from several contractors, assisted me in the selection, and applied gentle nudges and her experience and expertise to make the project both affordable and beautiful. She was a consummate professional in all respects. And she is a pleasure to work with and a champion of the customer.Read More

Molly did an amazing job on my deck. I needed a privacy fence, but didn't want it to look like a stockade. She came up with a unique and organic design that I get compliments on frequently. She gave me a photo album full of plants from which to choose to fill the planters and beds, and talked with me about the pros and cons of each. She was also great in advocating for me with the landscaping company when the tree they had given me had blooms that were the wrong color. They fixed it without any fuss. Molly is also a delight to work with!Read More

Molly did a fantastic job on our backyard design and estimate/proposal process. We couldn't have navigated through this project without her expertise.Read More

Molly was an absolute pleasure to work with and we would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a landscape architect. We hired Molly last fall to help us completely transform our sad backyard in our 1938 Chevy Chase DC home. After several months of refining our design and managing the bid process, she helped coordinate the installation this spring. We came to Molly with a list of challenges which she worked through with ease. We wanted a design that would provide privacy from our neighbors, address various drainage issues, work around large existing trees, relocate an existing magnolia tree, reconfigure an existing deck, and incorporate low maintenance plantings. We also wanted a lawn area for young children and a dog to enjoy. The final design incorporates a renovated deck, a lower rustic boulder patio, a finished flagstone patio off our basement, boulder walls, a dry creek bed for drainage along the back of the property, large trees for privacy along the fence lines and a lawn area with plantings all around. We also installed irrigation and lighting (which she also specified). The final design respects the existing nature around it and works perfectly with our older home. Her concepts were not only beautiful, they were also practical and low maintenance for a family with young children and no time to worry about upkeep. She worked within our budget and helped us make changes that would bring down costs after some bids came back higher than anticipated. Molly was always responsive via email and phone and made weekly visits during the installation. She's a great listener, easy to work with and open to our ideas. We hired her at the end of the project to visit a nursery to choose planters and plants to spruce up the patios. She also gave us tips on furniture and accessories that she thought would help tie together the final design. We can't say enough great things about Molly Scott. We look forward to working with her again on future projects!Read More

We worked with Molly throughout 2015 to turn our small backyard, covered in weedy gravel, into a place to relax, eat, garden, store outdoor items, and let our toddler run around. This was a lot to fit into a roughly 15 ft. x 30 ft. space and we chose Molly due to her experience with other small yards. We’d seen her previous work, but were blown away by the creativity and beauty in the designs she developed for us. Molly was very easy to work with; she listened to all of our needs and presented us with options that incorporated everything we were looking for. She chose pollinator plants that matched our desire to have a small vegetable garden and attract beneficial insects. She listened to our love for flowers and color and gave us options to have flowers blooming nearly all season long. She provided both a small entertainment area and an open grassy space for our son to toddle. She was even able to fit in a shed for our bikes that we chose not to immediately build (due to cost). We did end up doing two designs. The first was our favorite, but we realized a shed location was not compliant with city code (our fault not Molly’s), so unfortunately we had to do a slight redesign. The second design was just as lovely, and we moved forward with it. Molly collected bids and managed the demo/construction process. As we got expenses in and revised our plans, she was flexible and very supportive, giving advice about what costs could easily be cut by using a different type of wood or a slightly different design, and what we should not compromise on. The contractor we used will not be returning for any future projects (Molly called it from the start, and we decided to use anyway because their bid was substantially lower), and Molly had to have a few difficult conversations with them. She fought for us when we needed her to (such as having carpentry redone when it was substandard and keeping the contractor true to her design). She also provided sage advice on industry standards, helping us to manage expectations when necessary (for example, we had expected a high-quality soil in our raised beds, but she assured us that the soil was comparable to what most contractors would have used). After the yard was completed, she sat down with us to advise us about plant care and flowers we could add in later on our own. Since the redesign, we have used the yard more than we did in all the previous years we’ve owned the home combined. We would highly recommend Molly to anyone seeking a landscape designer. She was professional, knowledgeable, and very talented!Read More

Molly was recommended by John Shorb Landscaping to re-design a small courtyard behind a townhouse that we recently purchased in Washington DC. The courtyard had potential but was a real mess; a huge magnolia tree had been allowed to dominate the area, pushing up the brick pavers in the center of the courtyard and presiding over a jumble of half-dead shrubs and plants that lined its perimeter. Molly was easy to talk to and went to work immediately on plans to revive this space. She was polite, professional, and anxious to incorporate our ideas with regard to new paving materials as well as tile for a fountain. She consulted with us every step of the way in choosing new plants. The final result is astounding. Each season brings new surprises and new scents. The courtyard is an outside room, a little jewel that adds so much to our center city home. Thank you, Molly!Read More

Molly worked with us to completely renovate our tiny urban backyard, and turn it into a lovely place for our family. She created a beautiful design, and found great contractors to execute the plan (they did excellent work, on time, and within budget). Molly was quick to update us throughout the process and manage all aspects of the work. We're so happy with how our backyard turned out.Read More

Molly is creative and organized. She has a deep knowledge of plant material and experience in site requirements and zoning. Our pool is beautifully landscaped with something always In bloom attracting birds and butterflies. I loved working with Molly throughout the process, from the design phase to the installation. She has great attention to detail and works beautifully with all the project professionals.Read More

I engaged Molly for a complete renovation of my backyard, and couldn't be happier with her work! I had a vague idea of what I wanted in terms of layout, but she was incredibly helpful in both making suggestions that would improve on my initial my ideas, as well as suggesting materials and other finishing touches that would really bring it all together. She took the time to get to know me, look around my house to get a sense of my aesthetic, and really understand what I wanted. She provided me her initial vision both in the form of a drawing and an animation, which really brought to life what the space would look like. Molly was also great at working with my budget. She laid out a variety of options to scale the project financially - both by doing it in phases, picking and choosing what I'd outsource vs do myself, and presenting various options for materials at different price points. She was also very prudent with her time, coming in at or under the estimated number of hours she thought she'd spend on my project. I retained Molly to help with the project management of my work, from finding contractors and soliciting bids, to overseeing the construction. I found her very helpful in navigating this, as this was my first major renovation to my home. In addition, when facing some challenges with the contractor, Molly was incredibly helpful and professional in navigating that. Working with Molly was a great joy! She's incredibly friendly, fun to work with, responsive, and always operated with my best interest in mind. She also provided a lot of great tips outside the scope of my project, recommending plants, products, and other things as I put the finishing touches on my yard. I couldn't recommend her enough to anyone looking to create a truly unique outdoor space!Read More