Jenna Bayer is the founder and creative director of Jenna Bayer Garden Design, a landscape design studio known for its thoughtful, science-based approach to creating distinctive outdoor environments across the San Francisco Bay Area and the Portland Metro Area. For more than thirty years, she has been shaping landscapes that are not only beautiful, but responsive to the land, supportive of the surrounding ecosystem, and deeply attuned to the way people live.
Jenna is recognized for her ability to balance creativity with technical rigor. Her landscapes are designed to perform as well as they look. They are spaces that endure, evolve gracefully, and prioritize environmental responsibility over trend-driven aesthetics. Each garden reflects a quiet sophistication rooted in horticultural knowledge, engineering insight, and an unwavering respect for place.
A Design Career Built on Systems Thinking
Jenna’s professional journey began in mechanical engineering. She earned her degree from Bradley University, where she developed a strong foundation in systems analysis, precision, and structured problem-solving. These skills continue to shape her work today and give her an uncommon fluency in both the creative and technical sides of landscape design. They also allow her to navigate complex site conditions, construction requirements, and long-term performance considerations with clarity and confidence.
Drawn increasingly toward the natural world, Jenna chose to transition into horticulture and sustainable landscape design in the early 1990s. The shift allowed her to merge analytical thinking with ecological creativity.
Advanced Horticultural Training
To deepen her scientific expertise, Jenna pursued horticultural science studies at North Carolina State University under Dr. J. C. Ralston, one of the field’s most respected educators. She later continued her education at Oregon State University with a focus on plant systems, regional plant materials, and sustainable landscape management.
This academic training informs her approach to every project. She understands how soils behave, how plant communities develop, and how design decisions influence the long-term health of a landscape.
A Science-Driven Approach to Sustainability
Jenna is widely regarded for her commitment to sustainable practices, organic land care, green building principles, and environmentally responsible construction management. Her design work begins with site-specific realities such as climate, water use, soil health, and maintenance requirements. Aesthetics are important, but they are always integrated with environmental intelligence.
Rather than applying a predetermined style, Jenna listens carefully to each site and each client. This ensures that the landscapes she creates feel natural, purposeful, and uniquely suited to their environment.
Building a Multidisciplinary Firm
Over the years, Jenna has grown Jenna Bayer Garden Design into a collaborative studio with expertise in landscape architecture, horticulture, construction management, and long-term stewardship. This integrated structure allows the firm to guide clients from initial concept through installation and ongoing care. It also helps preserve design intent while addressing budgets, timelines, and long-term maintenance considerations.
Design With Intention
At the foundation of Jenna’s work is a belief that successful landscapes are shaped by thoughtful attention to every detail. Plant selection, soil preparation, irrigation strategies, materials, and construction methods are each chosen with intention and sensitivity to the site.
Her gardens are created to be lived in. They invite connection, encourage use, and evolve naturally over time. Beauty matters, but so do usability, resilience, and ecological health.
Construction Insight and Cost Awareness
Jenna’s engineering background gives her a rare advantage in the landscape design world. She understands the relationship between drawings and built environments and collaborates closely with contractors to anticipate challenges early in the process. This results in clearer communication, more accurate budgeting, and more efficient construction.
Regional Expertise in the Bay Area and Portland
With active work in both the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest, Jenna brings deep knowledge of regional climates, soils, plant palettes, and regulatory considerations. This understanding allows her to design landscapes that thrive naturally and require fewer resources over time.
Designing Landscapes With Purpose
For Jenna, landscape design is about relationships between people and place, structure and nature, function and beauty. Every project is an opportunity to create outdoor spaces that enrich everyday life, foster connection, and support well-being.
Through Jenna Bayer Garden Design, she continues to deliver landscapes that are intelligent, intentional, and rooted in sustainable, science-based design.
