We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Lefkowits and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I spent my 20’s and most of my 30’s in the music business. I travelled the world with a few different bands, owned a small independent record label, ran a recording studio, and worked more than a few odd jobs in between it all to fill the gaps. Once I got married and started to settle into family life in my mid-30’s, it started to become clear that the grind of life as a musician wasn’t going to work well with my goals of being a good husband and father. When we bought our first house, I immediately wanted to remove our lawn and make the garden more interesting. My mom is a landscape designer and helped guide me through the process. I quickly discovered my inner plant nerd and a burgeoning passion for design. A local community college offered a Landscape Design program and before I knew it I was back in school studying for a new career. At the same time our new garden came out pretty cool, and friends started asking me to help them with their gardens. It really just all fell in my lap and snowballed from there.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I don’t know if all Landscape Designers consider themselves artists, but I certainly try to bring some creative and outside the box ideas to each job. Weird plants, interesting materials, sustainable design practices… they can all lend themselves to unique gardens that are going to be a lot different than your neighbor’s. I especially get excited about forward thinking ways to keep rain water on the property. We don’t get a lot of rain here in Southern California, but when it does rain, we have a great opportunity to store it in our soil, and in cisterns for future use. The biggest challenge I face is that people simply cannot comprehend how much water can be captured from a single storm. It can be hard to convince people that it’s possible to capture thousands of gallons of rainwater from a single storm when they are familiar with small 50 gallon rain barrels, I think it is incredibly important to push this conversation forward and install waterwise gardens here in California. As our population continues to grow and our climate continues to change, we need to move away from conventional landscaping practices and introduce people to an entirely new way of thinking about their garden.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely have to do a few hikes. Cowles, Iron Mountain, and a few local trails here in Encinitas. Spend a day at the Botanic Garden. Head down to the Casbah for a show. We’d sample at least two or three spots for California Burritos. Get Drinks at Starlite. Hot Pot on Convoy. If they come with kids you gotta hit the zoo and/or the wild animal park. Swim at Alga Norte. Oh and I’d definitely send them home with a tub or two of El Nopalito Sonora Hot Salsa.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mom, Connie Lefkowits, introduced me to the profession and was instrumental in helping me get my bearings. She mentored me through all my jobs for the first few years, and introduced me to APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers). It’s a wonderful and supportive community that provides invaluable resources and ongoing guidance through the twist and turns that different jobs present.

Website: https://www.waveslandscapedesign.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waveslandscapedesign/

Image Credits
Photos by Brett Hilton, Kristy Walker, and Brad Lefkowits

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