Mission Hills Landscape Company: Design and Construction

Last updated: 2026-10-17

Who builds and plants landscapes in Mission Hills?

Ecosystem Landscaping & Design is an owner-led landscape company serving Mission Hills from Coronado. Samuel Fortes walks each lot, draws the plan, plants it, and returns to prune. We are CSLB #1152146, bonded and insured, handling design, construction, irrigation, hardscape, and ongoing care.

Last updated: October 2026

Mission Hills sits above the canyons north of Old Town, and the lots show it. Grade comes first. Before we talk about plants, we look at where water leaves the property and what the slope is doing to the beds below it.

That is how we work everywhere. Sam walks the property himself. No sales rep, no rendering passed to a sub.

What landscape construction involves on a Mission Hills lot

Landscape construction here usually starts below the surface. Drain lines, retaining walls, and grade changes get set and settled before anything green goes in. A bed planted above an unsolved drainage problem washes out in the first real winter storm.

On sloped lots we plan the same way we do below Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma: drainage and wall height first, then the planting drawn around where the ground actually sits. We run perforated drain pipe at a minimum 1 percent fall, about 1/8 inch per foot, and wrap it in gravel and filter fabric. Once a retaining wall climbs past roughly four feet of retained height, it needs engineering, and we tell you that before you pay us anything.

• Drainage and grade work before planting
• Retaining walls, patios, pavers, and walkways
• Irrigation installation and design, with drip lines run at 20 to 30 PSI after the regulator
• Drought-tolerant planting for mature-tree lots
• Landscape lighting

Mature trees, older homes, and what they do to a planting plan

Mature trees throw more shade than most owners account for. We read the exposure on each bed before choosing a single plant, because a sun-loving palette in a shaded strip just sulks. On a typical 5,000 square foot Mission Hills lot, we often find less than half the yard gets six hours of direct sun.

Older homes also come with expectations. Many neighborhoods and design boards care about plant palette and hedge height, so we ask for those rules up front and draw inside them. Redoing a bed that a board rejects costs everyone time.

Drought-tolerant design keeps a yard green without leaning hard on metered water. We top every bed with 3 inches of mulch to hold moisture and pick plants for the lot in front of us, not the catalog photo. In our experience, a full front yard redesign with drainage, irrigation, and planting on a lot this size usually lands between $15,000 and $45,000, and we give you a written number after the walkthrough.

Design, build, and keep it up

Sam draws it. Sam plants it. Sam comes back to prune it. Our small team builds the hardscape, sets the irrigation, and handles maintenance afterward, so the person who designed the yard is the person who knows why every plant is where it is. We did the same on our Coronado jobs, and we check back at 30 days to adjust the irrigation once the roots take hold.

See how we plan the work on our landscape design page, look at patios and walls on the hardscape page, or read more about Mission Hills landscaping and our Mission Hills service area. Finished beds from our verified Coronado properties, including 545 Ocean Blvd and 745 J Ave, are on the portfolio.

Call 619.243.9495 or email info@ecosystemlands.com to set up a walkthrough. If we planted your beds in Mission Hills, mention the street and the work in your Google review. It helps the neighbors who are still deciding.