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Rhadiante Van de Voorde is a landscape architect and contractor specializing in the creation of tranquil and harmonious residential environments. A native Californian and experienced world traveler, Rhadiante’s work combines her passion for the plant kingdom with a sensitivity to natural elements. Textured stone, rich woods, and metals designed to weather through time or brilliantly reflect the surroundings – all are balanced within the space. Rhadiante’s work is infused with an intensely personal love for creating comfortable and deeply integrated, sacred garden spaces for her clients.

Rhadiante received a bachelor’s degree in art with an emphasis in environmental design from California State University at Fullerton in 1989, and has been a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects since 1993. Inspired by the beauty and natural diversity of northern California, Rhadiante settled in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1992, where she established her own firm, Van De Voorde Landscape Architecture, Inc. Since then, her work has been applauded for its subtle complexity and spiritual sensitivity. Today, as Elemental Design Group, Rhadiante and her exceptional team continue in this tradition of excellence and intuitive expression.

Rhadiante has won many awards, including the prestigious Pacific Horticulture Magazine Award at the San Francisco Garden Show two years in a row, along with several other accolades. Her work has been featured in a number of publications including Sunset’s Secret Gardens, WaterShapes Magazine and Pool & Spa News – and she has been named one of the “Masters of Design” by Pool & Spa Magazine.

An avid student of the arts and world cultures, Rhadiante has studied Feng Shui extensively, integrating its balance, natural harmony and serenity into her distinctive designs. She has also studied waterscape design through the Genesis 3 Design Group, a school focusing on the arts and crafts of water feature and swimming pool and spa design and construction. In 2002, she was appointed to the board of directors for the Arboretum at the University of California at Santa Cruz, a facility renowned for its exploration of microclimates of the Southern Hemisphere.

Her unique, collaborative design process enables her to create spaces that are carefully tailored to the desires of her clients and the unique qualities of each setting. Her work often features voluptuous curvilinear shapes and richly composed planting palettes, often enhanced by subtle water features.