About us
The studio behind the gardens.
Tristan Smith Landscape Designs is a Brisbane landscape design studio led by designer Tristan Smith. We design plant-rich, functional gardens for homes across South East Queensland, and we stay involved until they're built the way they were drawn.
Our story
From the nursery to the drawing board.
Tristan grew up around gardens, and the work has never really felt like a job since. His first one was in a local nursery, learning plants the slow way: what thrives here, what struggles, and why.
From there he qualified as a structural landscaper and spent years building gardens on the tools. Building other people's designs taught him the difference between a plan that looks good on paper and one that can actually be built, and built to last.
Formal landscape design study brought the two together, and Tristan Smith Landscape Designs was founded soon after. Six years on, the studio designs gardens across Brisbane and South East Queensland, from suburban family blocks to acreage.
Why we do it
Philosophy
We believe that what changes us, changes those around us. And we hold ourselves to one standard: the relentless pursuit of perfection in beauty and function.
Beauty and function coexist
Neither is sacrificed for the other. Function starts with how your family actually uses the space, and beauty is built around it, into every corner, even the awkward ones.
Pushing the boundaries of horticulture
We trial new cultivars, stay deliberate about plant selection, and step away from the generic palettes everyone else uses. Always the right plant for the right place.
Built by a team that shares the standard
A special garden is only created when everyone works to the same vision. We work with trades we know and trust.
A garden that belongs
The garden responds to the land, the climate and the home, so it feels like it grew there rather than being placed on top. Designed with the site, never against it.
The start of a journey
A garden is not a building. It grows, changes and matures, and the design is the first step rather than the finish line. We stay involved as it settles in, so it keeps getting better with age.