We provide custom award-winning landscape design and architecture featuring a problem solving approach. We design unique and functional outdoor environments including hard scape elements (outdoor kitchens, outdoor dining space, water features), plantings, and lighting.
Michael Glassman / Principle / President
Michael Glassman is an award-winning landscape designer and the owner of one of Northern California's most prestigious design firms. For more than forty years, he has designed beautiful and functional landscapes, waterworks, and creative elements that enhance outdoor living.
Michael received his degree in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture from the University of California, Davis and studied Landscape Design at La Napoule Art Foundation in Southern France.
Michael has published seven books. His most recent book, The Garden Bible, co-authored with writer Barbara Ballinger, is a step-by-step guide to planning and problem solving landscapes so that gardens will grow, evolve and be sustainable for years to come. Michael's landscape design solutions and philosophies were the subject of Gaining Ground by Maureen Gilmour, with whom he co-authored Waterworks. He has published two other landscape design books, Garden Getaways: Havens at Home and Outdoor Designs for Living. With the director of DIY's Garden Police, Lisa Ely, Michael wrote three books about gardening for children: Kinder Gardens: Growing Inspiration for Children, Kinder Gardens: Games and Adventures, and Kinder Gardens: Autumn Fun. All of his books can be purchased through this website.
Michael's work has been featured nationwide. His landscape designs were the subject of nearly fifty Sunset magazine articles. He has also published in Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking with Paula Dean, This Old House Magazine, Garden Design, Backyard Designs, Great Backyards, Landscape Architecture and K+BB. He was honored three times by the American Horticultural Society, which selected his gardens to be on their tours in Northern California. Michael Glassman & Associates has been awarded Best of Houzz for client satisfaction since 2013.
Michael's work and personality can be seen in television. He was co-host and designer of Discovery Home Channel's series Garden Police. He designed projects on HGTVs Gardening by the Yard with Paul James and for DIY's Yard Crashers. His sustainable landscaping ideas were featured on CNN's Glenn Beck Show. His pool designs were featured on a HGTV special Spectacular Pools. He won the second best outdoor kitchen design in the nation on HGTV Sizzling Outdoor Kitchens and eighth best backyard landscape design on Bodacious Backyards. He can be seen discussing gardening, landscape design and problem solving landscaping tips with Sac and Company.
Michael's distinctive approach is to design sustainable landscapes that solve the problems inherent to each outdoor space (e.g. lack of privacy, poor drainage, erosion issues), that unify the interiors and exteriors of homes, and that turn gardens into functional and beautiful spaces to promote outdoor living for family gatherings, peaceful meditation, growing food, and entertainment.
Jennifer Wait / Senior Design Associate
"I love trees, they are the architecture of the garden."
A 24-year member of ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects), Jennifer was born and raised in Sacramento and is a graduate of the University of California – Davis. She has been at MGA for over 20 years and enjoys working with Michael to design problem-solving, show-stopping landscapes for our clients.
When she's not driving around Northern California measuring properties or drawing up all of those spectacular landscape designs, Jennifer stays creative in other areas: knitting, sewing and (of course) gardening.
As a native Californian herself, Jennifer loves other natives such as Pistache, Redbud, Purple Smoke and Olive trees. "They are the icing on the cake."
Matthew Vasquez / Associate Designer
"The earth is the canvas. Plants and stone are the medium"
Matthew was born and raised in Sacramento California and began his career in landscape design in the summer of 2013 as an intern with Michael Glassman & Associates. Matthew would go on to follow his mentors footsteps and graduate from UC Davis with a degree in landscape architecture. After graduation Matthew moved to Seattle where he continued to practice residential landscape design. Three years later in 2021 Matthew was back in Sacramento working once again with Michael Glassman & Associates.
When not working on projects you can find Matthew hiking in the woods, taking pictures around the city, and searching for best dessert shop in town.
Jody Pribyl / Operations Manager
Dog taxi driver, photographer, New Wave music aficionado. A fourth-generation Californian, Jody was raised by parents who spent weekends duplicating Sunset Magazine projects in their Fair Oaks, California backyard. Her favorite "mom-designed" succulent garden also housed family pet tortoise, Captain Jack.
After earning her Film Studies degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Jody has spent much of her career producing television shows with the word "Crashers" in them, including HGTV’s Yard Crashers where she first worked with guest designer, Michael Glassman.
As the hub of the MGA team, Jody loves working with our wonderful clients, contractors and vendors, keeping Michael organized and photographing the completed projects.