Landscape Design in Preston Hollow, TX

Preston Hollow is one of the few Dallas neighborhoods where the landscape gets the room it needs. Lots run from three-quarters of an acre to multi-acre estates. Setbacks are deep. The tree canopy — post oak, pecan, live oak — has been growing uninterrupted for decades. On these properties, the outdoor environment is not an addition to the house; it is the other half of the property, and the two have to read as one coordinated statement. That is where Blount Designs starts on every Preston Hollow engagement.

Most clients we work with here have already completed a significant renovation or a ground-up build. The interior matches the standard of the neighborhood. The landscape, almost without exception, does not. The conversation is consistent: the home is done, the landscape isn't. Preston Hollow projects give us the scale to resolve that gap fully — pool and spa, outdoor kitchen and cabana, motor court, entry sequence, full planting design, and the site grading underneath all of it.

Schedule a design consultation to discuss your Preston Hollow estate.

Why Is Preston Hollow Landscape Design a Different Scale?

The lots themselves change the conversation. A Preston Hollow project is rarely constrained by setback or neighbor envelope — it is defined by program. Clients here are typically building a coordinated outdoor amenity package: pool and spa, poolside cabana or pavilion, outdoor kitchen, a motor court and entry sequence, garden rooms, and an overall site grading and drainage plan that coordinates all of it. The design has to hold together at scale, across distance, and through the mature canopy that shapes every sightline.

Our land design engagement is the starting point for most of these properties. Before planting or hardscape decisions are made, the land itself has to be understood — topography, drainage outlets, existing tree locations, and the relationship of the house to the property boundaries. On a Preston Hollow estate, that site read is the foundation for every zoning, circulation, and material decision that follows.

What Does Blount Designs Coordinate on a Preston Hollow Estate?

The full program. On most Preston Hollow projects we are the single design team for every outdoor element on the property. That includes pool and spa design, outdoor kitchen and cabana, water and fire features, a full hardscape plan from motor court through rear terrace, and planting design and garden work that holds up through every North Texas season. Material palette, coping detail, edging transitions, paver sequences, and planting density are all resolved in one document set so the built property reads as one composition rather than a series of added elements.

Grading and drainage is often the most consequential part of the plan on these sites. Preston Hollow lots carry real topography — subtle grade changes that, unaddressed, direct water where it shouldn't go. Mature canopy and clay soil interact in ways that a crew unfamiliar with North Texas consistently underestimates. Resolving grade at the planning stage — before a pool is excavated or a retaining wall is poured — is what prevents the drainage issues that otherwise show up two winters later.

How Has Blount Designs Worked in Preston Hollow?

Two Preston Hollow projects are representative of how this work plays out. Our Preston Hollow Estate engagement resolved a full outdoor program on a property where the home had been extensively renovated — pool, hardscape, planting, and entry sequence brought to the standard of the house. The Preston Hollow Zen Retreat project took a different direction on a different lot — a quieter, more meditative outdoor program built around mature canopy and water, where the design language prioritizes stillness over amenity density.

Both projects started with a site read, moved through schematic design with the client, and were executed by the same studio that planned them. That single-source design-and-build structure is what keeps the finished property consistent with the intent. It is also how we avoid the common Preston Hollow problem: three separate trades, three different material palettes, and a property that feels stitched together rather than designed.

Planning for Preston Hollow Lot Conditions

Preston Hollow's soil is expansive clay. The tree canopy is dominated by post oaks and pecans that do not tolerate construction impact around their root zones. Lot topography is usually subtle but always present. Drainage patterns on larger estates have to be engineered deliberately — pushing water away from structures, around pools and cabanas, and toward appropriate discharge points without undermining the existing canopy.

Several Preston Hollow subdivisions and covenant communities require landscape documentation for review before construction begins. Where that is the case, we produce scaled site plans, planting schedules, and construction drawings that satisfy review requirements ahead of work starting — the same documentation standard we use for the named ARB communities we work in across DFW.

Frequently Asked Questions About Landscape Design in Preston Hollow

What makes Preston Hollow different from other DFW neighborhoods for landscape design?

Lot size, canopy, and program. Preston Hollow estates routinely sit on three-quarters of an acre or more, under mature post oak and pecan canopy, with room for a full outdoor amenity program — pool, cabana, outdoor kitchen, motor court, and coordinated gardens. The design problem is rarely how to fit the elements in. It is how to coordinate them at scale so the property reads as one intentional composition from motor court through rear fence line.

Does Blount Designs handle tree preservation on Preston Hollow estates?

Yes. Every project starts with a site read that identifies mature trees and their critical root zones. Pool locations, hardscape routing, grading decisions, and outdoor structure placements are all resolved around that existing canopy. Post oaks and pecans in particular do not tolerate construction impact well, and the design has to protect them through the plan — not work around them in the field.

Can Blount Designs coordinate a pool, outdoor kitchen, and hardscape as one project?

That is how most of our Preston Hollow engagements are structured. One studio produces the full design — pool and spa, hardscape from motor court through terrace, outdoor kitchen and cabana, water or fire features, and planting — and then executes the build. Material palettes, coping details, and transitions between zones are resolved in one document set so the installed property reads as one composition rather than an assembly of separate trades.

Do Preston Hollow projects require HOA or covenant review?

It varies by street and subdivision. Several Preston Hollow areas operate under architectural review covenants that require scaled landscape documentation before construction. Where review is required, we produce the documentation — site plan, planting plan, material specifications, construction drawings — to the standard the review board expects, so the project moves through approval without rework. At the first consultation we confirm what applies to your specific address.

If you are planning a landscape renovation or new estate landscape on a Preston Hollow property, request a design consultation. For a companion engagement on the smaller-scale, higher-density side of the Park Cities market, see our work on Highland Park landscape design, or reach out through our contact page to begin.