If you’ve ever admired a neighbor’s garden, it’s likely Jeff Berghoff and his talented team at Berghoff Design Group (berghoffdesign.com) are behind the design. Here, we catch up with the man who’s been beautifying Scottsdale for over 20 years.

Jeff Berghoff

What sparked your initial interest in landscape design?

It’s an interesting story. My dream was to be an architect—I went to school for architecture before I studied landscape architecture. The dean at the time said to me, ‘You’re not going to make a very good architect,’ and I was kind of taken aback by that. He said, ‘I think you’re going to be a better planner or landscape architect because you think more spatially from the earth and the ground, and you’re not always thinking about the building.’ I thought that was really insightful, so I took the dean’s advice and switched majors.

Berghoff always considers the home’s architecture when planning his designs.

How does your architectural experience influence your designs?

It’s given me that perspective of being able to go back and forth between the two (architecture and landscape architecture) to make the whole project more seamless. I even have colleagues who say, ‘I love the way your mind works because you really see the architecture.’ I just see myself as a designer. It doesn’t matter if I’m designing a logo or something in print that I’m doing, or something in photography or whatever—I just design.

A gorgeous garden courtesy of Berghoff Design

Walk us through your design process. Where do you start?

I always try to, in a way, become the client. How are they going to live and move through these spaces? What are they going to see? What are they going to feel? Oftentimes we have to work with the site and solve the sins of the site—there’s an ugly house next door or there’s power lines. You’re trying to solve this enigma of questions, these problems that the site has, that the architecture has, and keep in mind the client’s dream list and scope. They entertain in these spaces, and it needs to feel a certain way and complement the home, but it should be a reflection of them. And so all those things I need to balance somehow.

The founder’s projects include showstopping pools.

Tell us about some of your more memorable projects.

I think that all my projects are beautiful and I love them. Yes, there are some that stand out, but I think why they stand out is how the clients share the final product with us. Some of the parties and things we get invited to, it’s great to be there and see [the space] firsthand because you talk about these things as you’re planning them, but to see them enjoy it in that way is very fulfilling as a designer.

It’s neat when we get to do projects that are public. Recently, we just finished the Global Ambassador Hotel with Sam Fox. Every day, I’m getting comments from people going there for the first time, or they had dinner there or they experienced the roof deck. But this just echoes what I was trying to say. When you complete a project and you get to see it lived in from the homeowner’s or public’s perspective, it’s super neat to be a part of.

Berghoff preaches using real plants and materials for authentic landscapes.

What advice would you give to readers looking to spruce up their landscape?

I like timeless things. I like things that have soul to them. And I think don’t follow the trends. Trends come and go, right? Try to always do something that reflects a timeless character. I think it could be contemporary, it could be European, but when you do things that are tasteful and timeless, I think it always ages gracefully. And be true to the materials. Don’t use faux things; use real, authentic materials. Don’t try to make something be what it’s not.

The designer’s spaces, from pools to gardens and more, stand the test of time.

Finally, what’s the Berghoff Design difference?

We always listen to the clients. If you listen to the clients, things unfold in a way you might not expect them to, but great things come from it. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on so many homes and so many different types of projects—it’s my passion.

Plus, we build ourselves. I employ the men to build and construct and create what I’ve put on paper. It’s like our own laboratory.