Landscape architecture is the thoughtful design of outdoor spaces, from private gardens and backyards to public parks, campuses, and city streets. Landscape architects bring together nature and built structures to create functional, sustainable, and visually compelling places where people can live, work, and connect with their surroundings.
With 25+ years of experience in landscape architecture, DabneyCollins is a premiere landscape design firm in the Southeast, especially Greenville and Upstate, SC. In every phase of property development, we integrate residential master planning with a landscape architect’s expertise. It is our greatest joy to dream with each client and then bring that dream to life together. Following a site inventory with our lead designer, estimator, and horticulturist, the architecture design phases begin with revisions and discussions about value engineering and timeline to secure your budget and schedule. Our design development interweaves architectural integrity, human experience, and ecological awareness for unmatched wonder alongside structured elegance. From entrance development and driveway layout to site circulation, hardscaping, landscaping, luxury gardens, pool design, outdoor lighting, custom water features, and more, our team of architects and designers create the finest luxury outdoor spaces in the Southeast
In a time of increasing disconnection and virtual experiences, commercial landscape architecture enhances the in-person interaction we have with nature and community. Well-designed public areas promote outdoor engagement, environmental sustainability, and meaningful occasions that enrich human life. When we talk with clients, it is often events and moments between activities, study, and work that they wish to capture with enduring imagination. Beginning with in-depth analysis of the site, our teams assess the ecological characteristics, climate, and future movement of intended users. With a collaborative approach, our landscape architects listen carefully to the client’s goals to develop a master plan that integrates sun and shade patterns, water drainage, vegetation, hardscape design, water features, lighting, and furniture, to name a few. With design approval, a project manager takes over as lead for the commercial landscape design-build process. At the end of landscape construction, we provide service manuals and a detail crew white-gloves the property, checking every system and removing all traces of construction activity.
Alongside our team of designers and horticulturalists, DabneyCollins landscape architects are both artists and problem solvers of outdoor spaces. We bring a rare combination of creativity, technical expertise, and community awareness to every project, from city streets and campuses to neighborhoods and private residences. Our landscape architects think holistically, balancing beauty and function with a deep respect for sustainability, environmental stewardship, and accessibility. The result is not just a finished landscape but a place where life happens, where people gather, celebrate, and connect.
Kenny Collins, owner of DabneyCollins and a landscape designer with a Bachelor of Science in horticulture and turfgrass management from Clemson University, has spent 25+ years building a collaborative design and construction team that puts people first and upholds the highest standards of structural and horticultural excellence.
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6550 Liberty Hwy
Pendleton, SC 29670
We begin the design phase by listening to your dreams for the garden. Conversations continue onsite to discover the unique constraints and assets of your property. There will be one lead designer assigned to your project, and our estimators, horticulturists, and finishing designers will be involved throughout the process as well. This approach promotes continuity while including the essential contributions of our specialists. The design will often go through several revisions, punctuated by discussions about value engineering and timeline to make sure your budget and schedule are honored.
We begin the design phase by listening to your dreams for the garden. Conversations continue onsite to discover the unique constraints and assets of your property. There will be one lead designer assigned to your project, and our estimators, horticulturists, and finishing designers will be involved throughout the process as well. This approach promotes continuity while including the essential contributions of our specialists. The design will often go through several revisions, punctuated by discussions about value engineering and timeline to make sure your budget and schedule are honored.
Dabney Peeples’ gardens range from highly traditional to playful and contemporary. The three driving forces of his work are the requirements of the architecture, cues from the land, and the unique personalities of every client. These tenets have influenced hundreds of gardens over the past four decades, each one as unique as the place and people who inspired it. He firmly believes that to successfully practice design over time, one must “never quit learning, always stay completely aware of your surroundings and listen, listen, listen.” Dabney eschews trends in the garden, opting instead for timeless solutions guided by the principles of design, proposing that “if a design is good now, it will be good forever.” He finds inspiration both in classical architecture and contemporary masters, because a garden should reference the past while looking to the future.
Dabney has built his practice on the belief that gardens are first and foremost personal. Relationships are essential to the successful creation of every garden. He extolls the importance of a strong partnership, saying, “No matter how extensive or how detailed a set of drawings are, there is absolutely no substitute for trust between client, designer, and contractor.”
Over the course of 20 years, Kenny Collins has built a company from two men with a truck and a couple of shovels into a thriving group of multiple installation crews with specialist craftsmen. His philosophy has always been to put people first, both internally and in client relationships. Kenny also places great emphasis on structural and horticultural integrity, encouraging continuing education, experimentation, and research to augment the collective team experience. “We are continuously improving how we do things, and we never sacrifice our own integrity by taking a shortcut.” He believes that every element contributes to the value of the garden, from the effectiveness of the drainage and water management, to concert-quality outdoor sound and thoughtful landscape lighting. “Community in life is paramount and the gardens that we create cultivate this on another level. They have the ability to promote community in a unique way.” The work at DabneyCollins is ultimately all about people and valuing relationships; when the relationships are solid, everything else will follow. “It does take a team and I love ours. So much more is possible when we work together.”
