Our Business



-Fully Licensed and Insured: CA Contractors License #545003

-Award Winning

-Diamond Certified

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Our Team:

CALVIN C. CRAIG: The company owner was educated at Cal Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo CA in Horticulture. Prior to this he attended College of the Redwoods in Eureka and Colombia community college near Sonora CA, majoring in Forestry. He graduated from Northgate High School in Walnut Creek and was born in Berkeley, CA. He has since taken continuing education through Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill CA and University of California Extension to keep up on the latest in plants, irrigation, lighting, water features, and sustainable landscaping.

His experience includes working for noted contractors on design and installation of high end residential estate gardens in the Bay Area. He also worked for a landscape contractor specializing in underground construction and drainage, water systems, and retaining walls.  He has always been passionate about nature and wanted to be a ranger from when he was a young boy.

Calvin is an officer and member of CLCA Californian Landscape Contractors Association, California Horticultural Society and California Native Plant Society. In addition he holds a Sustainable Landscape Certification from Sonoma State University. As a youth he was involved in Boy Scouts, 4-H and volunteered at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum  in Walnut Creek. He is also interested in vintage cars, trains and more things than he has time for while running his own business.

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FERNANDO PONCE ACOSTA: Construction Foreman, has worked for Craig Landscaping since 1998. He brings many versatile skills in both craftsmanship and construction management from his experience in the homebuilding and landscape construction industries, and is instrumental in making our skilled construction crew work like an finely tuned machine.  He is particularly interested in creating finely-crafted hardscape features in concrete, masonry, and stone.  He and his family live in Concord, CA.

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JONATHAN ESPALIN: Landscape Designer, holds a BA in Fine Arts from UC Davis and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley, where he helped teach courses in plant identification and design graphics. He worked at the University's Blake Garden and the UC Botanical Garden to further his knowledge of planting, landscape construction and maintenance, and worked as a landscape maintenance gardener for residential clients.  Before Graduate school, he was a plant buyer for a retail nursery and a professional artist, specializing in landscape paintings.

His design focus is on ecological landscapes, modern and contemporary design, naturalistic and woodland gardens, water conservation, sustainable management practices, and California native planting. He has a particular interest in relating and blurring the boundaries of home and  garden. In addition to his work in landscape design, Jonathan creates modern landscape paintings, grows bonsai, and plays and composes electronic music. He and his wife live and garden in Concord, CA.

ED FROELIGER: our new Construction Foreman. Ed has a diverse background in landscaping, residential and commercial construction, and aviation. He has been the Landscape Supervisor of a golf course community in Arizona where he started a community volunteer program of 100 residents to reestablish native plants and to eradicate invasive plants. Ed is a licensed commercial helicopter pilot and has flown for Washington cherry orchards, conducted California charter flights and has served as a flight instructor. He was a swim coach to multi-aged swim teams and as a triathlete he achieved Pro status racing with the International Triathlon Union. He enjoys the out-of-doors, especially hiking, camping nd gardening. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Northern Bay Area.

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HOWARD MALONE: Bay-Friendly Qualified Horticulturist and Garden Maintenance Foreman. Howard has over 20 years experience in landscaping. He has completed the Horticulture program at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, and is a qualified Bay-Friendly Landscape technician. He has worked for Fiske Landscaping for 9 years, and for Calvin Craig Landscaping for over 13 years. He specializes in roses, sustainable landscape methods, and organic gardening, has a wealth of knowledge and excellent attention to detail. He plays the harmonica in a blues band and lives in Martinez.

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FREDRIC AUTRAN: Bay-Friendly Qualified Garden Maintenance Foreman. Studied Horticulture at Diablo Valley College and Merritt College and is a qualified Bay-Friendly Landscape technician. Frederic is originally from Provence, southern France.  He has worked as a journalist, both in the U.S. and in Europe, a French translator, and a Youth Soccer Coach. He enjoys the outdoors, gardening, and lives in Lafayette with his wife and three kids.

YELENA MYAKISHEVA: Office Manager and Estimator, has a BA in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley.  Yelena has worked at UC Berkeley's Blake Garden and as a Garden Coordinator at the Berkeley Student Cooperative: Rochdale.  Yelena was born in Russia and grew up on the East Coast of the US.  She is married to Jonathan Espalin and now lives in Concord.

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AFFILIATED DESIGNERS:

In addition to our in-house design team, Craig Landscaping partners with selected local landscape designers to help create our clients' gardens:

Pamela Simonds: www.pamelasimondsdesign.com

Jill Salmon: www.apachegardens.com