Hello! I’m Leah Churner, a landscape designer with a passion for plant diversity and a background in the arts. I founded Delta Dawn Gardens in 2015 as a garden maintenance business. Since then, I have gradually shifted my focus from hands-on gardening to hand-drawn designs. My approach to design is deeply rooted in my experience working as a maintenance gardener: I believe in working with nature, rather than against it.

In addition to several appearances on Austin PBS’ Central Texas Gardener, I have taught courses in Landscape Design and Planting Design at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and Austin Community College. I also created two gardening podcasts, Hothouse, which won the GardenComm Media Silver Award in 2019, and The Horticulturati, which I cohosted with Colleen Dieter from 2020-2024. Before I got into landscaping, I was a freelance writer for the Austin Chronicle, Film Forum, Reverse Shot, and other publications.

Follow me @deltadawngardens on Instagram.