For estate managers across Napa & Sonoma Valley
In-house design, build, and maintenance
ONE FIRM FOR THE WHOLE PROPERTY
Running a Napa or Sonoma Valley estate gets simpler when one firm handles the entire landscape. Penning's own in-house crews do the work, so everything stays coordinated, you have one number for almost any question, and the grounds look their best season after season.
Penning Landscapes is a family-owned, single-source landscape firm that has designed, built, and maintained estate and winery gardens across Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley since 1988.
HOW IT WORKS
Working with Penning Landscapes starts with a conversation on site to discuss the property.
The Site Visit
A Penning account manager and a service expert walk the property with you. They look at the planting, irrigation, lighting, and soil, and they listen to what you and the principal want. The visit is complimentary.
Onboarding
Penning's team takes over with scheduled visits and seasonal reviews. You have one point of contact for the whole outdoor space, and a single call resolves any issue on the property.
Maintenance & Gardening
Routine and seasonal care
Plant Health
Compost tea applied to keep established plantings strong
Irrigation
QWEL-certified water management
The Plan
Penning proposes a plan scoped to your property rather than a template, covering routine care and the seasonal work the calendar calls for, with clear ownership of each part.
Long-Term Partnership
The landscape grows and changes, and Penning adjusts the care as it does. The grounds are meant to look better with each passing season, and the relationship is built to last as long as you own the property.
Lighting
Designed and installed in-house
Seasonal Planting
Color and change through the year
Design-Build
Provided as needed
ONE TEAM
With Penning, the entire outdoor space sits with one in-house team. The lighting works in step with the irrigation, the planting plan accounts for how the water runs, and one schedule replaces the roster of vendors to chase, so the coordination that usually fills an estate manager's week moves off your desk. You have one point of contact, one standard, and a firm that already knows the grounds when you call.
It is the same family firm year after year. Penning Landscapes was founded by Lou Penning in 1988 and is run today by his son, Ben, so two generations have cared for these estates with the same standards.
The crews are hired for horticultural depth first. They know what thrives in this valley and why, so plantings are read closely and kept healthy as they mature, and a QWEL-certified team keeps irrigation efficient and the landscape strong through the dry season
“Our team doesn't just build gardens, we carefully watch over them, ensuring they flourish and thrive for generations to come.”
— Ben Penning, CEO, Penning LandscapesAt a Glance
Penning Landscapes is the single-source firm estate managers call when one team should be accountable for the entire grounds.
| Who it's for | Estate managers of private Napa and Sonoma Valley estates |
|---|---|
| What's Included | Maintenance and gardening, plant health, irrigation, lighting, seasonal planting, and design-build, all in-house |
| Engagement | Long-term maintenance partnership. One firm for design, build, and maintenance, with a single point of contact |
| First Step | A Complimentary site visit |
RECOGNIZED FOR ESTATE MAINTENANCE
Penning has earned 17 California Landscape Contractors Association awards across 22 years. 13 are for maintenance, the work the firm does most days of the week. Two are statewide trophies for maintenance: the 2022 CLCA State Trophy for the Nirenberg Residence and the 2004 John Redmond Memorial Award for the Stanford Residence.
The wins span every residential scale, at estates including Torres Zinfandel, the Hipp Residence, the Sherwani Residence, and Canyon View. Penning's design-build craftsmanship has been recognized too, including the 2025 Installation Sweepstakes for the build at Domaine Chandon Winery.
2022
CLCA State Trophy
Small Residential Maintenance: Nirenberg Residence
2004
John Redmond Memorial
Best Maintenance Entry: Stanford Residence
2025
Award of Recognition
Large Residential Maintenance: Torres Zinfandel
Related Services
Estate care sits at the center of the relationship. These services work alongside it, all handled by the same in-house team.
Maintenance & Gardening
The hub for routine and seasonal care of the whole property.
Plant Health & Resilience
An proprietary treatment to keep established plantings strong.
Irrigation Maintenance
Water planned and audited by a QWEL-certified team.
Landscape Lighting
Evening lighting, designed and installed in-house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Penning take over an estate that already has a mature landscape and other vendors?
Yes. Penning regularly steps into established estates and brings the outdoor work under one accountable firm. The firm starts with a site visit to understand the current condition and the principal's expectations, then proposes a plan that protects what is working and improves what is not.
Does Penning handle the entire outdoor space, or do I still coordinate separate vendors?
Penning is your single point of contact for the whole project. Its own crews self-perform the planting, plant health, irrigation, and lighting, masonry, pools, and larger structures. You coordinate with one firm, and that firm stays accountable for every trade on the property. That is the heart of our single-source model.
How does Penning keep an estate consistent year after year?
Penning Landscapes is a family-owned firm now in its second generation, and the same firm stays accountable for the grounds for as long as you own the property. Care plans carry forward through seasonal reviews, so standards hold as the landscape matures. The aim is a relationship measured in decades, built to hold for the life of the property.
How do we get started?
It starts with a complimentary site visit. A Penning account manager and a service expert walk the property with you, listen to what you and the principal want, and follow up with a plan scoped to the estate. Because every estate is different, the plan, and the investment behind it, is built around your property rather than a standard rate.
Does Penning work across both Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley estates?
Yes. Penning serves private estates across Napa Valley, including Napa, St. Helena, Calistoga, Yountville, Oakville, and Rutherford, and across Sonoma Valley, including the town of Sonoma and Glen Ellen.
How does Penning manage water and irrigation on a large estate?
Water is one of the highest-stakes parts of estate care in wine country, and Penning manages it through a QWEL-certified water management team. They handle irrigation planning, audits, and seasonal water plans as part of the maintenance relationship, which keeps the landscape healthy while using water sensibly.
Schedule a complimentary site visit
Tell us about the property and what it needs. Penning will walk the grounds, talk through priorities, and propose a maintenance program built around it.
