Through The Garden | Meet our Staff

Welcome to the Through the Garden family!

Our philosophy was inspired by owner Michael Yeoman’s love of the beautiful and creative in landscaping.
We have a hands-on approach in all aspects of our business. We always strive to offer the best quality in our designs, installation work, guarantees and customer service. To this end, we have assembled a wonderfully effective group of people who genuinely care about their clients, co-workers and responsibilities.

Our design staff

Michael Yeomans – Landscape Architect / Designer / Owner:

Michael earned his degree in Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University and started off working for a Civil Engineering firm to provide landscaping and planning design . Before too long, Michael’s creativity could not be contained in the office, so he took that leap of faith into the environment he loved – Landscape Design and Installation.

In his mind there is nothing more satisfying then actually overseeing the implementation of your own designs. Mike started his own company in 1989 and has won many awards for his design work. Michael has been featured on HGTV’S Curb Appeal and has had his work featured in Frederick Magazine and Washington Home and Garden.

Julia Summerhill – Horticulturist:

Julia, our resident state certified nursery consultant lives, breathes, eats and sleeps plants! Julia treats each and every plant with the utmost care. She trains our crewmembers in the proper installation techniques for plant material, soils and additives. In addition, she assesses established gardens for our clients and determines what seasonal maintenance, treatments and pruning needs to be done to maximize the gardens health and beauty.

Carol Allen – Horticulturist/IPM Specialist:

Carol has extensive experience and knowledge in providing a wide variety of landscaping design and maintenance services. Formerly a supervisory horticulturist for the United States Botanical Gardens Conservatory, Carol is also a licensed Integrated Pest Management (IPM) specialist. IPM is the “green”, earth friendly approach for pest control that minimizes the use of harmful chemicals through the use of biocontrols, predatory insects and monitoring devices. Almost a native herself, Carol’s broad knowledge of plants includes regional native species and she has a passion for orchids! As an accomplished public speaker she gives presentations on many aspects of horticulture, especially orchids.

  Tim Fazio – Hardscaping Designer: Stones, rocks and water are Tim’s favorite materials to work with. For many years Tim has designed and personally installed walls, patio’s and water gardens using the beauty of natural stone. With his hands on approach he has developed a thorough understanding of the design and installation of intricate stone work. Tim’s experience and reputation has allowed him to be the hardscape installer at Camp David in Thurmont, the presidential retreat where many dignitaries have been hosted.

Olga Sokolova – Outdoor Living Space Designer:

As a certified Interior Designer Olga has a passion for creating unique and beautiful outdoor living spaces that are an extension of the indoors. Working with outdoor furniture, fabrics, and ornamental accessories she provides the finishing touch to your new room in nature where you may host elegant parties or find your well deserved relaxation

  Morris Rivas – Field Operations Foreman:

Morris has been with Michael since the beginning. Coming aboard in 1989, Morris has the rare gift of the artisan combined with a structural knowledge that is unsurpassed. Since Morris’ minimum quality standards exceed most landscapers’ excellent standards, a hardscape installation is never ‘complete’ until Morris gives his nod of approval. Morris has a well-earned reputation of excellence in the stone industry and we rely on him to find the best crewmembers for us, as well as insure they are trained to his high standards.

Our office stuff

• Crystal Boyd – Office Manager: Crystal manages the office. She has many years of experience in management, sales and marketing. She brings all this expertise to our office and our customers. You can expect courteous and friendly answers to your inquiries regarding scheduling, fees, billing and payment arrangements, or any concerns or questions you have. It is our mandate to provide the highest quality of work and the best customer service. Crystal lives by this motto and reminds us of this on a daily basis.

• Henk Sterenberg – General Manage/Owner: Prior to joining Through the Garden in 2004 as a partner and general manager, Henk worked as a senior project manager/civil engineer with a large consulting engineering firm. As old colleagues Henk and Mike have had a long professional partnership. Henk is mostly involved with the day to day business operations but lends his engineering expertise to projects as necessary to address grading, drainage and retaining wall issues.

Our support stuff



• Drafting: After your design is sketched, it must be drawn out to scale, formalized and blueprinted. The blueprint must be an accurate interpretation of the designer’s vision to enable you to visualize the concept. Since the plan may need to be approved by a homeowner’s association or permitting office, the drawing will show existing items (the home, sidewalks, patios, decks etc.) as well as property lines, downspout locations and so on. The installation will be done based on the drawing. Our draftsman is not only meticulous in scaling the drawing properly; as a gifted artist, the drawing you receive will come to life for you. Together with pictures showing the plant material proposed, you will have all the tools you need to understand the design and make an educated decision.

• Installation crews: We currently operate with 3 installation crews. Our crewmembers are trained in the proper installation techniques for Hardscaping, Water Features, Planting and Landscape Lighting. The appropriate foreman is assigned to each phase of the installation, utilizing their individual talents to insure your landscape is perfect! The work ethic and dedication to excellence our crewmembers display is quite remarkable.

Our staff can be counted on to give their utmost efforts to insure your satisfaction. We wish to exceed your expectations in quality of product and service, as well as develop a lasting relationship with you!