Over the past few years, beautiful outdoor spaces have become an expectation rather than a luxury. Hill Country patios stretch farther than ever, pools appear in once barren backyards, and carefully curated landscapes function as extensions of the home.
But as drought conditions persist, the appeal of water-heavy features collides with the imperative to conserve resources in an increasingly fragile environment. Few people in the area understand this dilemma better than Mike Logsdon.
Logsdon is the founder of Land Design, an outdoor design business he started in 1983 in Oklahoma. In 1985, Logsdon moved to San Antonio, and in 1998, he settled in Boerne. In all that time, he has created countless pools, patios, landscapes, and hardscapes across the Hill Country. Today, demand for outdoor living spaces continues to rise, leading Logsdon to consider how much water his industry consumes and how to address future challenges responsibly as a designer. “I waste water for a living,” Logsdon says, chuckling. “I mean, I have a pool. Who doesn't want a pool?”
Logsdon’s career began in murky waters, as he struggled at Texas Tech and felt unsure about his future. All of that changed when his mother introduced Logsdon to the idea of a different career. “It was actually my mom telling me to look up landscape architecture,” Logsdon recalls. “I read the description of it, but I didn't know anything about landscape architecture. I did know I couldn't handle trigonometry and physics, so I went, ‘Wow, none of that. Let me design everything.’ I knew at that point that it was a kind of a no-brainer.”
This discovery set the course for a career spanning four decades. Land Design approaches each space with the same curiosity that first drew Logsdon to the field. When he started, outdoor design was often treated as an afterthought. “When I graduated, they didn't call it ‘outdoor living,’” Logsdon says. “They called it ‘landscaping.’” And that landscaping was considered merely decorative and an optional finishing touch rather than an essential design element.
As the expectations for outdoor spaces grew, so did the scale of Land Design’s projects. Fire features, outdoor kitchens, covered patios, and pools became regular requests. But in a region prone to drought, Logsdon has begun to reshape how he executes each project. Instead of expanding his team's workload, Logsdon scaled it back. Today, Land Design takes on six to eight projects a year with intentional focus on sustainability-driven design. Grass-heavy landscapes have evolved into hardscape solutions, reducing irrigation demands and long-term water use.
These days, Logsdon adamantly recommends three solutions: rainwater harvesting, automatic pool covers, and synthetic turf. By regularly capturing rainfall, homeowners can reduce their use of groundwater. “I'm an unpaid salesman for rainwater harvesting,” Logsdon says with a laugh. “Even if you have a cover, you should consider rainwater harvesting. Also, if I'm going to be preaching about water, I'd better start considering synthetic turf. It's extremely expensive to put in, but long-term, it ultimately is a good solution.” Logsdon says that synthetic turf lets homeowners significantly reduce water use and expenses over time, offsetting those higher upfront costs.
For Logsdon, business decisions are guided by more than design. They’re anchored by his faith. “It really is God's business,” Logsdon says. Logsdon handles all design work; his wife, Nancy, continues to manage the bookkeeping; and Homar Rodriguez oversees all construction for each project. “Homar and I both believe the first person we work for is God. We're here to serve people.”
That mentality is on display in his connection to Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries. In the late 1990s, he worked for Agnes Hubbard and Sherry Klein, known then as the “Garden Angels.” Years later, Logsdon and his family were volunteering at HCDBM when Hubbard—who founded the organization—said “hello.” “Agnes comes over and taps me on the shoulder, and we start reconnecting. It ended up being one of the best projects I’ve ever done. Agnes is like a sister to me now.” He holds onto that experience as a reminder of what he values most: long-term relationships rooted in serving others.
He relates to his team the same way. “Homar is like a son to me,” Logsdon says. “We have a 100% satisfaction rate because he's doing such a great job with our clients.” And the ideals of long-term relationships and service even drive his emphasis on water conservation and stewardship.
Now in the 43rd year of Land Design, Logsdon continues to adapt, balancing luxurious outdoor design with serious responsibility in a region where water scarcity is no longer temporary. “The drought is here to stay,” Logsdon says. “I don’t think it’s going away, and even if it is, we’ve got to be more sustainable-minded.” But instead of viewing that as a limitation, Logsdon believes the future of outdoor living depends not only on restraint but also on creativity. “Use less grass, cover a pool if you can,” he encourages. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should… It’s a fight, but let's do something that can keep us from wasting more water than we have to.”
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“It’s a fight, but let's do something that can keep us from wasting more water than we have to.”