the best in outdoor living in Southeastern Virginia
Welcome to bluegreenLA, PLC landscape architecture! Our firm advocates for design quality and equity in the beautification, planning, preservation and physical development of Southeastern Virginia, Virginia’s Eastern Shore and surrounding regions. We create elegant and functional landscapes for our clients to experience and enjoy throughout the seasons. Whether it's designing a small residence or a large-scale commercial development, your project is important to us. We're here to help and excited to hear from you!
Chris Gustard
Chris Gustard is a licensed landscape architect in Virginia with more than 20 years of accomplishments in designing, planning and building landscapes and gardens. He is a graduate of West Virginia University and past president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, San Diego Chapter. Chris pulls from a diverse educational and professional background to devise creative and sophisticated design solutions with a keen attention to detail and pragmatic efficiencies. He founded the landscape architecture firm bluegreenLA, PLC which became licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia in March 2021. His practice and design + build landscape firm primarily serves the Southeastern Virginia, Tidewater and Hampton Roads metro areas.
Chris lives with his partner of 13 years with their two dogs, Waylon and Wyatt, just outside historic Olde Towne in Portsmouth, Virginia. They were recently engaged at the base of beautiful Smith Mountain while staying at thier family's lakehouse on Smith Mountain Lake. They are planning a November 2025 wedding.
My Story
Beautiful landscapes can work to inspire us and compliment our lives and our communities. From an early age, Principal Landscape Architect Chris Gustard was drawn to landscape design and creating outdoor spaces for people to use and enjoy in their everyday lives. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, he got his first job at just 14 at McDonald’s Garden Center where he learned to appreciate and care for plants and to help others do the same. Also an avid competitive swimmer, he would go on to swim at West Virginia University and graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture.
Chris landed his first professional position with a prestigious design firm in San Diego, California. There he gained broad experience in the site planning and design process by collaborating with clients and stakeholders, both public and private, to move projects efficiently through the permitting process. His experience ranges from intimate and whimsical residential garden design and restorative landscapes to large single and multi-family subdivisions, urban planning and redevelopment, streetscapes, student housing, beach landscapes, hotels, restaurant patios and event spaces. Chris is passionate about the process of bringing details together to form a landscape composition that functions as a framework for experiencing the beauty of both nature and the built environment.
Throughout his professional career spanning more than twenty years, Chris has excelled at delivering well thought-out and transformative designs to the communities he serves. He brings home to the Tidewater and Hampton Roads metro area his passion and excitement in designs for outdoor living which he has always achieved with an eye to detail and excellence. With a significant level of expertise in the project construction documents and building phase, he feels right at home on a job site working with clients to get projects completed on time and on budget. In his career, and through personal transformation, Chris knows the importance of being committed to serving the community and lending his skills to the greater good through volunteer work. In 2022 he was honored to serve on the Portsmouth Pride Committee as the site planner for the inaugural Portsmouth Pride Festival.
Chris is a licensed landscape architect in Virginia (DPOR No. 0406001831). He previously served as president of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in San Diego and has received local and national awards for his contributions to the profession. He is currently involved in planning the 2023 Portsmouth Pride Festival in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Contact Chris Gustard at bluegreenLA, PLC to get the conversation started on planning your next project.
We’re here to help and excited to hear from you!