“I’ve had plants and flowers since I was a child,” smiles Round Hill resident Victoria Criswell. “It’s really my happy place.” Nurturing plants and advising neighbors on their gardens is what she does best. Her wealth of knowledge has bloomed and blossomed into a new career as a landscape designer, which she absolutely loves. 

“It never feels like work unless I have to bill people,” she laughs. “I would do this for free, but my husband said I can’t.”  That’s how much she loves helping neighbors create outdoor paradises that do not disappoint. 

Her career started simply enough. “I was on the Homeowners’ Association and volunteered to do some improvements to the two entrances,” she says. In the process, she apprenticed under one individual, which led her to start her own business. 

Her love for gardening dates back to her days with her grandmother decades ago. Victoria went on to attend the University of North Texas for Interior Design and Building Construction. That’s also where she got to see different environments for growing plants, which was completely different from growing up in the Midwest. 

Victoria has learned much from trial and error. She’s not afraid to fail. As she says, “What’s the worst that could happen?” She practiced at a community garden plot in San Ramon, where she grew vegetables. Now she continues to experiment at her own home. 

“I have a garden where I have expanded from the back to the front. It’s really my test garden. I find unique and different plants and see if I can push the extremes. I deprive them of water. I put them in sunny spots when they aren’t supposed to be in sunny spots,” she says. Why? There’s a method to it. “I test the limits of plants to determine how they best grow.” She grows plants from all over the world, including those from the East Coast. Through the years, she’s learned it’s about placement and how much water you provide. 

Another key element? “It’s knowing the types of soil you put plants in,” she says. “A lot of plants don’t like the ingredients in certain soils you buy in stores. You have to know the plants well enough to know which soils they like.” Currently, she is experimenting with Australian and South African plants. 

With all this expertise, Victoria has become the trusted contributor to Stroll Round Hill for their monthly garden column. Neighbors also consult Victoria with their plant problems, and she is always happy to help. 

“One of the biggest complaints from clients is that the typical landscape maintenance people don’t know plants,” she points out. “They don’t know when to prune them back or when to fertilize.” If you want your plants to thrive and not just survive, you have to master the basics.  

Five years ago, Victoria also launched her own business, Your Garden My Gloves, which features stunning landscapes. As a landscape designer, she is very hands-on. “I love for the clients to be a part of the process. I can make any garden be beautiful, but I want it to be their garden,” she says. It’s a team effort as they collaborate together to produce the garden of their dreams. 

“It’s great to see the joy Victoria gets out of transforming,” says her husband, Bill. “The before and after is truly amazing when clients are able to realize their vision.” Victoria delights in making their landscape dream a reality. 

Through the interview process, she learns what her clients like and why. High-maintenance gardens vs. low-maintenance gardens are vastly different. With people’s busy lifestyles, they need a garden that fits them best.  She wants people to fall in love with their gardens all over again. 

“I want to have something blooming all year round so there is something to look at of interest in the garden,” she says. “I always want to make sure that there is something fragrant year-round in the garden.”

Another way that she makes her outdoor landscapes stand out? Lighting. “I always incorporate lighting in my design,” she says. “You have a garden during the day, but at night, lights make it a completely different garden. I want to make it magical for a client with lighting, smell, and texture.” She also uses boulders and rocks. 

“Rocks are just as important as plants in the way that you handle them. I don’t use rough equipment to scrape rocks. I take clients to the rock store, and we pick out rocks together. Rocks have a personality and a face you want to see,” she says.  

When she isn’t gardening or helping clients, Victoria likes to watch gardening shows and read gardening magazines. “There is so much to learn that you can never learn it all,” she shares. Bill lends a helping hand as much as he can as a semi-retired project manager for AT&T. He enjoyed 26 years with the company before his job was moved to Dallas. “Victoria intercepted my early retirement and asked me to assist her with her company,” he says with delight.

When not working, it’s all about family time for Victoria. She and Bill are blessed with four boys and they treasure time together. 

“My youngest son Tyler (21) has CHARGE Syndrome,” points out Victoria, “and Autism.” She says, “He has made me so much of a better person than I could ever be.” Her son is deaf and blind as well as nonverbal due to a microdeletion of the seventh chromosome. As a result, we use American Sign Language to communicate and have learned to live outside our comfort zone. “Because of him, I have become so much stronger,” she says. 

In her free time, Victoria spends a lot of time doing advocacy for the DeafBlind individuals on the national and state levels. “I sit on a few different advisory committees and boards for California for the DeafBlind,” she comments, “as well as CHARGE Syndrome Foundation and the National Family Association for DeafBlind (NFADB).” That is her second passion in life – helping adults with disabilities and employment. 

Their oldest son Will (25) lives at home and is saving for a house, working for Dublin Honda for his occupation. “His passion is real estate and cars,” says Victoria. She and Bill wouldn’t let him buy a fancy car, so he settled for an older BMW for $5,000. The only problem? If the car has an issue, he has to fix it himself. No pricey mechanics here. As a result, Will became an expert in BMWs as well as cars in general. Not only has he built cars from the ground up, but he purchased a dead Mercedes and replaced the engine with ease. Currently, he is working on a Porsche 911. Two years ago, he started working as a car broker as a side hustle. 

Then there’s Carson, 23, who recently graduated from the University of Arizona in December. Currently, he’s looking for a job. Until then, you can find him pursuing his love of music. “His love is guitars,” says Victoria. He built his own guitar in the style of Eddie Van Halen, teaching himself to play just like Bill taught himself on this stringed instrument when he was young. “He has two favorites – Van Halen and Yacht Rock,” says Bill. “I love his style.” 

Another valued member of the family is Hamish, 24, who resides in England and works as a financial analyst. He met the boys during his freshman year in high school. A school lunch turned into an invitation to live with the family. After he graduated from the University of Oregon, Hamish returned to his roots in England but is home for the holidays. “He has brought us warmth and joy as well as greatly contributed to the flavor of our household,” smiles Victoria. 

This close-knit family would not be complete without the love and support of Tyler’s guide dog, Yosemite. This furry friend sleeps with Tyler, brings him comfort and calm, and is his “ears” when he is asleep. When Tyler takes out his cochlear implants, he relies on Yosemite to alert him in emergencies. 

The Criswell home is a hub of activity, with movie nights, video games, and hot-tub evenings.

Family rules are enforced creatively.

“If the boys teased each other, the punishment was pushups,” Bill laughs. “Either you’re going to get along or you’re going to get in great shape.” Both were accomplished! 

After 15 years in Round Hill, the Criswells couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. “It’s a hidden piece of paradise,” Victoria says. “I couldn’t think of a better place to be.”

Bill takes daily walks through the neighborhood, usually alone. Why?  When Victoria joins him, neighbors often stop to ask gardening questions. “She’s the neighborhood sage,” he smiles.

Victoria wouldn’t have it any other way. She simply loves to help others. “All my clients become friends,” she says. She is making Round Hill a more welcoming place, one garden at a time!