About the Studio
A small studio that gardens for the long view.
Wildcat Hollow Landscape Studio was founded in 2016 by Andrew Thiede on a quiet bend of road in West Lake Hills, Texas. We design and install residential gardens that belong to the Hill Country — gardens built from native plants, local limestone, and the slow patience that working with caliche soil teaches you.
Why we started
Andrew grew up on a small ranch outside of Dripping Springs. He spent a decade working as a project manager for one of Austin's larger design-build firms, and most of that time he watched the same pattern repeat: beautiful landscapes installed in spring, struggling by the second August, replaced within four years.
The math never worked. Imported plants need imported water. Lawns that were never meant for limestone soil need fertilizer to keep up appearances. Owners loved the first photographs and quietly resented the maintenance bill.
Wildcat Hollow exists to design the other kind of garden — the one that looks better in year five than year one. That means starting with the plants and animals that already live here, and letting the design grow out of that.
What guides our work
Native first, always
Roughly 80–90% of every garden we design is native to Central Texas or the broader Edwards Plateau. The remainder is reserved for adapted species that earn their place by behaving like natives once established.
Soil before plants
Most failed Hill Country gardens fail at the soil line. Before we plant anything we test, amend, and build drainage that respects how water actually moves across limestone. Then we plant.
Maintenance is part of design
If a garden requires weekly mowing, monthly fertilizing, and a sprinkler running at 4 a.m. to survive, it was designed wrong. We design for two visits a season — not two a week.
Andrew Thiede
Founder & Principal Designer
Andrew is a Texas Master Naturalist (Capital Area chapter, 2018) and a certified Texas Smartscape practitioner. He has been published in Tribeza, Austin Home, and The Native Plant Society of Texas Journal, and speaks twice a year at the Wildflower Center's professional series.
Outside of the studio, Andrew runs a small bee yard at home with his wife Marin and their two daughters. The honey, when there is honey, goes to friends and to the staff at the firm.
You can reach him directly at faq@azelastuhkw.com or (486) 787-8199.
Recognition & affiliations
We don't chase awards, but a few of these have meaningfully changed how we work, and we are grateful for them.
- 2023 — Best of Houzz, Design (Austin region)
- 2022 — Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Featured Designer Series
- 2021 — Texas Master Naturalist of the Year, Capital Area chapter (Andrew, individual)
- 2019 — Featured in Austin Home, "The Quiet Gardens of West Lake Hills"
- Ongoing — Member, Native Plant Society of Texas; Member, Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD)