Aquastone Landscaping is an Olympia-based landscape design and installation company serving homeowners across the greater Puget Sound area, including Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Bonney Lake, and Puyallup. Since 1991, we have been turning ordinary outdoor spaces into environments that are as functional as they are worth looking at, built to hold up through every season this region delivers.
We started as Ward's Landscaping. In 2001, we became Aquastone, a name that reflects what has always driven our work: the combination of natural stone and water in landscapes that feel rooted in the Pacific Northwest. That transition was not just a rebrand. It marked a clearer focus on the kind of work we do best, custom hardscapes, thoughtful planting design, and outdoor spaces built around how people actually use them.
The People Behind the Work
Aquastone was founded by David Ward and Dan Collins, and both are still directly involved in every project the company takes on. That is not something you find at most landscaping companies, and it is one of the reasons our work looks the way it does.
David Ward, Master Gardener and Landscape Designer
David holds a Master's Degree in Landscape Design and is a certified Master Gardener. His background covers plant material selection, horticultural science, and the kind of design thinking that makes a landscape feel intentional rather than assembled. He understands how plants perform in the specific microclimates of the South Sound, which soils drain well and which do not, which species thrive through a wet Thurston County winter and which ones struggle. That knowledge shapes every planting plan and design decision Aquastone makes.
Dan Collins, Custom Masonry and Hardscape Specialist
Dan specializes in custom masonry and hardscape construction. His work covers everything from flagstone patios and retaining walls to outdoor fireplaces and built-in kitchen structures. The quality of a hardscape comes down to how it is built, the base preparation, the material choices, the drainage details that most people never see but always feel the consequences of when they are missing. Dan has been getting those details right for over three decades.
How We Approach Every Project
Most landscaping problems are not actually about plants or stone. They are about a space that was never properly thought through. A backyard that floods because no one addressed grading. A patio that looks good on day one but starts failing by year three because the base was wrong. A landscape design that works on paper but ignores how the homeowner actually moves through the space.
We start every project with a real conversation about how you use your outdoor space and what you want from it. From that point, David and Dan work together on a plan that covers both the design and the construction side, so nothing gets lost between what was drawn and what gets built.
What We Build
Our work covers the full range of outdoor design and installation. Hardscapes including patios, walkways, retaining walls, and custom masonry. Landscape design and planting installation suited to the Pacific Northwest climate. Outdoor living features including kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits, and pergolas. Pavers in flagstone, porcelain, and concrete. Irrigation systems, artificial turf, water features, and landscape lighting. If it happens outside, we handle it.
We serve homeowners throughout Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Bonney Lake, Puyallup, and the surrounding communities of Thurston and Pierce counties. Every estimate is free and comes with no obligation. Call us at 360-870-3031 or reach out through our online contact form to get started.