Our Story

Our Story

Founded in 1983 in Georgetown, Washington DC, by Guy Williams and Amy Mills, DCA Landscape Architects, Inc. (DCA), has crafted award-winning designs that tap into the essence of each space. Projects range from high-end residential and urban and suburban gardens to large scale master planning for estates, farms and escapes, to embassies, commercial, academic and public endeavors. We primarily work in the DC area, with clients spanning from Maine to the Caribbean to the West Coast and abroad.

“Our Gardens are vibrant, yet understated, fostering a sense of place and time, memory and discovery.”

– Guy Williams, Principal and Founder

Our work has been featured in hundreds of publications, such as Architectural Digest, Southern Living, Southern Accents, Landscape Architecture Magazine, The Washington Post, House Beautiful, and Better Homes & Gardens. And in books such as 3 Michelin-starred chef and award-winning accommodation proprietor Patrick O’Connell’s, The Inn at Little Washington: A Magnificent Obsession,” “The Secret Gardens of Georgetown, by author and Washington Post columnist, Adrian Higgins and noted interior designer, Thomas Pheasants’ “Simply Serene.” 

The experience of place, the progression of the seasons, day and night, play a critical role in our designs and their implementation. We view our designs as an extension of your home or property, studying each site and its architecture along with the /interior /exterior relationships, recognizing that each client’s program’s requirements are unique.  

An easy inevitability is one of the hallmarks of our work. Hardscape and planting designs, whether they are classical, modern, and or environmental are contextual, and aim toward exemplary design as well as sustainability. Hardscape includes walls, terraces swimming pools, tennis courts, rooftop gardens, fencing, gates, pergolas, carpentry or ironwork detailing — often customized or created for each space. Our planting designs and materials appeal to all the senses. Our gardens have an underlying sense of structure, layered and softened with details and plant material to provide interest throughout the seasons.

Our Expertise

As a small firm, each project receives specialized attention from our principals and designers. Our designs are site-responsive, tailoring architectural and planting details to the individual needs, vision and program requirement of our clients. 

Recognized for our technical expertise and leadership capabilities in carrying a project from conception to completion, we are also known for our excellent customer service, maintaining ongoing relationships with our clients long after a job is complete, supervising ongoing maintenance and other needs as they arise. Our successful collaborations with other professionals such as architects, engineers, interior designers, artists and craftsman result in exemplary work. 

Our Services

• Master design plans
• Construction drawing
• Management of bidding process
• Plant and Element selection
• Overall project management and supervision
• Advise on maintenance arrangements
• Ongoing counsel and relationship