Lion House Design

Dreamy backyard for our very special clients in Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles ✨💙🌿

Pool bar details featuring some of our favorite cacti & succulents…margarita anyone?!🍹🍹

*prickly pear cactus
*aloe tree
*jade
*echium

October 2015 OXFORD MATRICULATION DAY

Matriculation is the ceremony that marks formal admission to the University of Oxford. It was one of my favorite days, and I’ll always remember walking through the picturesque streets of Oxford on a crisp fall morning with new students from all around the world, who would become lifelong friends.

What’s so special about this day is how the entire new student population pours into the city, starry-eyed, united by this heart-warming tradition & donning Harry Potter robes called ‘sub-fusc.’

Michaelmas term begins with students congregating from all over the world with varying backgrounds, personalities, interests, and aspirations. Students study various subjects, attend different lectures and tutorials, and will never sit in the same room with all of their schoolmates, but here, on Matriculation everyone is bound together. The single factor uniting everyone is being a student at the University of Oxford. It is a beautiful celebration of the gathering of so many diverse individuals, hopes and dreams.

After walking from Kellogg college with my classmates, marveling at the architecture of the ‘Dreaming City of Spires,’ the ceremony took place inside the Sheldonian Theatre. Designed by Christopher Wren in 1664, I felt like I was transported into another part of the world. The ceremony was fully in Latin, which made me appreciate the symbolic significance of Matriculation and the deep roots of tradition at Oxford.

After becoming ‘life-long members’ of the university, all students meandered back to their respective colleges to celebrate with food and drink 🥂 This day was the beginning of my Masters in Sustainable Urban Development. What a magical day to remember 👩‍🎓

BIG NEWS: We’re expanding to Charleston! Can’t wait to open our doors in South Carolina ✨🏡🌿

Our guest star, modeling our Woodbine project 🐶

A quick intro: Hi, I’m Kate Leuhusen, owner and principal designer at Lion House Design. I’m deeply passionate about creating pollinator gardens that spark joy and heal our earth. I work with clients to create unique outdoor spaces and sanctuaries for wildlife. I combine native plants with low-water Mediterranean, South African and Austrian plants to create our soft, textured, eclectic aesthetic.

I’m a formally trained landscape designer with a dual-masters in landscape architecture and urban planning from UCD and a 3rd masters from in sustainable urban development. I continue my lifelong learning opportunities by engaging in plant and design workshops around the globe. When I’m not digging in the garden or designing for clients, I’m traveling the world, ticking off one garden at a time off my bucket list with my wonderful husband.

I’m a California native, but we are moving soon…Some big news for the LHD team…coming soon! Stay tuned 🙏🎉

Thanks for following along, it means the world to me! I feel beyond blessed to have found and followed my passion for so many years, while making small and big impacts on so many lives 🌸🌵🌱 🐝 🦋