ABOUT US
Drew and Shannon Lester are a husband-and-wife team with over 40 years of combined experience serving Central Oregon landscapes. Locally rooted and committed to long-term relationships, their work emphasizes sustainable, thoughtful design that helps homeowners create gardens that thrive year after year—without sacrificing time to enjoy everything Central Oregon has to offer. They specialize in landscape design, project management, and annual backflow assembly testing.
Drew grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington. After college, he moved west to work as a mountaineering guide before settling into the landscape industry, where he expanded his education and expertise. Today, Drew focuses on backflow assembly testing and landscape installation consulting.
Shannon grew up in Southern Oregon, where camping, whitewater rafting, skiing, and family travel shaped her connection to the natural landscape. This early appreciation for the outdoors inspired her to pursue a B.S. in Landscape Architecture at Washington State University, complemented by hands-on experience working in retail plant nurseries. Her professional background includes custom residential and commercial landscape design, wetland mitigation, land use and city planning, allowing her to approach each project with both creativity and technical insight.
Shannon and Drew introduced Blooming Desert Landscapes in 2006, offering custom landscape design and installation services that helped shape much of Central Oregon. Beginning in 2012, over a five-year span, they built Steel Life—a mid-century modern–inspired planter collection recognized by Martha Stewart, Sunset, Better Homes & Gardens, and more. Steel Life hosted a garden event at Palm Springs Modernism Week and produced work for The Standard Hotel in New York and Miami, as well as locally at the Sunriver Amphitheater. In 2015, Shannon shared her product design experience on an OPB-moderated panel at Bend Design Con.
In 2018, Shannon and Drew evolved their practice into Blooming Desert Design + Build, focusing on landscape design and paver installation. More recently, they refined their services to landscape design, project management and backflow assembly testing. Outside of work, they enjoy spending time with their family, hiking, boating, and tending their quarter-acre garden.