The Role of a Tree Collector in Influencing California Landscaping
- president1493
- Sep 25
- 4 min read
Originally posted on Design Bay Area • June 10, 2025
The personal and professional lives of Lucas Dexter, tree collector and landscape installer at the family business—Dexter estate landscapes—are deeply connected.
A self-described “plant detective,” Dexter is equally at home on California’s sun-bleached highways as he is in a nursery or at a landscape install site. As a tree collector, his sharp eye and relentless curiosity have led to new and exciting plant discoveries over the years.
Among his notable finds is ‘Dexter’s Blue,’ a uniquely dense, slow-growing blue oak selection that he first spotted on a roadside. After years of propagation and genetic testing, it was officially registered with the International Oak Society—a testament to his to new plant discovery and to preserving their genetic integrity.
This discovery is far from an anomaly. His portfolio reads like an explorer’s field journal: a golden mutation of poison oak he dubbed ‘Goldfinger’; a rare, chimera coast redwood with cones; a striking sport of California bay laurel born from a burned tree in Napa County. Each of these plants, once mere anomalies in the wild, now stands a chance at adding diversity to California landscaping.
His home in Angwin, a rural pocket of Napa Valley, offers a window into how his personal and professional lives converge. Dexter built his home and gardens with potted trees and shrubs nearest the house, making them mobile in case of an approaching wildfire—a small but profound example of how design and foresight can coexist. His lush lawn is irrigated entirely with greywater, ensuring that beauty never comes at the expense of sustainability.
And while installing his home landscape, Dexter couldn’t help but notice the glaring absence of California native shrubs. That quiet realization planted a seed—one that would further grow his passion for propagating the drought-tolerant native plants he has discovered.
Dexter’s native plant discoveries have grown into much more than a personal passion project. Through partnerships with top propagation specialists and nurseries, such as Devil Mountain Nursery in California, he hopes that his discoveries will become commercially available. These discoveries have the potential to offer designers and homeowners alike more native plant options that lead to more sustainable and resilient landscaping, right in their backyards.
Of particular significance is his work with drought-tolerant natives, which are increasingly essential as California confronts water scarcity and rising temperatures. His current project, a shrub-like mutation of California Bay, holds potential for moving things in the right direction—providing beauty and hardiness without the water demands of traditional ornamental plants.
In an era when landscaping choices are increasingly influenced by climate considerations, Dexter’s approach feels as timely as it is timeless. “When we install landscaping with nature, not against it, the landscape becomes more than just decoration,” Dexter explains. “It becomes a resilient, living system that evolves with you.”
His collaborations with global designers reflect an increasingly international conversation about climate-smart landscapes, but the heart of his work remains deeply local: discovering, growing, and preserving the plants of California.
Beyond the gardens he creates for others, Dexter remains deeply engaged with the broader horticultural community. His contributions were spotlighted in Amy Stewart’s bestselling book The Tree Collectors, where he is profiled among a global group of dedicated arborists, plant hunters, and collectors. Online, he fosters discussion and knowledge-sharing as an administrator of the Advanced Tree Collectors group on Facebook, where plant enthusiasts worldwide gather to discuss everything from propagation techniques to rare species sightings.
Whether walking the property lines of a historic Napa estate or searching a forgotten roadside for his next discovery, Lucas Dexter embodies a new generation of landscape installation leadership—one rooted in curiosity, stewardship, and an understanding of plants and the environment in which they want to thrive. His work reminds us that great design doesn’t stop at the walls of a house. It flows out into the soil, the leaves, and the canopies overhead, shaping not only the way we see a property but the way we live within it.
In the end, Dexter’s landscape installations aren’t just beautiful. They’re proof that thoughtful installation can be resilient, environmentally sensitive, and deeply personal—all at once. And in California, where the landscape is always changing, that might be the most beautiful idea of all.
About Lucas Dexter
Lucas Dexter is a passionate tree collector, leader in high-end landscape installation, and expert in native plant discovery and propagation. As a tree collector and President of DEXTER estate landscapes, Lucas has fused his horticultural interest with a visionary commitment to expanding the availability and varieties of native California plant species.
Under Lucas’ leadership, DEXTER estate landscapes—the forty-year-old family landscape installation business—collaborates with world-renowned landscape designers and architects to create extraordinary gardens and spaces in Northern California.
With Lucas’ passion for trees as a guide and his desire to offer clients new plants, Lucas and his father founded Terra Trees: a family business that brings certified-organic Tuscan olive trees to those seeking the extraordinary. Today, DEXTER estate landscapes is one of the only California landscape installers with exclusive access to certified organic olive trees, full-grown and well-maintained. As a pioneer in the field with a unique skillset and eye for the undiscovered, Lucas is hoping that his introductions affect the landscape industry through a more sustainable, drought-tolerant, and native approach.
About Dexter Estate Landscapes
In 1985, Dave Dexter laid the foundation for DEXTER estate landscapes, a family-run enterprise dedicated to crafting extraordinary outdoor spaces, the company has flourished, partnering with world-renowned landscape designers and architects to bring visionary gardens to life across Northern California. This legacy of excellence continues to bloom as the business transitions to its next chapter. In 2025, Dave will pass the baton to his son, Lucas Dexter, who will assume the role of President, carrying forward the family’s commitment to artistry and innovation in landscape installation.
