Irrigation & Lighting in Larkspur, CA
Novara designs and installs irrigation and lighting in Larkspur, CA, from smart drip systems to low-voltage landscape lighting that makes your property more beautiful and efficient. Including canopy uplighting for redwood lots.
A Recent Novara Irrigation and Lighting Project in Larkspur
All Novara Services in Larkspur, CA
Every Novara service is built to work together. Browse our full range in Larkspur and combine what fits your property.
Full Outdoor Builds
Complete property transformations from 3D design through final installation.
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Patios
Natural stone, paver, and flagstone patios built on a proper base.
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Retaining Walls
Engineered retaining walls in stone, block, and timber for sloped lots.
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Driveways
Paver, concrete, and stamped driveways with proper drainage and grading.
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Concrete
Concrete walkways, slabs, and foundations finished clean.
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Planting and Softscape
Shade gardens under redwoods and water-wise planting for sunny lots.
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Wood Hardscapes
Pergolas, fences, decks, and custom wood structures built to last.
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Gardening
Ongoing garden care, seasonal planting, and property maintenance.
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Irrigation and Lighting
Smart irrigation systems and low-voltage landscape lighting design.
Learn More →Real Reviews from Marin and Sonoma County Homeowners
Every Mill Valley project we build comes with a story. Here is what our clients say in their own words.
Does Landscape Lighting Increase Home Value in Larkspur?
Yes, landscape lighting increases home value in Larkspur by improving curb appeal, safety, and security. Well-designed outdoor lighting can raise a home's perceived value by up to 20%, and on a hillside, canyon, or view property it extends usable outdoor space into the evening.
Curb appeal returns immediately. A lit facade, a few uplit trees, and clean architectural washing make a house read as cared for and move-in ready from the street. The same property unlit reads as nothing at all after dark.
Safety is the driver people underestimate until they need it. Lit paths, steps, and driveways prevent the falls that happen when someone misjudges a stair carrying something.
Security follows from the same fixtures. A perimeter with no dark pockets is simply less appealing to anyone looking, and it costs nothing extra once the lighting plan is already being drawn.
Then there is usable square footage. A patio or deck that goes dark at sunset is a room you own but cannot enter. Lighting turns it back into space you actually use.
The resale angle is real too. Evening exterior photography is one of the strongest assets in a listing, and a property with a genuine lighting plan photographs at twilight in a way an unlit one never will.
Now the Larkspur-specific case, and the canyons give this town something no other Marin community can offer. Uplighting mature redwoods is one of the most striking things you can do with low-voltage lighting anywhere. A hundred-foot redwood lit from the base reads as architecture, the trunk and the bark texture carrying light up into a canopy that disappears into the dark above. On a Baltimore Canyon or Madrone Canyon property, that single move transforms the entire lot after sunset, and because the canyons are already dark it takes remarkably little wattage to do it. The deep shade that makes canyon planting difficult is exactly what makes canyon lighting dramatic.
It also has to be done with restraint. Over-lighting a wooded lot flattens the effect and fights the character people bought the property for, and Marin cares about dark-sky considerations in wooded terrain. We aim fixtures at night, with you there, rather than setting them from a plan and leaving.
On the ridgeline properties through Hillview and Greenbrae, safety lighting carries more weight. These homes are multi-level with sloped paths, exterior stairs, and steep driveway approaches, all used daily and often after dark. Path and step lighting on that terrain is not decorative, it is the difference between confident footing and guessing.
And for the homes with Mount Tamalpais views, lighting keeps the view in play after sunset rather than letting it vanish at six o'clock, which on a property bought for that view is most of the point.
The irrigation half of this page is the practical partner, and under redwoods it matters more than people expect. Smart drip systems with weather-linked controllers deliver water at the root zone rather than into the air, cutting household water use substantially. In a shade garden that distinction is critical, because overhead spray in a canyon mostly feeds the canopy and the duff layer rather than reaching the understory you planted, and the redwoods themselves take water aggressively from the surface. Targeted drip placed plant by plant is the only reliable way to establish a shade understory beneath mature trees.
On the sunny lots, smart irrigation paired with drought-tolerant planting drops both the water bill and the maintenance load, and keeps you compliant when Marin Municipal Water District tightens restrictions in a drought year.
The reason to install both together is trench economics. Lighting wire and drip line share the same trench, which means one disruption to the beds instead of two and meaningfully less labor than adding lighting a year later. On a canyon lot that matters doubly, because every trench near a redwood is a root-aware trench and you want to open the ground once.
We design both as part of the complete landscape rather than as add-ons. Drip irrigation, smart controllers, pathway lighting, accent uplighting, architectural washing, and tree uplighting all get planned against the planting and the hardscape, which is why they look intentional instead of installed. On a full outdoor build the systems go in during construction, and ongoing garden care keeps the controller schedules and fixture aiming right as the planting matures.
Thirty years on Marin terrain, California C-27 license number 1134876, fully insured, two-year workmanship warranty on every install. Book a free design consultation and we will walk the property at your convenience.
How Novara Installs Irrigation and Lighting in Larkspur
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Site Audit and Plan
We walk your property, map the existing system or plan from scratch, identify dry spots, dark zones, and specimen trees worth lighting, then design in 3D.
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Smart Controller Setup
WiFi controllers tied to local weather data so the system waters less before rain and more through a heat stretch. Full app control from your phone.
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Root-Aware Trenching
Drip lines at the root zone of every plant, lighting wire run in the same trench, and hand-work around redwood roots so the ground opens once.
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Night Aiming and Walkthrough
Every zone tested and every fixture aimed after dark with you present, because uplighting is judged at night. Two-year warranty activated.
Why Larkspur Homeowners Trust Novara for Irrigation and Lighting
30 Years
Installing since 1998
Canopy Uplighting
Aimed after dark
Licensed C-27
#1134876 California
2-Year Warranty
On every install
Marin Municipal Water District enforces summer water restrictions every drought year, and a traditional spray system loses most of its output to evaporation and overspray before it reaches a root. Under redwoods the waste is worse still, because overhead water mostly feeds the canopy and the duff layer while the understory you planted stays dry. Drip irrigation placed plant by plant is the only reliable way to establish a shade garden beneath mature trees, and paired with a smart controller it can cut water use by half or more on any lot. Lighting is the other half of the equation, and Larkspur offers something unusual here. Uplighting mature redwoods in Baltimore Canyon or Madrone Canyon is one of the most dramatic effects available in low-voltage design, and because those canyons are already dark it takes very little wattage to achieve. Done with restraint it transforms a property after sunset. Done carelessly it flattens the setting people bought the lot for. Novara has designed and installed both systems across Marin since 1998, founded by Esteban Garcia and run today by his son Steven Garcia Ochoa. We aim every fixture at night, with the client present, because a lighting plan is judged after dark and nowhere else.
Serving Larkspur and Marin County
Novara designs and installs across Larkspur and the surrounding Marin County communities. See everything we offer in your area.
View Larkspur Services →Larkspur Irrigation and Lighting FAQ
How long have you installed irrigation and lighting in Marin?
Thirty years. Novara was founded in 1998 by Esteban Garcia and is run today by his son, Steven Garcia Ochoa. Both systems have been part of our builds the entire time.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. California C-27 license number 1134876, with general liability and workers compensation coverage. You are welcome to verify the license before we start.
Do you install smart irrigation and low-voltage lighting?
Both. Drip irrigation with WiFi weather-linked controllers, and 12-volt LED lighting including path, accent, uplighting, downlighting, and architectural washing.
Can you uplight redwoods and specimen trees?
Yes, and on a Larkspur canyon lot it is the single most transformative thing lighting can do. A mature redwood lit from the base reads as architecture after dark, and the existing darkness means it takes very little wattage.
Will lighting fixtures harm my trees?
Not the way we install them. Fixtures sit at grade rather than being mounted to trunks, wiring runs in root-aware trenches, and LED fixtures produce little heat. Nothing gets strapped or screwed into a tree.
Can you add lighting to an existing landscape?
Yes. Low-voltage systems are designed to be added to and adjusted over time, so we can light a mature Larkspur landscape without tearing it apart.
Is the design consultation free?
Yes. We come to your Larkspur property, walk the existing system or the planned design, and follow up with a 3D plan and a written estimate.
Can lighting and irrigation be installed together?
Yes, and it is the smarter way to do it. Lighting wire and drip line share the same trench, which matters doubly on a canyon lot where every trench near a redwood needs care.
What is your warranty?
Two years on workmanship, covering pipe joints, valve performance, controller programming, and lighting connections. Manufacturer warranties on fixtures and controllers transfer separately.