Anne-Marie Allen is the Principal of Allen Land Design. She began her landscaping career in Berkeley, CA, opening Barefoot Gardens while attending agricultural courses at Samuel Merritt College in the Oakland Hills.

Over 15+ years, she has helped shape Allen Land Design into its award-winning state with her behind the scene contributions that include obtaining Biodynamic and Stellar Organic Certification, seasonal newsletters, garden and website photography, and demonstration garden development.

As Anne-Marie’s interest and knowledge continue to grow, she has been inspired to begin her own non-profit, Deep Breath Healing Gardens. Her organization provides design concepts and installation of outdoor healing spaces for those in treatment for cancer. Anne-Marie’s work was recently profiled in the Press Democrat—read more here.

We sat down with Ann-Marie to learn her eight essentials—here’s what she told us.

An essential show to watch

Parenthood. Watched it with my teenage daughter. It gave us great segues into conversations that we needed to have. It felt like we were discussing the TV show but we were really talking about ourselves.

An essential philosophy to consider

Enjoy the roller coaster ride of life until you are actually flying off the tracks—then that’s the time to be worried and scared. Otherwise, have fun and laugh a lot cause the worst fears usually don’t happen.

An essential destination to visit

Amsterdam! I lived there for 6 months in my 20s. So beautiful. I loved the canals, sense of freedom, bike riding all over the city, beautiful buildings, and of course the “coffee shops.”

An essential home item

My husband, Jeff Allen. My guy with a huge heart, grounding presence, and a big laugh. Home sweet home.

An essential activity to try

Virtual reality boxing—such a great workout. The Supernatural app is the one to try.

An essential food to try

Diavola Pizzeria, the “Inferno Pizza.” Spicy, Saucy, Vegetarian. Restaurant in Geyserville. So worth the drive.

An essential bucket list item to check off

Take some drum lessons. I’ve made one call, now I just need to follow up and book my first lesson. YIKES!

An essential lesson to learn

Listen to that quiet voice inside, your gut reaction, instinct. Don’t learn the hard way—although then you’ll never forget it!

Learn More About SOMO Village

If you’re interested in living in a sustainable community that fuses the best of city living with the country lifestyle and all the amazing things that Sonoma County has to offer, we invited you to visit SOMO Village. To learn more, download our residential project brief or get in touch with us today.