Patricia Foulkrod

Patricia Foulkrod is a bi-coastal landscape designer and founder of Dirt Beauty, a landscape design studio working across Southern California and the East End 

of Long Island.

Since 2016, Patricia has designed and installed more than one hundred residential gardens, many created during California’s historic drought years. As water conservation became a necessity rather than a choice, Dirt Beauty developed a design approach that integrates traditional garden aesthetics with thoughtfully selected drought-tolerant plants — creating landscapes that are both resilient and visually rich.

In 2021, Patricia returned to Shelter Island, New York  where she previously lived and worked, and expanded Dirt Beauty’s work on the island and the North Fork. While designing in very different climates, Patricia brings the same core philosophy to every project: intelligent plant selection, responsible water use, and landscape solutions that anticipate changing environmental conditions — whether drought, cold winters, or unpredictable weather patterns.

Before founding Dirt Beauty, Patricia had a distinguished career in documentary filmmaking and feature film production. She produced and directed The Ground Truth, a feature documentary on the trauma experienced by U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, which premiered at Sundance in 2006, shortlisted for an Oscar nomination, and distributed by Focus Features.  She went on to coordinate outreach campaigns for several veteran related projects, including  In the Valley of Elah, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon.

Patricia has produced and co-produced numerous independent feature films, and documentaries for PBS, Turner Broadcasting, and Disney, working with storytellers across film, television, and large-scale public art projects. Her work has consistently explored themes of environment, social responsibility, and human impact.

Today, Patricia brings that same creative vision, project management skills, and environmental awareness to her landscape design practice — crafting beautiful 

gardens that are intentional, sustainable, and deeply connected to place.