Centro Del Anciano Gardens
Landscape Architecture Student Gives Back
Siena Moreno has spent every school break throughout high school as a summer intern at Sotelo Landscape Architects, and this year she also took on a weekend job at Mission Hills Nursery in San Diego, California. These experiences have given her meaningful hands-on exposure to the field and deepened her passion for plants and for the positive impact landscapes can have on people's lives. After noticing the run-down nature of a nursing home she visited often with her church choir, Moreno began thinking about ways she could utilize the skills she was learning in landscape design to improve the environment for the elderly residents at Centro Del Anciano.
"As I spent more time there, I noticed not just the people, but the place itself: the cracked concrete, the bare dirt patios, the absence of anything green. The space seemed to echo the sadness in the air. Nobody should live the final chapter of their life surrounded by cement and silence."
She approached us with the idea of enhancing the outdoor spaces at the nursing home, so we began by visiting local nurseries with her to understand plant availability south of the border, which is much more limited than in the United States. The first phase of the project focused on creating a flower garden with raised planters that residents could enjoy, tend to, and take ownership of. The second phase addressed the deteriorating retaining walls along the main patio, which needed to be softened with planting to help stabilize the slope and prevent further damage.
"The main patio, where residents spent most mornings, was still just heat and dust. I launched a GoFundMe, knocked on doors, and organized the next phase. I directed a crew of eight students and four gardeners, planting, hauling, and coordinating cleanups and purchases. Together, we transformed the space into a garden full of life."
For shaded areas, Moreno selected Hedera helix and star jasmine. In sunnier locations, she proposed a mix of Aptenia, Wedelia, Pelargonium, Gazania, and Plumbago. Her goal was to create a layered palette of colors and textures that would provide seasonal interest and visual joy throughout the year.
"Now, when I visit, I play chess with my 85-year-old friend Jesús and draw with Otoniel while we watch the abuelitas snip pelargoniums and tidy up the succulents. Their garden has become a place of dignity, connection, and small daily joys. Our next project is replacing the broken shade structure."
Moreno is an incredibly passionate and driven young designer. For the past two years, she has also been documenting bloom times of plants throughout Southern California for our firm, a project that grew into a beautiful book that is now available at several local nurseries.
As seen in LASN magazine, July 2026.
