Indah Bulan means “beautiful moon.”
The name was born from a memory of Bali under a full moon — a pre-dawn lunar eclipse in January 2001. A beautiful moon, touched by shadow, became a lasting symbol of refuge, renewal, and wonder.
Indah Bulan Gardens carries that memory into the landscape.
Our Team
Founded by Stephen T. Swafford, BLA, Indah Bulan Gardens creates thoughtful, climate-conscious gardens that bring beauty, comfort, structure, and emotional depth to outdoor spaces.
Stephen is an environmental landscape designer with a degree in landscape architecture and more than 30 years of experience creating gardens that are layered, livable, and deeply connected to place. His work is shaped by movement, rhythm, proportion, plant communities, seasonal change, and the way people actually experience a garden.
Raised in Mississippi and based in Southern California, Stephen brings together Southern garden memory, California climate awareness, Japanese-influenced simplicity, and a love of urban forests.
Michael Rodriguez brings a refined modernist eye, a deep sensitivity to people, and a lifelong appreciation for color, art, architecture, and emotional intelligence.
A former social worker, Michael understands how spaces affect the way people feel, gather, retreat, and reconnect. His perspective helps shape the human side of Indah Bulan Gardens — the comfort, clarity, beauty, and lived experience of a place.
Together, Stephen and Michael bring a balance of plant knowledge, design training, artistic instinct, and emotional awareness to the creation of gardens that feel personal, beautiful, and alive.
Their gardens are not designed as decoration alone. They are living spaces — outdoor rooms, shaded retreats, places of gathering, quiet, beauty, and restoration.
Indah Bulan Gardens works with homeowners, HOAs, and property stewards who want to create gardens with meaning, longevity, and soul.
At the heart of the work is a simple belief:
A garden should help people feel more connected — to their home, to the land, to the seasons, and to wonder.
Cultivate Wonder through Story