Our Vision
Our Team
At Vana Habitats, we believe human spaces are most alive when they are connected to the nature around them. When landscapes support local ecosystems and wildlife, they become something more, places of peace, beauty, and belonging.
Our design approach is rooted in biophilic design, recognizing that our physical and mental well-being is deeply connected to our relationship with the natural world. We believe the spaces where we live can strengthen that relationship by creating meaningful connections between people and the living systems around them.
For us, this means designing landscapes that belong to their place. The character of the surrounding ecology, including its climate, plants, wildlife, light, water, and natural rhythms, becomes part of the design rather than something separate from it. A garden can bring nature closer into everyday life, offering shade, beauty, seasonal change, movement, birdsong, and moments of quiet and restoration. At the same time, thoughtful planting and ecological design can create healthier soil, habitat, and plant communities, allowing the landscape itself to become more resilient and alive. We see this as a reciprocal relationship. Landscapes can nourish people, while thoughtful design can help nourish the living world that surrounds them.
Vana Habitats Landscape Design is a family-owned studio founded by Anna Zaitseva and Peter Costello, based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Anna Zaitseva founded Vana Habitats from a deep love for the living world and a desire to create meaningful connections between people and nature. She holds a BS in Landscape Architecture and brings more than six years of hands-on experience across the Phoenix metropolitan area, India, and Europe. Her work focuses on ecological landscape design, thoughtful planting, native and climate-appropriate species, and the relationship between people and place.
Peter Costello brings business, organizational, and field experience to the studio. He holds a BS in Accounting and contributes to project management, coordination, and day-to-day operations, helping move each project from initial vision through completion with care and attention to detail.
“The desire to create landscapes that support the environment, pollinators, and wildlife, without compromising beauty or functionality, has always been at the heart of my work. Vana Habitats is our way of extending that love for nature into the spaces where people live, creating landscapes that feel connected, alive, and meaningful.”
— Anna Zaitseva