Portera Landscape design was founded by two brothers, andy and john paul portera, in may 2005. andy and john paul grew up in tuscaloosa, alabama working in their parents' yard tending to a variety of shrubs and plants. after high school, they both attended and graduated from the university of alabama. after graduation from college, andy entered law school at alabama and john paul worked for a couple of years before entering the landscape architecture school at mississippi state university. andy went on to graduate from law school and worked in private practice, and john paul received undergraduate and graduate degrees in landscape architecture and started a landscaping company in tuscaloosa. andy grew tired of law practice, and after several discussions with john paul, the portera brothers decided they would together launch portera landscape design. since 2005, portera landscape has been busy designing and creating sustainable, residential landscapes for clients throughout birmingham, tuscaloosa and surrounding areas.