Blog
Goodbye Lawn, Hello Blooms and Birds and Free Time
“Look! Look! Look at THAT!” “Ahhh! Sooo gorgeous…” This sounds like an exchange you might have while on vacation visiting an exotic place with giant hibiscus in bloom, or hiking in a pristine wilderness where golden eagles soar. But what if this experience of awe greeted you whenever you pulled into your … more
Move Right Out, Your Garden Awaits You
Your garden wasn’t finished when I came by to chat about outdoor furniture and found you sitting outside, coffee in hand and laptop open. Amidst the newly planted shrubs and mess of the gas line trench, you were right at home, living as comfortably outside as in. Up on Morning View Drive, … more
So You Think You Want to Hire a Landscaper
When filling out bureaucratic forms with little boxes, I struggle to fit the truth of what I do into the small box labelled “occupation”. Often I’m able to at least write “landscape designer / contractor”, which feels like a near fit. But if the box is too little, I’m forced to merely … more
Well-Clothed Landscapes for Low Maintenance Beauty
Picture your friend on a golden beach in her sporty little bikini. Nice, right? Attractive even! Now put that same good friend in your front yard in mild Oregon wearing the same spare outfit. Do you rush out to offer her a sweater, jeans, socks and boots? Of course you do. You’re … more
Open Your Doors
It’s our goal to design and build landscapes that invite you to open your doors to Nature’s beauty. What happens when you open your doors? In the words of William Blake, “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself … more
This Patio – a Tale From Our Own Garden
Even I couldn’t believe it when our beautiful flagstone patio became something else once again. But, this time it just didn’t seem possible. In a garden this small, a basketball court!? Tonight Aaron and our son Alder are thoroughly enjoying passing, spinning and “shooting hoops” onto our studio roof. With so many … more
A Flowering Family Sanctuary (or the dynamic results of clear design parameters)
Symmetrical and informal, straight lined and naturalistic, light and intimate: given these potentially opposing aesthetic preferences by a design client recently was really energizing. As I looked at their site and imagined the layout of paths, patios, and plantings, these design parameters guided my process toward something so “right” that it surprised … more
Springfield Garden One Year Later
This past spring I was delighted to return to the garden of one fantastic woman where we worked last year. Here are some photos I took on my visit: The entry garden plantings have filled in beautifully. Ajuga spills over the mixed basalt wall with Oregon native kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) at it’s … more
Phases of a Garden Retreat
Back in 2010 we installed half of our design for a very special garden retreat in the hills outside Eugene. The garden is detached from the house in a sunny clearing in the woods. The first phase included a hardy kiwi entry pergola, a flagstone dining patio topped with a custom grape … more
Rock walls: Beautiful and functional
Exploring Western Oregon’s spectacular outdoors inspires our work. This scene along the Middle Fork of the Willamette caught our eye recently. Mother Nature builds stone walls like no other! As in the wild, in the garden there is nothing like natural stone to bring a sense of enduring strength and patterned beauty. … more