Items published elsewhere (but by or about us)
Lawn-Free Garden Design
This essay was originally written for and published in the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Quarterly Magazine. Thanks to their editors for the improvements. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It was green, at least there was that, but the chore of pushing the reel mower over its expanse had become unbearable. Even when her kids were … more
Habitat Hedges – the Friendliest Screening
Imagine stepping from the walled-in experience indoors, out your back door, to a view of multi-textured green, a foreground green that blends into the far view of hazier green. Your neighbor’s trees, the distant hills, appear as they are—connected to the land where you now stand. Read my latest contribution … more
Checkermallow Love–for Beauty, Conservation, and Pollinators
Living, gardening, and hiking in western Oregon, I was bound to meet up with this wildflower sooner or later. Rose checkermallow has a range that extends through the Willamette Valley and southward to the California border. It took a sleeping bee to draw me in and I haven’t stopped looking since. … more
Garden Design for the Greater Community
For my latest Pacific Horticulture article I had the pleasure of talking with seven different designers and gardeners about their public-facing, community-engaging projects. Read Garden Design for the Greater Community to hear their stories. You’ll learn how your own efforts to reclaim vacant ground, even if that’s just your own front yard … more
Blanket the Ground – Native Groundcover Communities for Biodiversity, Habitat, and Beauty
Where in your yard are you less inclined to putter, to weed, to trim and tend? What out-of-the-way spot needs a low maintenance solution that reflects your garden ethics and style? If your property has a hellstrip, a parking strip, a grassed area between sidewalk and street, this is a great place … more
Book Review: The Pacific Northwest Plant Primer
This spring, I’ve replaced some of the original plants in my home garden, things planted when I first moved here twenty years ago. I was young, in love with the classics, a good place to start a garden education. Winter daphne (Daphne odora), with it’s earliest perfumed blooms, I’d planted all around … more
Nature Therapy From the Contemplative Garden
To create a contemplative garden, focus on sensory experiences, species diversity, and generously scaled beds. Your need for peace at the end of a hard day could shift from cracking a beer or mindless scrolling to a moment of immersion in the healing complexities of nature. Whether you have a disciplined … more
Low Maintenance Gardens – Better for Pollinators and People
The first key to low-maintenance gardening is a fundamental perspective shift: embracing a bit of debris, learning to see dead stuff as beautiful rather than as work. The standing dead snag is an easy place to start. You know that’s a favorite spot for the woodpeckers and cavity nesters. On a smaller … more
The Allure of Forest Gardens
A forest garden, no matter how small, can be an opportunity to create a garden architecture that invites you to stay awhile. There can be many ways to wander through the trees and even more places to sit. If you watch a frisky dog in a forest garden, you quickly see that … more
Honored by Morpholio
I was honored as a top landscape designer by the good people at Morpholio. And they made this for me!