Items published elsewhere (but by or about us)
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!
Some new ideas for garden ‘screens’
I recently published an article in Pacific Horticulture about “screens.” What is a screen? It’s a display as well as a boundary that hides what’s behind it. If you crave organized beauty and privacy, you may need screening to fill in — sooner rather than later. Check it out here: “The Solution Sparkles … more
Getting rid of the lawn
What can you do if you get rid of the lawn? See one example in my article published in Pacific Horticulture: “Organized Chaos — Food, Roses, and a Jungle Retreat”
The beauty of organized chaos
What makes a beautiful yard or garden anyway? Well, check out my article on “organized chaos” in Pacific Horticulture. “The Beauty of Organized Chaos”