“If beauty’s understood as a form of order, its elements perfectly self-regulating, then an orderly day is not a worn circuit, or rote, but a haven and a habitat.” Lia Purpura Too often the habitat garden, the wildlife garden, the native garden appears a mess, chaotic and uninviting to the human animal … more
pal-imp-sest n. A manuscript that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible. n. An object or area that has extensive evidence of or layers showing activity or use. I scale the thin soil of Skinner’s Butte daily, birdsong and Leela dog … more
How much time do you spend looking out the window over your kitchen sink? If you’re like me, it’s a daily ritual to gaze out at the world while washing up and preparing food. I wrote in January about the winter display of cedar waxwings descending on tiny rose hips out my … more
Many years ago, with a basket hooked in one elbow and my young son’s small hand in the other, I walked through the welcome sun of a February day. Neighborhood drifts of green-hearted leaves, dotted with purple flower faces, our destination. The small patch of sweet violets in our home garden … more
1 You were taught that to care means neatness that care looks tidy. It’s modeled this way everywhere you look. Autumn’s debris removed from sight, earth bare (barren), swept, raked, scraped clean, empty, sterile. And so, at home, the place you care for most, with your time, with your attention, with your … more
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
With wet soil (also known as mud) coating my gloves, rain coat and shovel handle recently, I got to thinking. What is it about these special gardens that we create that really matters? In other words, why do people need these gardens? The biophilia hypothesis claims that our instinctive connection to nature … more
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