Gardens by Design

A Way of Designing

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I look to pull existing landscapes into clearer focus, rather than trying to overcome them.  A finished project is a successful project when it more fully articulates what is already there. I strive to help my clients better see, smell and feel their surroundings.  To create a sense of place both personal and authentic. 

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I look first, though not exclusively, to native plants, and to the woodland, meadow and waterside communities where they thrive.  Imports can add a richness of color, or texture, or fragrance, and that shouldn’t be ignored. But it is natives that do the heavy environmental lifting—they provide the food and homes and protections uniquely matched to the needs of our pollinators and birds.  Natives enrich our landscapes with sounds and scents and movement. They are the prime players in cultivating a sense of place.

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For the designer—for me—the joys of the work are multiple.  I love plants, I love the challenge presented by each job, I love watching a design turn into a living thing.  And I love the sense of achieving for a client the look and feeling we agreed to shoot for at the outset of their project. 

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