Farwest Gardens

10/07/2024

🌿 Transform Your Outdoor Space with Farwest Gardens! 🌿

Dreaming of a stunning landscape? Let Farwest Gardens bring your vision to life with over 45 years of expertise in custom design, irrigation, and outdoor lighting. 🌸

✨ Check out the latest trends article we’re sponsoring: Top Landscape Design Trends Shaping Salem, Oregon
https://whirlocal.io/content/top-landscape-design-trends-shaping-salem-oregon/

👉 Ready to create your perfect outdoor oasis? Contact us today!

Discover the top 8 landscape design trends that are transforming outdoor spaces in Salem, Oregon. From native plants and sustainable landscaping to outdoor kitchens and lighting, these ideas blend beauty, functionality, and eco-consciousness. Learn how you can bring these trends to life in your own....

09/01/2024

A fountain in an installation of a recent design. We went to Portland and shopped 3 places to pick this fountain. Front and center when you walk into the house and this view is from the dining area. The finches love playing in the water

05/02/2024

Every so often you see one of those light bulbs going off over your head. This is one of those moments.

Who knew, you didn’t have to study the natural way to get water to flow with soil contours. The many proper options to corral water and move it with modern piping, etc.

A simple solution….will work? 🤣🤷🏻😎

04/11/2024

When you have the right helpers 😎. They find Spring blooms all over the place. What a colorful time of year

03/26/2024

What a beautiful Spring day! White puffy clouds, very dark clouds, blue sky, sun, rain and the exhilarating plants showing off their blooms and outstanding new colors of their leaf growth.

So blessed to have spent so much time in the great outdoors!

03/26/2024

A pet peeve of mine is when companies show work that is not theirs. I have either worked on all the projects I show as mine, designed or collaborated.

I have issues getting enough pictures of before, during, right after and the best ones, out a number of years. It still doesn’t mean I will show stuff that I have no idea how to create, much less had anything to do with.

This is not true of when we are looking for design options and always recognize work that is not mine, just looking at options.

Either get in the game or don’t play. Don’t copy others work as your own unless you had some kind of substantial involvement.

Nuff said! Onward….

03/12/2024

What’s that you say….Spring is almost here. The sun and rain are doing the dance as the sun gets much warmer. The flowers are busting out all over the place and the scent of the Daphne Odora is awesome.

Give me a call @ 503-932-8392 to get started on a design. Let’s create a lifestyle in the garden together that reflects all your heart desires.

Your local neighborhood, West Salem designer of over 30 years. If you have questions about what it takes to build a great garden in this neighborhood , give me a call.

Ah….can you feel the warmth of the sun as you rest in the hammock, the birds are singing, the waterfall is carrying the tune, the scent of the jasmine is wafting over you. An oasis at your place.

Call 503-932-8392





Salem Saturday Market

03/11/2024

We love being part of the community Salem Saturday Market. We attend every Saturday, each week and enjoy the many vendors and friends we get to visit with. Of course, the dogs have their favorites.

03/10/2024

Edward scissor hands, the local ‘hippie, or the mow and go…..pruning today, yesterday and tomorrow.

Fair warning….pet peeve.

I don’t tell many people about my pruning abilities very often. My background is varied. I hate the word “expert”, but will accept the word “master” 😎.

In my youth I was influenced by the Mexican method of shearing most everything into a form of whatever you desired. Disney of course brought excitement with the display of dragons, bears and the European flair of topiary, along with some of the best unnatural, natural settings created of the day.

When I started learning, we sheared miles of hedges, bushes and other. The idea was “a bush is a bush, just shape it”.

I proceeded to learn how to spend up to 7 hours on one plant shaping it into shaggy dogs, poodled things, spirals and such.

Fortunately, I was taught soon by some master plant people how to take care of plants and how to prune. This translated into my design work and taught me to use the natural plant shapes with a purpose.

As a designer, I have walked many properties I have been involved with after the design and installation phase, with the maintenance person. This walk was to discuss the intent of the plantings in their respective places.

People think shearing something into a ball or shape is quicker and easier. I will prove them wrong every time. It is the mentality of the day.

Once you set up a Japanese laceleaf maple in the proper way, cut it at the proper time, it takes much less work than the hideous, disease infected shearing of such a plant.

I have added a few examples….why do we prefer so many rounded or sheared shapes?

Don’t get me started on the art form of bonsai or the art form the Japanese use when they prune. Love the style, have done a lot of this, but most people, don’t have the talent.

02/23/2024

Low water use & low maintenance.

Probably 2 of the most popular statements when asking people “what would you like in the landscape”.

There are many ways to do this & combinations of popular terms like……Xeriscapes, zero scape, native landscaping & naturescaping.

Xeriscapes terminology began in the early 80’s. It started in primarily Southern regions of the US and in particular, areas that had limited natural rainfall. The goal was to remove water hungry plants for ones that need little if any additional irrigation. Often this meant removing the lawn & adjusting the soil so the plants could thrive in a more native scenario. Many plants were added, just not natives alone. Often the phrase water wise plants was thrown around. There is also the combination of native type rocks incorporated, I mean, who has to water those.

Zero scapes usually in the beginning, included the removal of lawns as well & replacing them with an all cinder rock or whatever the local stone available was , over the entire area.

Sometimes including one or two plants or some sort of feature or art piece. As we got more creative, we would add a variety of stones in attractive patterns. In my early years as a landscaper, I worked for a company in a retirement community. We were always removing the lawn and installing (plastic base) and a complete patch of cinder rock or white rock. When that owner died, we would use the plastic to help pickup the rock, condition the soil and install lawn and sprinklers.

Native landscaping & naturescaping use about the same principles when it comes to the planting. Most if not all the plants are native (relative to a shorter history). The main difference is that naturescaping attempts to create more natural habitats as well & follows more themes such as wetlands and bogs, arid high dessert types of situations & woodland thinking.

This is where the combinations of these approaches are used. Often it is thought to mean “remove the lawn” & then plant vegetables, natural plantings & more. I have removed many lawns & installed a lot of different plants or combinations as a result.

A good idea (I use as well) when doing a landscape in an area you may not be familiar with all the plants, is to contact the local water purveyors office for a list. Or use publications like Oregon state university & others publish with a list of fire resistant plants & low water use natives.

Of course a whole other approach in this arena, is Permaculture . Which, although I have critiqued many drawing for others when asked. I am not supposed to really talk about this approach because even though after a lifetime of applying the principles, I don’t have the certification.

Call or comment if you have questions or thoughts on these topics

02/06/2024

This is a little story of how we all interact & some in an exceptional way.

Networking in business is a constant thing. Some are really good at it & yet most will try, knowing the results.

I recently know of a young man and his very young son being at a barbershop to get their hair cut.

The interaction between clients and staff was excellent. One of the topics was fried chicken and watermelon. The staff commented on how good the fried chicken at Roths in West Salem was.

So the young man asked his son if he wanted to learn the art of advanced networking. His son said yes….soo when they went back to the barbershop and delivered fried chicken from Roths and some melon….the staff was amazed.

People always appreciate and never forget these kinds of acts.

So glad you were paying attention and learned from so many over the years….way to go son.

As you use this in so many ways thru your work and community involvement.