From the Ground Up

09/16/2025

Landscape Stories - This project is one we're lucky to get to revisit yearly. I met these homeowners through their neighbor I was helping out with her property.

They had lost everything in the wildfires and were rebuilding quite literally from the ground up. We met and discussed their style, goals and vision for the property. It needed to be low maintenance and low water. They loved blues and oranges, simple, modern and clean.

Stay tuned for more of the story this week.

05/07/2025

My business started with a handful of lovely ladies on Guemes Island.

I feel blessed to have started out in high school weeding, pruning and learning from each of them. Jane pictured here was always so sweet, she was dealing with salt water intrusion so she had to take water from inside her house to water the garden. From her I tasted my first gooseberry, learned about japanese lantern plants and would always walk away with something fresh baked to take home.

This early experience taught me quickly each person likes their garden their way. Jane's best friend Agnus had a forest garden and taught me how to dead head rhododendrons. Another fantastic mentor was Alice Hein, she insisted on using only the latin names for plants.

Still to this day I think back to the lessons they taught me. I wonder if there is a new generation of island teens getting to help their elders out continuing this cycle.

05/05/2025

Ai in landscape part two, what are the draw backs?

Here is a great examples of the limitation of ai to create accurate renderings. In the sketch there's a planter with a walkway around it then a planter area. The ai took creative license and moved the planter to be right next to the growing area.

To me this means two things:
1) As the designer I need to make sure my rough sketches are clear and legible.
2) It may take a few attempts to get the final product

So while this might seem like a magical short cut it does take learning a new skill and taking time to train both the ai and the designer to work together to create an outcome that's presentable.

04/30/2025

Golden Celebration - David Austin Rose

This beautiful rose is still to this day one of my favorite. It has a lemony scent and a stunning golden yellow blossom. Each stem normally has 1-4 blooms and it reblooms well throughout the year.

04/28/2025

Let's talk AI in landscape design. Image rendering and prompts can be a really interesting tool to get ideas to come to life.

In the image above I was hired to create "back of the napkin rough sketches" for a home owners association. They just wanted to get a rough idea of what was possible.

Normally this isn't something I do for clients. My goal is for my clients to walk away not only seeing what they could create but with a tangible plan to make that happen.

However now with Ai there's this new option, I'm excited to play around with integrating this into my process and getting feedback on how helpful it is for clients.

04/24/2025

Here's your reminder to plant your vegetable beds!

Now is the time to plant your summer vegetable garden. It's still important to keep an eye out for late frost to protect your most tender starts.

When in doubt ask your local nursery for advice on what will grow best in your town.

04/22/2025

Happy Earth Day!

Our mission is to make the world a beautiful, healthier and more harmonious place one home at a time. Each and everyone of you help us to achieve this goal.

I'm so grateful everyday that this is what I do for a living. I work on properties all across Sonoma, Napa and Marin Counties. Everything from small planters to 20 acre estates. Each provides a unique connection between the people living on the land and their surrounding ecosystems.

Let's all spend a little time outside soaking up the natural beauty that surrounds us!

02/04/2025

What tasks do you love doing in your garden in the winter?

We highlight a few of our favorite tasks that can help save time in your garden.

01/27/2025

What steps do you take to protect your plants from frost?

How to protect your plants from frost, understanding the role it plays in the landscape.

01/22/2025

Every design has to adapt when it is installed. In this case, we ran into winter plant sourcing issues. The installer was able to get 80% of the plants, but that means we had to move a lot around while keeping the core design ideas alive.

01/15/2025

Can you name this winter-blooming beauty? Here are three hints to help you out:

1️⃣ It’s known as the "Christmas Rose" or "Lenten Rose," even though it’s neither a rose nor blooms only at Christmas.
2️⃣ This shade-loving perennial thrives in Zones 4–9 and is perfect for adding color to your garden in the colder months.
3️⃣ Its flowers come in stunning shades of white, pink, purple, and even green, lasting for weeks.

Drop your guesses in the comments!