Landscape Design Articles
Resistance is Futile-Plants that take over your landscape
Resistance is Futile-Plants that take over your landscape. This blog is about attractive plants that take over your landscape. They are tempting and for sale at most garden centers. Star Trek The Next Generation came out 20+ years ago but I was busy building my...
Warning: Roundup is on Trial
Tips to Keep Yourself Safe When Using Roundup in Your Dog-Friendly Garden The first law suit claiming Roundup causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma started June 17th in San Francisco. There is new research indicating glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup is a serious...
Gardener Shares Tips for Growing Fruit in Portland
Portland Fruit For Your Garden Design My client Sherry has been in her new home and garden for about 5 years now. She has kept me informed about her garden adventures so I’m sharing them with you. It's great to see people having fun with edibles and her garden and...
Landscape Designer’s Thoughts on Firepit Placement
Hardscape Landscaping Tips for your Firepit A Portland residential landscape designer shares her thoughts about placing a firepit. My client Lisa had a dream about sitting out in her garden even when it’s cold. I was enthusiastic until I heard she wanted a fixed...
Tips to succeeding with Manzanita in Portland Residential Landscapes
How to Help Your Manzanita Thrive In St. Johns Portland Manzanita (called Arctostaplylos – Arc toe staff eye loss) is the new cool darling plant here in Portland. The reasons why are numerous, unique “new” plant, drought tolerance, attractive in winter and all year,...
Colorful Plants for Portland Winter Landscapes-New Zealand Pepper Plant
Colorful plants for Portland Winter Landscapes-New Zealand Pepper Plant I enjoy a good hit of colorful plants year-round but especially in winter. The rest of the year has so many plant choices here in Portland it's almost too easy for a garden designer. Winter...
Wire Vine – Friend or Foe
Wire Vine - Friend or Foe? Do you have a structure you need to cover and don’t mind occasional pruning? Do you like plants with interesting color, texture and tiny leaves? I have your plant. Wire vine – Muehlenbeckia Here are 4 ways to use wire vine. Wire vine on an...
Drought Tolerant Landscaping with Manzanita Plants in Portland
Drought Tolerant Landscaping with Manzanita Plants in Portland Why am I excited about using Manzanita in my Portland landscape designs? It’s the water To advocate the use of Manzanita is to advocate the use of drought tolerant plants. Happily we landscape designers...
How A Garden Helps Your Family By Helping Bees
How A Garden Helps Your Portland Family By Helping Bees As a parent, you work hard to help your family. That means you have to look out for their welfare. And believe it or not, that includes helping bees. These insects do a lot for your family, but they are...
Trees for Portland Residential Landscape Design in Woodstock neighborhood
Trees for Portland Residential Landscape Design in Woodstock neighborhood One September afternoon while in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood I drove by a former client's home. My clients had moved, and I was curious to see how the design (installed a dozen years ago)...
Success with Crape Myrtle in Portland Landscape Designs
Landscaping with Crape Myrtle in Portland I responded to a request for help from clients in Northeast Portland who were concerned their crape myrtle trees planted two years ago were not healthy because they didn’t flower. They had done their research on crape myrtle...
More Blueberry Heaven: Never-Fail Varieties for Portland Landscapes
Never-Fail Blueberry Varieties for Portland Gardens A few more thoughts on choosing blueberry plants. Last time we discussed some basics for choosing blueberries. I give you a larger selection to consider and continue to encourage the purchase of big plants. Here’s a...
Fun in the sun: Keeping your yard safe for kids and pets
Checking for Landscape Safety Hazards Your kids spend the cold and wet Portland winter months cooped up inside, looking for things to do and ways to burn off a whole lot of pent-up energy. When the weather finally warms up in the spring, it’s a mad rush for bicycles,...
North Portland Residential Landscape Design for Shade
North Portland Residential Landscape Design for Shade Chris and Jennifer of North Portland contacted me for help with their large shady back yard. Problems They were overwhelmed with the high maintenance of lawn under huge trees. They wanted a back yard for...
Plum Colored Chinese Fringe Flower for Portland Residential Landscapes
Portland Year-Round Color Using Chinese Fringe Flower As a Portland residential landscape designer, I have many clients who want exciting year-round color in their landscapes. If they love burgundy foliage (either you love it or hate it, it seems) I often consider...
Montavilla Bungalow Landscape Design for Entry
Montavilla Bungalow Landscape Design for Entry This NE Portland bungalow landscape design project was a joy. My charming client had a new home that was beautifully updated on the inside but the landscape was a blank canvas and a bit rough. It needed a landscape design...
Pruning Nandina easily for Portland residential landscapes
Pruning Nandina easily, the perfect low maintenance plant, for Portland residential landscapes I promised I would follow up from my last blog about Nandina domestica - Heavenly Bamboo and how seriously low maintenance they are. I’ll give you my easy pruning trick for...
Colorful Four Season Plant for Portland Residential Landscape Designs
Colorful Four Season Plant for Portland Residential Landscape Designs I like to use Nandina as a colorful four season plant for my Portland landscape designs. Advantages The foliage is colorful year around. Very low maintenance plants if you know the cool pruning tip....
Modern Landscape Design Plants for Portland
Modern Landscape Design Plants for Portland As a Portland landscape designer I enjoy helping clients who want modern landscape design plants. While well crafted hardscape is the key element to a successful modern style landscape, plant selection and how they are used...
Portland Garden Designer’s Holiday Gift Ideas
Portland Garden Designer's Gift Ideas Here are my favorite items to give as gifts. The Tilley hat, favorite therapeutic hand cream, inexpensive gloves, Garden Design Magazine, plants as gifts and pruning tools. The Tilley Hat You can buy a Tilley hat at REI,...
Outdoor Pee Pad for Dogs – A Landscape Designer’s Solution
Making Your Small Landscaping Space Dog Friendly I live on a floating home and when my dog has to go pee or poop, the parking lot is a long ways away. My perfect solution to living on the river with a dog, is synthetic lawn on my small garden balcony. I have the...
Violet Blue Flowers in Your Summer Garden
Violet blue flowers in your summer garden There is something magical about violet blue flowers in a summer garden. A mass of long flowering intense violet, purple or blue flowers to see from your summer chaise is a joy. Here is a plant that I use in my garden designs...
Portland Landscape Designer loves Purple Flowers
Portland Landscape Designer loves purple flowers of Monkshood Portland landscape designer loves purple flowers of Monkshood. My clients have unique likes and dislikes when it comes to plants. When they love something specific, like purple flowers, one of my...
Portland Landscape Designer and River Life
As a Portland landscape designer I'm in and out of 2 or 3 homes a week. It's fun to see how people live so I figure it's only fair to share how I live and many people are curious about living in a floating home. I can also brag about my partner Bob's amazing...
