Landscape Design Articles
Landscaping A Steep Backyard Hardscape in WA
Washington Hardscape Landscaping My new clients were from southern California and now lived in Ridgefield, Washington. They were new to the Northwest. They loved their new home and neighborhood and believed all their difficult small back yard needed was the right...
Portland Landscape Design Remodel
A Garden Redesign for Family & Dog Lynda and Michael live in a sweet old Northeast Portland Grant Neighborhood House. It's a classic with a big front porch and several mature large trees including an amazing 40' tall Japanese Maple. They raised their kids and...
Protecting Our Portland Birch Trees from Bronze Birch Borer
Protecting Our Portland Birch Trees from Bronze Birch Borer Birch Trees Dying from Bronze Birch Borer Many developers, builders and home owners picked the Himalayan White Birch (also called Jacquemontii,) for its crisply white bark and over planted them. They even...
Lawn Do Over for Portland Landscapes
Drought Tolerant, Synthetic & No Lawns Landscaping This is the year for rethinking the lawn. As a Portland landscape designer many of my new clients want to make big changes in their landscapes. I am recommending clients replace their old lawns with new and...
Portland Landscape Designer’s Advice on Watering
Portland Landscape Designer's Advice on Watering You know how Facebook gives you that reminder about something you were doing a year ago today............Well! Let me tell you, a year ago today I was sick with worry about my clients' gardens because of the horrible,...
Heuchera for Modern Landscape
Modern Landscape Design with Portland Designed Heuchera Plant Dan Himes, Portland's own plant designer, of Terra Nova Nurseries took the old fashioned Coral Bell, a simple cottage garden plant that was beloved for pale spring flowers and created the dramatic...
Scarlet Runner Bean
Gardener and guest blogger Chrissy Lavielle tells us how to grow and cook scarlet runner beans. Her recipe below, "Scarlet Runner Bean Soup", is fantastic. Early in April, when the soil is just beginning to warm up, I plant the scarlet runner beans. It seems so...
Collaborative Landscape Design for Portland Bungalow
I recently got this great email from my client Cathy. She said "Hi Carol, People stop on a regular basis and ply Greg and I for info on who did the landscape design. We both often blank on your name but Greg did remember your company name today. Anyway, the...
Diversity of Dogwoods Part II
Portland Landscape Designer Appreciates Diversity of Dogwood Trees The diversity of dogwoods is well illustrated by these two trees: Cornus Kousa 'Summer Gold' and Cornus Controversa 'June Snow'. Colorful Summer Privacy Tree for Small Properties - Korean Dogwood...
Diversity of Dogwoods Part I
Diversity of Dogwoods - Part I Dogwoods are a very large family. There are twiggy shrub dogwoods whose hot colored stems light up the winter landscape. There is a dogwood who blooms in March with yellow flowers and makes an edible fruit. There are semi evergreen...
Garden Designer Brings Integration and Function To “Mismatched” Landscape
"My garden adventures with Carol, Design in a Day, began in 2010. Carol took my "mismatched" garden and pulled it together by incorporating a variety of plants which added interesting leaf shapes, texture, and color. With the addition of stone paths and walls, art...
Landscape Design in a Day
Three years into my career as an independent landscape designer I wanted to create a simpler and more accessible process of affordable landscape design for smaller properties. The result is Landscape Design in a Day, which works like this: Step 1: Using the Design...
Palmore Curb Appeal Garden Design
Drought Tolerant Planting for Updated Garden Curb Appeal Carrie is a real estate agent and understands the importance of curb appeal. She wanted some for her own home. She hoped for colorful easy care plants, low water needs and a good winter look as well as...
Save our Tree or Save our Bank
About ten years ago we built a vacation house on a high banked lot about 75 feet above the beach. Our house is on, or maybe I should say above the Puget Sound. The property had a majestic Douglas Fir tree that dominated the property. Our neighbor adored this tree...
Family’s Rhubarb Mousse Connects Generations
I found this story about rhubarb and a family's history in my vacation house kitchen cupboard. It was left behind by friends using the house. I enjoyed reading it and learned it's a part of a series written by Chrissy Lavielle to pass down her family's recipes and...
New Portlander Loves Colorful Garden
Joanne Diehl found her perfect home in Portland. I met her in the early spring. Her new home showed the results of careful attention to color, the interior was full of soft hues, contrasted with a deep red, a favorite color. Mostly Joanne felt there were no...
Dwarf Mugo Pine – Get the Right Plant for Your Landscape Design!
The Right Dwarf Mugo Pine Can Be the Perfect Addition to Your Low Maintenance Landscape For success in the landscape (which I define as "right plant right place"), it's important to get the exact plant specified by your designer. Early in my career I specified three...
Hellebore Heaven
If you love Hellebores (like I do) don't miss this open garden. The O'Byrne family designs Hellebores and have an international following. Marietta and Ernie are rock stars in the garden design world. Their Hellebores will dazzle you with color and form. Plus they...
Modern Landscape Design for City Backyard
Tying Front & Backyard Together With Modern Design Jen Martin knew what she wanted and has a strong sense of style but her tiny back yard in NE Portland had her stymied. Jen wanted play space for her kids, room for growing veggies and more privacy. The view of...
Low Water Landscape Design for Young Family
Low water landscape design for young family: TJ and Lori had a new house in the Beaumont Wilshire neighborhood. They were planning the landscape long term for their son and future siblings. I love to design the landscape where my client's children will grow up. ...
Big Ideas, Small Backyard
I met this happy couple at the Yard Garden & Patio show. They had the best little puzzle for me to work on. They had a small landscape and a small back porch. They needed it to expand somehow to add a hot tub, a dining entertaining area and keep their cozy...
New Shrubs Expand Designer’s Palette
Add to Your Drought Tolerant Landscape Design I'm excited about these new plants for Portland gardens. Many of us are familiar with California Lilac and its blue flowers. Beloved by bees, including our endangered native bumble bees, it's also a host plant for...
Sheri loves the views from inside her home
My client, Sheri Mead, sent me this note from Camas, Washington. What she had to say points out several important garden design concepts: "Hi Carol, I thought of you this morning as I got to the bottom of my stairs, turned the corner and was greeted with a happy,...
Summer Heather – Perfect for year round color
Summer Heather - Perfect for year round color Summer flowering heather can be easy care I use heather at my vacation house because it's so easy. I'm there once a month, have no irrigation system and I have hungry deer. It's got to be a tough plant to make it! Lots...
