Do you only work with native plants?

99.9% of the time, yes. If a particular aesthetic effect is desired I am willing to use nativars (a portmanteau of “native” and “cultivar”) but I try to keep those to a minimum. I’m not exactly opposed to using non-native plants so long as they are sterile/unable to spread - the problem is mainly that many don’t always play well with natives in a naturalistic design (which is what I do) and can look out of place in a more naturalistic setting. That’s not always the case, though, so if you are feeling conflicted about removing grandma’s favorite rose bush, ask!

What if I only want to do part of my lawn or a foundation bed?

It’s totally OK if you only want part of your lawn gone - many people leave either mulched or turf grass paths and have other areas where they want to keep turf. That’s no problem!

As for foundation beds, I can do those, too, though I am moving away from doing traditional beds with widely spaced plants and towards a more naturalistic design.

Do you use herbicide?

Yes, I use an exceedingly careful application of glyphosate to kill lawns. A page that outlines my philosophy on herbicides is forthcoming but the short version is that the alleged "safer” methods are often worse for soil health and ineffective on many weeds.

If herbicide use is still a dealbreaker for you, we can still work together to create your dream garden! Here’s how that would work: I would come out and do a site evaluation like normal and then you would take care of the lawn killing part. After it’s dead, you would get back to me to complete the project.

Do you do hardscaping/lawn care?

No, I do not. A hardscaping or lawn care professional will do that work better and faster than me.

What is maintenance like for one of your gardens?

It depends! Most will need to be mowed once a year in the early Spring. Fires are nature’s way of dealing with the buildup of dead plant matter but we can’t burn our yards, so mowing is the next best option.

During the first crucial year the garden will need to be weeded regularly and may need to be watered. Clients should be prepared to do this themselves (though I am available to answer questions and do have a limited number of maintenance slots available.)

After the first year the landscape shouldn’t need to be watered. When the landscape is mature in 3-5 years the weeding will have tapered off. There may be times where you may want to limit the spread of certain plants to maintain a certain look, but that is an individual choice.

There is no such thing as a no-maintenance landscape, but (aside from the first couple of years) this is as low maintenance as it gets.

Do you do maintenance plans?

I give my clients the tools they need to do their own maintenance because I believe the more hands-on you are with your garden, the happier you will be with it. It’s relationship building.

That said, while I don’t have maintenance subscription packages yet, I do have limited slots available that you can book me for.

Do you travel?

If you are outside my service area (listed on the Services page) but are interested in my services, contact me and we can talk about it.

Will you convert my large property to prairie?

At this time I’m only taking clients with smallish residential yards and commercial spaces. Get back to me in a few years!

Where is your phone number on this website?

I was getting so many spam calls that I had to remove my number from the website. It’s still on my Google page and on some advertising. After we touch base via email, I will give you my phone number.

Do you do talks or lectures?

I’m working on developing some! Contact me if you’re interested.

Are you hiring?

I’m only looking for people to help me do landscape installations right now. I’m also hoping to turn this into a worker co-op where all employees are owners and decisions are made collectively. If you are interested in either doing some 1-2 day gig work for landscape installs or teaming up, reach out.