Are you 🤓 about plant knowledge too? Did you know that we have plants native to the Willamette Valley that have BLUE pollen? That’s right! Mind blown? Plants are so cool! #collomiagrandiflora #giliacapitata #nuthatchgardendesign

So excited to stop by and visit this complete large front yard #nuthatchgardendesign makeover this Spring when it’s in bloom! Planted in the Fall, it has alllll the habitat vibes. Mostly native plants + a fruit/veggie garden, a downspout disconnected to a rain garden, a teeny baby white oak surrounded by lots of native grasses and pollinating perennials, a peace garden framed by a native plant large shrub background, a framing of sub shrubs nearer to the street and centered around a cascara tree. The main pathways are meant to evoke the sense of the wind as it blows through and around the new landscape. The owner intends to certify with backyard habitat and there is plenty here to support his goals. 🌱 #nuthatchgardendesign #backyardhabitat #nolawnfrontyard #pnwnativeplants

Inspiration. Where do you find it. How do you turn it into a realistic design. How do you communicate with contractors about it. These topics are all being discussed at our upcoming @apldoregon annual February event. If you are a designer (you don’t have to be an APLD member to attend!), head over to the link at APLD Oregon and sign up. We would love to see you there! Photos: inspiration photos from my 12/31/25 birding walk with grandparents, husband, and kiddos around Fernhill Wetlands, which is always a lovely example of an intentionally designed but naturally rooted in habitat and native plant beauty. Even in Winter dormancy, it is always 😍.

Sometimes you just need a really simple grouping of plants to get a space started. That was the case here, where the homeowner just wanted a simple, spread out planting plan with room to expand and fill in down the road. Pinks, purples, and greens with flares of seasonal orange and red in the fall. Proof that “simple” with the right plant palette and design flow can be just as gorgeous and beautifying as a more complicated design. I look forward to seeing this one fill out over time! Photos taken right after plants went into the ground last fall. #nuthatchgardendesign

Just gonna leave this one here, too cute not to post.

The Life of a Sidewalk Strip. This #nuthatchgardendesign sidewalk strip is filling beautifully in over the years. Swipe to see where it started a few years ago.

Photo sent to me by a client earlier this spring, the flowers in this #nuthatchgardendesign plant refresh are looking mighty fine!

First summer for this #nuthatchgardendesign, it’s looking 😍 photos from early summer. @metalartfever panels intermixed with columnar euonymus green spire add privacy screening around a hot tub. Bright, lush, and beautiful with foliage and texture, but also practical with a new retaining wall, pathway, and sit spot to access and view the full backyard area. Design: @nuthatchgardendesign Retaining wall and pathway: @views.llc Plants and decor: homeowners + nuthatchgardendesign

This #nuthatchgardendesign designed green roof structure in my own @backyardhabitatcertification yard provides so much… shade, focal point, water management, deeper views of a narrow yard, here you can see what it looks like from night to day. (Green roof = plants are on top of the roof. Here it’s an intensive green roof at 4 inches depth planted with three types of native sedum using a lightweight compost/pumice mixture. The structure’s roof lightly slopes downward toward the rest of the yard so that the “green” portion of the roof is visible in other parts of the yard. I’ll add a photo of the sedum from that part of the yard another time.) Key point.. the lights do not turn on automatically every night. We control the lights and only turn them on when the structure is in use, which helps minimize any negative impact on migratory birds and nighttime insects in this mostly native plant backyard habitat garden. Designed by @nuthatchgardendesign Built by @views.llc

Second summer for this #nuthatchgardendesign! For this project, I focused on brightening up a previously unused and dark corner of the client’s with different colored foliage colors that bring more light into the space, and then continued that color theme through flowers and variegated foliage throughout the sunnier section of the yard. The new retaining wall has also provided more function, more planting space, and play (fun tip: kids love walking along a retaining wall) and is a vast improvement over the prior degrading brick wall. Purples and limes and deep greens, with moments of bright brink, all look so good here!

I’m excited about the install progress on this large front yard #nuthatchgardendesign! Client intends to certify with backyard habitat and there is a strong focus on highlighting different native grasses in different areas along with many, many other PPL native plants. Rain barrel overflow to rain garden, vegetable/fruit garden, low-no water oak/manzanita sections, welcoming sit spots, a peace garden, lots of different garden areas that are all connected and flow together with pathways for a cohesive yet changing, immersive feel. Looking forward to seeing the install progress and plants go in! Design is digitally hand drawn using @morpholio with plant list, title block, and contractors notes (not shown) in @canva.

This previously unused backyard corner of spotty lawn received a habitat upgrade earlier this Spring! The pathway is lined with fallen branches that the homeowners had saved and stepping stones were already on site, sustainably reusing existing resources. They are avid bird lovers and a joy to work with and the goal here was to create a low maintenance but high wildlife value space that will provide habitat for years to come! There are native annuals that are planted in there too to maximize blooms/pollinating opportunities the first few years while waiting for the designed perennials and shrubs to fill in. Sadly, there are two spiraea betulifolia missing here they quickly suffered from a wave of heat immediately after planting while waiting for mulch. But they’ll be easily replaced this Fall and all will be as it should again soon! The focus here is on native pants, with a number of carefully selected ornamentals also selected and included to fit the site and goals. Photos 1&2: plants shortly after planting; Photo 3: the simple but thoughtful design; Photo 4: mid-planting view from above; photo 5: the before photo.

These plants were planted earlier this Spring, dressing up a small backyard. Lots of flowering goodies in the flat areas, lots of hardy slope stabilizers (oceanspray, ceanothus, and oregon grape) in the sloped upper area with rocks set in just below the slope plants to reduce erosion while they get their roots settled in. Client put in these adorable plant name markers and sent me the photos. Love it! #nuthatchgardendesign #gardendesign #gardendesigner #pnwgardening #landscapedesi̇gn #landscapedesigner

A plant variety or two occasionally changes from design to install, often for the better when I spot something that I wasn’t sure would be available when I create the plant list! This container update is a small example. I was able to swap out the Fuschia ‘Tom Thumb’ with Fuschia ‘Golden Gate’ when I picked up plants. The brightness of Golden Gate gave the container selections an extra foliage color boost that I love even more! This container update was part of a larger garden edit from earlier this Spring, photos of the rest soon. #nuthatchgardendesign #gardendesign #gardendesigner #pnwgardening #landscapedesi̇gn #landscapedesigner #containergardening

Summer color in the garden. Incorporating brightly colored Echinacea, Agastache and Epilobium for late Summer color is a treat for the human eye as well as for insects! Bonus, all of these plants are drought tolerant and easy to care for - they do like some summer watering to look their best, but they don’t need an abundance of it and you can let the soil dry out quite a bit before watering. #nuthatchgardendesign #droughttolerantplants #swallowtailbutterfly #echinacea #agastache #epilobium #summergarden #summerdrygardening #pnwgardening #gardendesign #gardendesigner #landscapedesigner #landscapedesi̇gn

Amazing weekend for the @hardyplantsocietyoregon Study Weekend speakers and garden tours, @edensgatelandscapedesign and I have about three more gardens and then we’ll be done. Got to hear @oroeoboeococoao speak (huge fan of her work and ideology!) and had a lovely time carpooling with Stacey to all the gardens.

It’s a design day for me, with my own #backyardhabitatcertification yard for inspiration in the background. Native plants blooming in the photo are sidalcea (three kinds), streambank lupine, Highbush cranberry, western geranium. Not in bloom but also in photo are serviceberry, creeping mahonia, goldenrod, slough sedge, red flowering current, blue elderberry, tufted hair grass, and mock orange. So many more natives not in photo. Not all of those native plants are portland plant list, fyi, for you backyard habitat clients. Many bees and birds flying in and out, a common whitetailed dragonfly has been hanging out for a few days now, all is lush and beautiful. I drain the rain barrels out into the yard twice during the summer, some spot watering for the mountain hemlock, and that’s about it. #nuthatchgardendesign #wildlifehabitat #raingarden #greenroof #rainchain #backyardhabitat #pnwnativeplants

Thank you @apldoregon for another amazing event! Garden photography with a smartphone was a huge success even with all the rain! Big thanks to our instructor Debra McPherson for wowing us with all her tips and knowledge. Looking forward to practicing these skills on my own installs.

Bleeding heart stealing the show in this woodland #nuthatchgardendesign. There are many different color options available at retail nurseries, but the best is the real deal native species for calming woodland vibes and ecological contribution. #dicentraformosa

When I haven’t been posting on instagram in awhile, that means I’m crazy busy on installs! Photos to come on those later. In the meantime, I’ll share this green roof/shade structure in my own yard that I designed and @viewsllc built for me last summer. All native sedum on the roof, looking happy and full after settling in over fall/winter. Serviceberry in bloom in the foreground. Mostly native plants in the ground (not in the planters though), my yard is gold certified with the backyard habitat certification program. Habitat yards can be both stunning and functional with the right design features! This space was already paved so the options were to depave and plant or create a sit spot. This sit spot gives us a nice long view of our yard and protection from afternoon sun. #amalanchieralnifolia #greenroof #shadestructure #moderngazebo #westernserviceberry #serviceberry #nuthatchgardendesign #pnwnativeplants #backyardhabitat #backyardhabitatcertification #gardendesign #gardendesigner #landscapedesign #kandscapedesigner #womanowned #womeninlandscaping

Fall install photos from the design I shared earlier this week. This was a complete blank slate before we started, no plants at all just an empty backyard. Now it’s full of life and color and movement! 😍 Plant selection was intentional for year round color and texture and a solid percentage of native plants. I’m going back for pruning/upkeep work this year so I’ll be able to capture some updated photos while I’m there! @views.llc did all of the install work on this one, Farmington Wholesale delivered a lot of the plants, I brought in the native plants and placed plants in their spots and helped with a few things here and there, and the project came together beautifully because teamwork is everything! 💪 #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #gardendesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesigner #pollinatorgarden #nolawn #womanownedbusiness #womeninlandscaping

This is one of my favorite designs from last year (I say that about all of them! 💓) that was installed in the Fall. It was a blank slate, new construction backyard. No lawn here, lots of support for birds and pollinators, a path perfect for wandering through the space, and a color palette that changes with the seasons! Mixture of native and non-native plants. Bonus, I have the privilege of being hired to maintain the garden with proper pruning techniques (all you fellow garden 🤓s out there know how important that is!), which I love because then I get to see it in all its glory year round! #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #gardendesign

I had these lovely ladies as company at my pruning job this morning! @beavertonneuro is all about the fruits and veggies, so pruning included fig trees, blueberry bushes, and a currant bush. I’m sketching out a new garden bed space too with the request that most everything in it be edible in some way. I love that! If you are looking for a holistic, gentle care option for anxiety and adhd, you should check out her business!

Dormant perennials like echinacea and grasses looking 😍 with the snowfall. Winter interest isn’t always about the evergreens! #nuthatchgardendesign #winterinterest

Here are some install photos of the design I shared earlier in the week. First is the long view of the front yard, second is the side view, then photos of plants waiting to head to their new home, and final, the before photo with just lawn. Thanks to @views.llc for their work in bringing the design vision to life! I am excited to see these plants grow in over the next few years! #nuthatchgardendesign

These lovely clients wanted to remove their boring and resource-intensive front lawn and replace it with a native plant focused pollinator garden. We came up with a planting plan that had no trouble passing an HOA review. And we added a more wild pollinator planting to a corner in the backyard as well. Planted in Fall, I look forward to visiting in the Spring to see all the creatures who find will find the resources to thrive in this new habitat space! #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #pollinatorhabitat #nolawn #lifenotlawn #frontyardmakeover #pnwnativeplants

Bringing the outside inside during Winter with plants native to our ecoregion… Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry) and Cornus sericea (Red Twig Dogwood) are one of my favorite pairings to snip and bring indoors. You can leave these two in a vase without water and they will continue to look good for over a month! 😍 🌱 #nuthatchgardendesign #pnwnativeplants #naturalbouquet

Thought I’d highlight one of my many favorite plants that are native to the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Sunshine, Eriophyllum lanatum. A perennial that prefers little to no summer water, enjoys the sun, and is very easy to care for as long as you don’t fuss over it with extra water! Grayish green foliage that changes throughout the summer, flowers of varying yellow colors that are highly attractive to pollinators of all kinds. The yellow coloring is one that I find mingles well with both warm and cool color flowers. Flowers from late Spring through Summer. It’s on the Portland Plant List for all you Backyard Habitat clients. So much to love! 📷: all taken by #nuthatchgardendesign in installed designs. #oregonsunshine #eriophyllumlanatum #pnwnativeplants #backyardhabitat #habitatdesign

Well hello there, little one. It’s good to see you. The first of the ornamental bulbs to emerge are snowdrops, Galanthus nivalus. Winter isn’t over yet. But snowdrops appearance is always my reminder that I can start to look around my garden and begin to see new growth emerging. You have to intentionally look for it this time of year, but it’s there for you to see if you take the time to look. #nuthatchgardendesign

Photo sent to me by a client with a Fall ‘24 install… finches enjoying seedheads. 😍 Leave those seedheads up, folks, birds enjoy the seeds and they add texture/winter interest to your landscape! Frosty mornings show off their beauty with particular grace. #nuthatchgardendesign #wildlifehabitatgarden #gardeningforwildlife

Progress photos from the backyard habitat native plant design I shared earlier this week. Work done in the Fall, with a few more plants to put in this Spring. I look forward to sharing more photos in Spring! Photo 1 - midway progress, lots of mostly native plants in the ground, lawn resized! 🤩 This was mostly a DIY project, I helped with plants and homeowner did the rest! They even brought in their own habitat logs after this. 💪 Photo 2 - the before: lawn, lawn, and more lawn. 😴 Photo 3 - beauty photo of some of the plants on their way to their new home! 🌱 #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #nativeplants #pnwnativeplants #backyardhabitat #beforeandafter

It's 2025 and I still need to share some of 2024 with you! :) I thought I'd start with this awesome Backyard Habitat Certification front yard design from the Fall. Previously mostly lawn, client and extended family worked together to remove the lawn and do most of the install work. I had the honor and privilege to drop in after all the hard work was done with a load of native plants and dig them in together with the client. These lovely clients were a joy to work with and I appreciate their dedication to providing a beautiful habitat space for all the critters. I look forward to seeing how it all grows in over the next few years! #landscapedesigner #landscapedesign #gardendesign #gardendesigner #backyardhabitat #nativeplants #nativeplantsoforegon #pnwnativeplants #designingwithnativeplants #nuthatchgardendesign

Whew! I haven’t posted in quite awhile! It’s been a busy busy install season and I look forward to sharing some of the designs and photos with you in this space over the next few months. For now though, I’ll leave you with this flurry of cute Pine Siskins who flew in and out over the weekend!

Thinking about phase one of this install from a month ago, privacy screening and visual emphasis around the hut tub, need to get some photos of phase two pathway by Views also already completed, and then phase three (plants) is happening in a few weeks. It’s another good one! Panels from @metalartfever interspersed with narrow growing evergreen plants. #landscapedesigner #gardendesigner #landscapedesign #gardendesign #hottubprivacy #privacypanel #privacypanels #metalartfever #nuthatchgardendesign #metaloutdoorpanels #pnwgarden

This was a really fun install with @views.llc! From a boring, resource-guzzling grass lawn at this new construction home to a no lawn, flowering oasis and picturesque pathway, heavy on the native plants but also combined with ornamental plants, for this homeowner who loves to support the local wildlife and values alllll the benefits of native plants! @views.llc puzzle pieced together the meandering flagstone pathway with patience, skill, and a lot of heavy lifting. Alfonso picked out the most perfect bird bath boulder to complement the new privacy trellis. Plants came from a combination of @xeraplants, @echovalleynativenursery, Champoeg Native Plant Wholesale, and Farmington Wholesale. They’ll take the Fall and Winter to settle in their roots and then the flower show will begin anew in the Spring and Summer. In the meantime, redtwig dogwood will brighten things up in the center island throughout the winter. It takes a village! And my client shared with me that hummingbirds began showing up the very next day! Hooray! I get to stay involved with maintenance on this one so you’ll see updates as these baby plants grow in over the next few years. #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #womeninlandscaping #pnwnativeplants #backyarddesign #naturescaping #wildlifehabitatgarden #pollinatorgarden #nuthatchgardendesign

When you want privacy from the neighbor, but a welcoming entry gate on your side, and you sprinkle it with a little moon gate vibe, you get this! 🤩 And in case you were wondering what is going to go on the inside of the fence, we’re going to espalier a Garrya elliptica (Silk Tassel, native plant but not PPL native) on the inside. Boom 💥. Oh yeah… that’s right, it’s going to be a-ma-zing (in like ten years when it grows in 😅). Thank you to @views.llc for making my quickly-sketched vision of this gate and fence come to life! #nuthatchgardendesign #moongate #landscapedesigner #landscapedesign #gateideas #womaninlandscape #womanownedbusiness #gardendesign #gardendesign #welcomingentry #gardenideas #gate

This #nuthatchgardendesign is really starting to fill in. Total overhaul to this backyard a few years ago. It’s filled with the client’s favorites along with a spattering of tried and true native plants for habitat value. My client maintains her garden with utmost love and dedication. It’s always a pleasure to take updated photos!

A vibrant flowering entry installed at the end of spring (crocosmia and lavender already existing). Those existing crocosmia will have to be kept in check a bit and I look forward to seeing this space fill in over the next few years! #nuthatchgardendesign

A cozy sit spot in my own #nuthatchgardendesign. 💓

Nodding onion (allium cernuum) in a well established #nuthatchgardendesign, leaves me wondering why I haven’t planted this in my own garden yet! 😍 Bonus for all my wildlife habitat certification clients, this native plant is on the Portland Plant List!

A great update to this corner with Panicum grass that you can’t see yet along the fence line, deep pink peony, mango kniphofia, grounding evergreen bright lime dwarf cryptomeria. Photo taken right after planting. Can’t wait to see it again three years from now when it’s really hopping! #nuthatchgardendesign

Plant styled as food. Artistry and creativity by my children. 😍

A welcoming side entry with paver steps, a handrail, and privacy screening. This was previously a slippery barren gravel hill with no plants or soil. A huge improvement! #nuthatchgardendesign

A beautiful set of purples, pinks, and lime to dark greens that I installed earlier this Spring. I didn’t get a good picture after install. It’s a mini phase one of a multi phase project though so hopefully I’ll be able to show more “in the ground” photos another time. 😊 #nuthatchgardendesign

Photos of plants I installed just before Summer in front of this beautiful boulder wall and waterfall. The challenge with the plant choices for this space was that the plantings needed to flow along a long border with a distinctly different sun/shade pattern along the border. To keep it balanced I used similar colors throughout… Yellow daylily, orangey-red Koi Geum, and red Monarda in the sunnier spots and soft caress Mahonia (yellow flowers), orangey-red Fireball Azalea, red Fanal Astilbe, and red/lime green Solar Eclipse Heucherella in the shadier sections. It will have a cohesive feel throughout the whole year, with evergreens placed where they can be seen in winter from a primary window. #nuthatchgardendesign

Took a break this weekend after my last plant install before the hotter summer temps arrive. I puttered about the snow on Wy’East/Mt. Hood with the fam and enjoyed the much needed break. Saw Mountain Bluebirds, Cassin’s Finches, and a Horned Lark and patches of Phlox. Photos of all the installs/designs to come soon after I catch up on some design work!

Using containers to frame a deck in a #nuthatchgardendesign.

Oh the difference a week makes in berry season. This weekend’s harvest vs. last weekend’s in my own “edible focused” front yard. Because people ask I’ll share in advance this time: no, I don’t have a separate garden bed for my strawberries, they co-exist with everything else as a groundcover. No, those are not blueberries (they aren’t ripe yet), they are honeyberries! If you haven’t grown those yet, you should! The leaves are so soft and the form is pleasant shrub-like. They can also handle some shade.

More client pictures sent to me, I love receiving these and reading the sweet messages sent along with them! A thriving, flowering sidewalk strip planted last Spring, a newly planted Hebe in bloom, and a deliciously smelling Styrax in bloom planted a year or two ago. 🌱😍🌱 #nuthatchgardendesign

I love receiving update photos from my client’s gardens! We put these plants in their new home last Spring and just look at the gorgeousness emerging this year! 😍 #nuthatchgardendesign

Attended one of our @apldoregon (association of professional landscape designers) events yesterday, this one on furniture. Paul at @terrisdraheimoutdoor is sure to be a phenomenal resource for us to help clients access long lasting, quality outdoor furniture that perfectly fits their landscape design and suitability needs here in the PNW. Fantastic event!

Native plants in bloom (not all are PPL) over the weekend in my #nuthatchgardendesign #wildlifehabitatgarden.

Plant combo

Oh, #columbineaquilegia. I adore you. You are so cool and unique. ❤️🧡💛 #nuthatchgardendesign #pnwnativeplants

I am honored to have been working on this property for nearly three years now. We did a full yard landscape design plan and then completed phase one and two, for the front and backyards, with a high focus on plants. Then came phase three. This gravel filled and slippery side yard (photos 2 and 4). In the design we had contemplated a flagstone path. But by the time we got to phase three (the side yard) the homeowner expressed a new need for safety with a railing and steps with minimal rise and a lot of run and trees to add privacy. @views.llc installed the steps and railing last Fall and then came phase 3b this Spring for them to remove more gravel and for me to plant. Blue arrow junipers were the perfect narrow, low water privacy solution and there are a few other plants added including blueberry bushes in the side yard. What an immediate difference from the stark and lifeless “befores.” And we were still able to add a touch of flagstone on the upper flat part of the path as you enter through the gate! It’s going to be even more amazing when things start filling in a few years from now! Photo 1 —> After Photos 2&3 —> Before & After Photos 3&4 —> Before & After #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #beforeandafter #womeninlandscaping #womanowned #💪💪💪💪

And just like that, Tulip season is over. That’s okay though, Checkermallow season has already started and it’s gonna be a good one! #nuthatchgardendesign #tulipinspiration

Looking through my photos from I few weeks ago, and remembering how much I loved the warm colors on the Heuchera ‘Marmalade’ when I picked them up. They were going in with other warms including Forsythia ‘Show Off’ and Dryopteris ‘Autumn Brilliance’ in a space that flows from sun to shade. Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Green Arrow’ will be in the mix - a nice tall evergreen, weeping feature and Astilbe ‘Fanal’ a bright shot of color in the summer. Amongst some existing conifers that will provide year round color and focal points and a few natives like sword fern and creeping mahonia. These plants are part of a “phase one” planting for a homeowners’ full yard design. I love to help out my diy clients with plant purchase and delivery. They told me the area they want to plant on their design, and I picked up the plants from that part of plant list and delivered them on a Friday just in time for their weekend planting plans! #nuthatchgardendesign #plantideas #designinspiration

If the idea of plants with blue pollen, PNW native plants, pollinator banquets, and annuals that will self-seed around your garden is exciting to you, you will love these annuals! Gilia capitata and Collomia grandiflora will reach 2+ feet in height and have blue pollen(💙!) while Prunella vulgaris is more of a prolific ground cover. #nuthatchgardendesign #gardencoaching #pnwplants #nativeplants #pollinatorplants #plantideas #landscapedesign #wildlifegarden #wildlifehabitatgarden #giliacapitata #collomiagrandiflora #prunellavulgaris

Here is the design for the front yard I posted early this week. There is a “phase 2” to this project that I’m excited about coming later! I hand draw and color my designs digitally in @morpholio, compile plant photos and care instructions in @plantmaster, and add finishing details like title block and plant list in @canva. #nuthatchgardendesign #plantingplan #designinspiration #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #womanownedandoperated #womeninlandscape #morpholiotrace #canva

This design has a very intentional, three-color color palette and will be at its most amazing throughout Summer when one Hydrangea p. Limelight and multiple Little Lime are the stars of the show. I’ll have to go back to get more photos when they are in bloom. @views.llc did a lot of work on this project too, removing old hedged shrubs and vinca, refreshing the dry creek, and moving the Rhodie over two feet to center it in the window. I followed up with planting and mulch. A team effort! Photo 1: after Photos 2&3: before —> after Photos 4&5: before —> after Photos 6&7: before —> after #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #beforeandafter #womeninlandscaping #womanowned #💪💪💪💪

Here are befores and afters of a portion of the front yard, same location as last week. We removed overgrown shrubs and boxwood that were hiding the beauty of that gorgeous weeping Japanese maple and added color, vertical highlights to enhance the symmetry of the house, and Spring&Summer flowering shrubs. Photo 1: after Photos 2&3: before —> after Photos 4&5: before —> after #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #beforeandafter #womeninlandscaping #womanowned #💪

Here is the design for the backyard photos I posted. I hand draw and color my designs digitally in @morpholio, compile plant photos and care instructions in @plantmaster, and add finishing details like title block and plant list in @canva. #nuthatchgardendesign #plantingplan #designinspiration #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #womanownedandoperated #womeninlandscape #morpholiotrace #canva

Here is the backyard portion of a recent install. @views.llc removed the old, narrow brick retaining wall and installed a new, taller and wider @western_interlock murata retaining wall over the winter, creating a much deeper garden bed space, in addition to a few other changes. The homeowner and I planted the plants together last week. This was a fun project with multiple goals. You can tell from the plant palette and dark “before” photos that one of the goals was to brighten up the area in the back. Photos 1&2: afters Photos 3&4: before —> after Photos 5&6: before —> after Photos 7&8: before —> after #nuthatchgardendesign #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #beforeandafter #womeninlandscaping #womanowned #💪

Hundreds of plants and three Early Spring installs later, I have some fresh befores and afters to share with you! Then it’s back to finishing up some designs with the hope of fitting in a few more plant installs in late Spring. Can’t wait to show you how these installs turned out! Trust me that they will be more picturesque than a photo of my muddy pants and boots. 😆

It was a treat to get out to @sauvienatives last Friday! They sell native plants of course but you can also walk around their multi-acre pathway setting with mature native plants and habitat for inspiration and a calming nature moment. They also have these awesome metal sculptures that put a smile on my face. 😁

Wow, breathtaking Magnolia in bloom. I was in a hurry but I stopped in my tracks when I spotted this beauty! 😍

Wishing for native plants that bloom in early Spring? That’s easy, keep those hummingbirds delighted with this trio: Ribes sanguineum (Red Flowering Currant), Mahonia aquifolium (Tall Oregon Grape), and Oemleria cerasiflormis (Osoberry). The key to keeping them looking amazing year after year and not turn into a brambly tangle is an annual light pruning. I’m good with brambly tangle too, and so is wildlife, but I also get that on small urban lots it can be beneficial to incorporate native plants but keep them looking in top form year-round with just a touch of plant care know how. That is why I love offering garden coaching services to clients at an hourly rate. Sometimes you just need someone to spend a few hours showing you how to prune each type of plant, and then you can manage it yourself from there on out. 💪 #nuthatchgardendesign #gardencoaching #pnwplants #nativeplants #pollinatorplants #hummingbirdgarden #plantideas #landscapedesign #wildlifegarden #wildlifehabitatgarden #ribessanguineum #mahonia #oemleriacerasiformis #redfloweringcurrant #osoberry #oregongrape

Here is the backyard portion of the design I just posted. Really cozy, romantic vibe in the back too. — — I’m a landscape designer in Beaverton, Oregon. I hand draw and color digitally in @morpholio and add in other details like plant list and title block using @canva. #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #morpholiotrace

Here is a current photo of Manzanita ‘Panchito’ from a sidewalk strip planting I did last year, looking phenomenal after the harsh storm we had earlier this year. 😍 The key for long-living manzanitas is to plant them in full sun, stop watering them after the first 2-3 years, and don’t plant them where water pools up. #nuthatchgardendesign #manzanitapanchito #sidewalkstrip #hellstripgardening #plantingplans #designideas #planttips

I’m trying a few things differently this year, including sharing more content about my work on my website and in Instagram. One of my primary service offerings is to-scale design drawings for front and backyards. Here is a final design for a DIY client. The front yard will be a pollinator and flowering delight throughout the year, with dual use plants (smell nice, provide food for humans and wildlife, lots of color). While the backyard plants and design is a little more restrained and structured, in part due to two dogs who need space to run and play and trample. I hand draw and color all my designs digitally using @morpholio for the scaled drawings and @canva for finishing touches like adding the title block and plant list. My clients also receive other details to inform and support like plant care information. I absolutely love the process of making each design uniquely fit the client and the client’s goals, integrating it all to work in harmony with the existing earth features and needs. 💚 🌎 🌱 #nuthatchgardendesign #plantingplan #pollinatorgarden #designinspiration #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #womanownedandoperated #womeninlandscape #morpholiotrace #canva

When you start to get desperate to see something, anything in bloom this time of year in your yard, remember that feeling in the Fall and plant crocus and daffodil bulbs! I like to plant them late October and into November here in the Willamette Valley. Crocus bulbs are already blooming right now. You can plant purple and yellow like those top right above or there are other colors too, like bright yellow and lavender. Some daffodils are blooming, others are still on their way (classic yellow is always a fantastic choice, here is a darling white variety top right in a #nuthatchgardendesign yard and a white with orange-ey center from my own yard. And then I have a cool white and apricot variety in my own yard too that I’ll try to post when it makes an appearance.) Tulip leaves have started appearing letting us know they won’t be far behind the others. #bulbs #crocuses #daffodils #plantideas 📷 cred: @nuthatchgardendesign

Does anyone else think this Magnolia stellata bud looks like an Old English Sheepdog?

It’s crocus time! The recent sunny days brought these beauties out. I love to tuck these bulbs in under weeping Japanese maples in client’s gardens. They bloom before the maples leaf out, and then the fresh leaf growth covers up the limp leftovers as the crocus dies back. You can find them in lavender, white, yellow, and purple. The key is to remember you need to plant them in late Fall. In the second photo, the groundcover is #violaadunca a native plant that spreads around pleasantly. The flower and leaves of Viola adunca are edible and reportedly high in vitamins A and C. And it’s a host plant to the endangered Oregon Silverspot Butterfly. Win, win, win, win, everyone should let Viola adunca into their gardens IMO! 😊 And notice the leaf, ground litter? It may look messy to some but I think we all know it’s healthy for soil and insect populations to give up the pristine not-a-leaf-in-sight mentality by now, right? #planttips #plantideas #crocus #landscapedesign #gardendesign #gardentips #winterblooms

Dreaming of Spring. I took this photo in a #nuthatchgardendesign garden in May last year. The purple poof is #alliumglobemaster and in the background is a Lupine hybrid. #springblooms

It’s that time of year where you can snip a few branches that have budded out but not flowered yet - I do this with Forsythia and Ribes Sanguineum - to bring inside and enjoy early blooms indoors. I’ve heard all sorts of ways to do this, including soaking the full stem, but I keep it simple and put freshly cut stems in lukewarm water and it works like a charm. Oddly, the Ribes blooms are always white when forced indoors. #forcingforsythia #forcingribes #springbloomsindoors #nuthatchgardendesign #indoorplantideas

I love this combination of foliage colors for a mixed shade/sun nook, preferably morning sun rather than afternoon sun. - Mahonia 'Soft Caress' - Took a beating in the recent freeze, but it seems to be coming back everywhere that I have seen on the west side. I've heard it did not fare quite as well on the east side. - Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' - I love the variegated leaves on this Japanese Forest Grass. - Purple Heuchera - there are many varieties. I'd have to remember at which client's house I took this photo to know for sure but I think this one is Wild Rose. 📷: #nuthatchgardendesign #heuchera #purpleheuchera #mahonia #mahoniasoftcaress #hakonechloa #hakonechloamacraaureola #plantideas #plantcombinations #gardenideas #pnwgardening #landscapedesign #landscapedesigner #gardendesign #gardendesigner #womeninlandscaping #womanowned

It’s Winter Solstice, a wonderful time for reflection and to spend time together with family. I will be taking a break from social media from now through the first week of the New Year. But I look forward to seeing you all again in this space in 2024!

Have a partly shady nook in need of understory plants? These plants native to the West Coast will be a wonderful addition! Clockwise from top left: Symphoricarpos albus, a small deciduous shrub with white berries (toxic, don’t eat them) in Fall/Winter. Mahonia repens a favorite evergreen groundcover of mine. And Dicentra formosa (also toxic, don’t eat), with its delicate Spring flowers and leaves that go dormant by mid summer. 📷 cred: @nuthatchgardendesign and @plantmasterofficial #landscapedesigner #landscapedesign #gardendesigner #gardendesign #womanownedbusiness #plantcombo #plantideas #designideas #yearroundinterest #gardeninspiration #plantinspiration #pnwnativeplants

The PNW winter deciduous landscape is stunning this time of year and holds a surprising amount of color. 💛

TBT to when my @dovetailworkwear #womensworkwear flannel shirt helped me “dress up” as the Evermore album cover when taking my Swiftie kids to see the Taylor Swift Eras movie. 😂 Things I’ve learned from my kids in 2023 include that Swift is an impressive and hard working business woman, in addition to her music talents, and that friendship bracelets are back in style. One of my many favorite things about being a parent is how much I learn from my kids! 🎶 So anyway, cheers to a female business owner wearing a flannel work shirt made for women by a female-founded company #dovetailworkwear, to enjoy a movie-concert by a talented musician and business woman. 🤪