I seem to have a real process which often surprises me. From the outside it seems like I am flying from the seat of my pants when in fact I really do have an instinctive system.

• First I ask the client to have paper, a clip board and a pencil ready to survey the property. I ask clients to take notes as we walk and talk which allows me to look, think and I jot down key ideas as we walk through the garden. This method is used for consultations that end at that point as well as for initial consultations which are the beginning of a project. I give a lot of information during those consultations that is the reason they is a charge for this part of the consultation.
• I ask folks to think about what works in the area(s) in question and what does not.
• I want to know the intended use for the area, where it is viewed… mostly from the house or while sitting on the deck or patio etc.
• I like to look at the garden from inside the house. This allows me the opportunity to see the important points in the garden and how they line up and also to see how one lives. Very spacious, uncluttered homes like to see the same in the garden. People who love to keep “memories” around and enjoy abundance like to see that reflected in the garden.
• I will not start without a budget. People need to set their own level of financial comfort. I work really hard to stay within those lines. Occasionally we will find the unexpected…a foundation ledge that has been mulched over for 10 years that has to be jack hammered out before the gardening work can really begin…we have to re-think money at those points.
• I like to work in a garden for a bit to get the feel for the property.
• I am totally hands on in that I do not work on paper…I sometimes do very broad sketches, but mostly I talk through ideas. I set the design with the plants to be installed and then the fun begins. Sometimes it is too much, too little…don’t like the variegation but live the yellow conifers and so on. This is a dance of trust and creativity.
• I design so that the client and the garden match. The garden is about the client in that it is an outdoor room. If the client is not a gardener, down not want to be and has very specific needs…that is how I design. There is no judgment in this process. The trick is to create an environment that allows time for pleasure and not guilt.

My driving passion is to change the world one garden at a time.  There is so much beauty to behold in nature. Beauty can really change lives by creating space for calm moments.