2019 was a year I will never forget. It started with an image of one of the gardens I designed appearing on the cover of Fine Gardening. Surprise! It was one of many gardens on the Northwest Perennial Alliance’s annual Hardy Plant Study Weekend tour, the previous summer. Doreen Wynja, Eye of the Lady had shot it and submitted it to Fine Gardening. It was chosen as the feature image for a story on the color chartreuse. I can’t tell you how thrilled and shocked I was to open my mailbox and see this issue staring back at me.

Two months later, the same garden appeared as the feature story for the Seattle Times Northwest Magazine’s Outdoor Living Issue. Written beautifully by Lorene Edwards Forkner; Charismatic colors blend with special spaces in a Windermere garden that nurture gratitude.

This garden would not be what it is without the collaboration and expert craftsmanship of the crew at Avalon NW Landscape. Their attention to detail from the beautifully constructed dry stack stone walls to the expertly laid patios, provided the framework for the homeowner to spin her magic. Her artistic eye, sense for color and whimsy took my initial design to a whole new level. Every visit back delights as she walk me around the garden showing me… this new plant… and that new pot. It’s a designers dream to see a garden so lovingly attended to. It’s obvious it brings her joy. The following images are from a visit in August of 2019.

I look forward to seeing how this very special garden grows and changes.