Spring Has Sprung: Time to Reimagine Outdoor Spaces

There's a huge sense of relief that comes with the first warm breezes of spring. Winter along the Main Line of Philadelphia can be long, but the days are starting to stretch a bit longer, the air feels softer, and the urge to spend time outdoors is irresistible.

Spring is a season of fresh beginnings and renewed energy. It’s a great season to enjoy your outdoor living spaces and make the most of the warmer weather.

After a long winter, Spring is an ideal time to consider how you landscape can provide not just beautiful retreat spaces from the day to day busyness, but also welcoming habitats for wildlife.

Seeing hummingbirds visiting Coral Honeysuckle outside your window while making coffee in the morning is an awesome way to start your day.

Monarchs, Swallowtails and Fritillary butterflies stopping by to feed on Milkweed, Monarda and Phlox brings a burst of activity to the perennial garden.

Imagine stepping outside to a vibrant, living landscape where the buzz of bees and the flutter of wings add life to your outdoor gatherings. Landscaping with native plants can combine aesthetic appeal with designed spaces where nature and people can flourish.

Now is the time to embrace the season and reimagine what your outdoor spaces can be. With a little planning and the right plant choices, you can enjoy a thriving garden that welcomes both guests and wildlife alike.

If you’ve been looking at your landscape and thinking it could do more, let this spring be the start of something beautiful. Your future self will thank you.

Native Landscapes: Beautiful, Not Messy

Many homeowners hesitate to consider native landscaping because they worry it will look messy or unkempt. It’s a common concern and understandable. We’ve all seen landscapes that have been left to “return to nature” which doesn’t always lead to the most attractive space.

The truth is, a well-planned native landscape can be just as polished and intentional as any traditional garden you see along the Main Line, while also offering incredible benefits for local wildlife and biodiversity.

The key to any landscape looking attractive is thoughtful design. Strategic plant placement, defined edges, and seasonal maintenance can keep a native garden looking cohesive and attractive year-round.

One simple way to create a tidy appearance is by using lower-growing plants along the front edges of garden beds. Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata), Golden Fleece Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’), Homestead Purple Verbena (Verbena canadensis ‘Homestead Purple’), and Wood’s Blue Aster (Symphyotrichum dumosum ‘Wood’s Blue’) all add structured edges to the designed landscape, while providing vibrant color and ecological benefits.

By working with the natural beauty of native plants rather than against it, you can achieve a landscape that is both ecologically beneficial and aesthetically pleasing.

A native landscape doesn’t have to mean messy or overgrown but can be vibrant, structured, beautiful and uniquely yours.

Beat the Winter Blues: Plan Your Spring Landscape Now!

Well, here we are—another snow day.   Winter can be exhausting!

But here’s the good news: spring is coming. And while the world outside might be frozen this week, now is actually the perfect time to use those indoor days to start planning your dream landscape.

By designing your landscape now, you’ll be ready to welcome warmer days by planting a yard full of vibrant native trees shrubs and perennials that attract birds and butterflies.

Want to do something truly beneficial for the environment? Consider planting species that support our native butterflies and moths. According to the research of entomologist Doug Tallamy, these plant groups are among the best at sustaining caterpillars—the foundation of the food web.

Our 3 Favorite Genera for Supporting Lepidoptera:

Oaks (Quercus) – The ultimate butterfly and moth host, supporting over 500 species of caterpillars!  White Oaks are one of our favorite canopy trees. 

Cherries & Plums (Prunus) –  Prunus serotina is an awesome Black Cherry that a supports for over 400 species of Lepidoptera. 

Birches (Betula) – Beautiful and ecologically valuable, hosting 300+ species.  Betula nigra River Birch is an awesome species in the landscape

Our 3 Favorite Shrub Genera for Supporting Lepidoptera:

Blueberries  (Vaccinium) – Not just delicious for us—these support over 290 species of butterflies and moths and have vibrant fall color as the leaves turn orange and red.
Dogwoods (Cornus) – A stunning addition to any landscape, benefiting over 115 species.
Spicebush (Lindera) – The preferred host for the beautiful spicebush swallowtail butterfly and 9 species of native moths and butterflies.

Our 5 Perennial Genera for Supporting Lepidoptera…Too many perennials to limit it to 3.

Goldenrods (Solidago) – The gold standard for pollinators, supporting 125+ species of caterpillars.  Our favorite selections inclued Solidago spacelata 'Golden Fleece' which is a beautiful groundcover variety. 

Asters (Symphyotrichum) – Late-season nectar sources that host over 100 species. Beautiful light blue flowers cover ‘Bluebird’ Smooth Aster, as well as the shorter ‘Wood’s Light Blue’ varieties

Sunflowers (Helianthus) – Not just for seeds—these support 75+ species.  Woodland sunflowers are a gorgeous option for the forest edge where they have room to spread. 

Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium) – A favorite of butterflies and essential for 40+ species. E. coelestinum has bright light blue flowers that light up the late-season landscape. 

Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) – A bright and beautiful host for 20+ species.  These perennials do well during the heat and dry conditions of summer.

So, while we’re all still bundled up and battling snow piles, let’s take a break and dream about sunshine, fresh blooms, and a landscape filled with butterflies and birds. Planning now means your yard will be ready to welcome spring in full bloom—and full of life!

Let’s create something amazing together!

Dreaming of Spring: A Landscape Designer’s Perspective

It can be hard to believe that in just a few weeks, the forest floor will awaken with the soft, dreamy blue of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica). 

These native perennials are one of the first signs that winter’s grip is loosening and the colors of spring are back and heading toward summer.

Though we’re still bundling up, spending most of our time indoors, now is the perfect time to start envisioning your spring landscape. Winter may seem endless, but before you know it, the ground will thaw, the days will stretch longer, and the first green shoots will emerge. 

While winter can be a challenge for gardeners and designers, it offers a beautiful opportunity to plan, dream, and design spaces that will burst to life when warmer days arrive.  If you’ve ever wandered through a healthy, established forest in early spring, you know the magic of native wildflowers like Mertensia bluebells, trilliums, tiarella, columbine and bloodroot. These plants don’t just bring beauty; they also play a crucial role in supporting pollinators, stabilize the soil, and create a balanced ecosystem.

While these native ephemeral perennials are signs of a healthy forest, they can also give a jumpstart to the designed native landscape.  Bursting with foliage, flowers and seeds early in the season, they typically fade back as the warmer summer-blooming perennials fill in.  The reds of Eastern Columbine, yellows of Senecio, light blues and purples of woodland and creeping Phlox are all beautiful additions to the spring landscape and combine well with Bluebells.

As we spend the last few weeks of winter indoors, sipping coffee and gazing out at snowy landscapes, take a moment to remember-and-imagine the transformation that is to come in the landscape. Picture the gentle nodding blooms of bluebells and the hum of bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds returning to the garden.

Now is the time to sketch out ideas, research native plants, make tons of lists, and get a plan in place for the growing season ahead.  

Snow is melting today, and spring will be here before we know it.

I Want a Native Landscape... But Not So Messy

When many people think of native plant landscapes, often untamed and chaotic spaces come to mind.

But here’s the secret: a thoughtfully designed native landscape can be just as elegant, structured, and refined as a conventional garden.

For homeowners along the Main Line, blending native plants with a classic aesthetic is not only achievable but highly rewarding.

Using principles of landscape design such as repetition, unity, variety, line, form, texture, color, and scale, you can create a space that feels polished while supporting local ecosystems. Native plants bring a natural rhythm to your garden as they flower in different seasons, but that doesn’t mean they have to look unruly.

When combined intentionally in a structured design, native plants can complement the architecture of your home and surrounding neighborhood, while being attractive and supporting wildlife.

Design Tips for a Classy Native Landscape

1. Repetition for Elegance
   Use clusters of native plants like black-eyed Susans or Amsonia in repeating patterns to create a cohesive and harmonious flow. Repetition creates order, even in a more naturalistic setting.

2. Variety for Interest
   Incorporate a mix of native shrubs, perennials, and grasses to add depth and visual intrigue. Plants like winterberry holly and butterfly weed offer unique forms and seasonal color, ensuring year-round interest.

3. Line and Form for Structure
   Define pathways, garden beds, or focal points with clean edges and architectural native plants like inkbery or sweetbay magnolia. Their natural forms provide balance and structure.

4. Texture and Color for Aesthetics
   Pair fine-textured plants like prairie dropseed with bold-leaved species like heuchera. Add pops of seasonal color with blooming natives such as liatris or wild columbine to keep your garden vibrant and eye-catching.

5. Scale for Proportion
   Match plant sizes to the scale of your home and property. Taller natives, such as red-twig dogwood, can anchor a space, while low-growing plants like creeping phlox soften the edges.

Designed native landscapes can be beautiful, structured, and have a classic feel while supporting pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. Whether you live in Bryn Mawr, Wayne, or Ardmore, a native landscape can enhance your home and align with architecture and timeless charm of the Main Line.

Welcome Spring with Native Flowering Trees

As the chill of winter begins to give way to warmer days, nothing signals spring’s arrival quite like the blossoms of native flowering trees. 

Stepping outside and seeing the delicate white blooms of flowering dogwood, the vibrant pink of redbud flower, or the charming early blossoms of serviceberry trees are a welcome experience after winter. 

Adding native flowering trees to your yard is an investment in year-round beauty and biodiversity. In spring, their blooms provide an essential food source for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects just emerging from winter dormancy. Birds are drawn to these trees, using their branches for nesting and later enjoying the fruits and seeds that follow flowering.

Beyond supporting wildlife, these trees are a natural fit for your garden being aligned with our region’s climate and conditions and match beautifully with the architecture in Philadelphia and along the Main Line.

The seasonal interest of spring-flowering trees is one layer of their year-round beauty in the landscape: Spring flowers give way to lush summer foliage and fruit, followed by brilliant fall colors, and winter forms. 

So, why not plant a piece of spring’s magic in your yard? By adding native trees like flowering dogwood, redbud, and serviceberry, you’ll create a landscape that’s as welcoming to wildlife as it is beautiful. 

Let’s celebrate spring’s arrival by adding some native, flowering trees in the landscape.

Top 10 Native Plants to Brighten Your Main Line Landscape This Spring

Spring is just around the corner and there's no better way to celebrate the season than by enhancing your garden with beautiful, low-maintenance native plants. 

Not only do these plants thrive in our area and blend in with the architecture of the Main Line of Philadelphia, but they also support pollinators and wildlife, making your landscape both vibrant and supportive of the local environment.

 Here’s our list of the top 10 native plants to install and enjoy this spring:

1. Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

This small tree bursts with pink-purple flowers in early spring, creating a stunning focal point in your garden.  The flower buds hug the tree branches and absolutely glow in spring.

2. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Add a pop of delicate blue with these shade-loving perennials that bloom in mid-spring and naturalize beautifully.  The mint-green foliage emerges and is followed by beautiful stems of blue-pink-purple flowers that shimmer in the forested garde.

3. Trillium (Trillium erectum)

Known for its elegant three-petaled blooms, this deep red trillium thrives in shaded woodland settings and adds a touch of grace to any spring garden.

4. Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

Its red and yellow flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds, adding charm to any sunny or partly shaded area.  Held atop delicate stems, these flowers bloom and gently seed in, enhancing the native landscape.

5. Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

This groundcover thrives in shade, producing sprays of white, foamy flowers in spring and lush, textured foliage year-round.  A beautiful alternative to ivy, with gently rambling foliage and beautiful upright flowers.

6. Amsonia (Amsonia tabernaemontana 'Grande')

This versatile perennial features pale blue, star-shaped flowers in spring and feathery foliage that turns golden in the fall, adding seasonal interest.  Getting multi-season interest from one perennials in yoru landscape is an awesome way to maximize your space.

7. Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)

With deep blue flowers that resemble lupines, this hardy perennial is perfect for sunny spots and adds a sculptural element to your garden.  The early season flowers are a great forerunner to summer blooming perennials.

8. Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)

This low-growing groundcover blankets your garden in vibrant pink, purple, or white flowers in early spring, ideal for rock gardens and borders.

9. Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata)

A charming native with delicate lavender-blue flowers, this shade-loving perennial is perfect for woodland gardens and attracts butterflies.

10. Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)

A multi-season star, this small tree offers white spring blossoms, summer berries for birds, and vibrant fall foliage.

By planting these native species, you’ll create a garden that’s not only stunning but also sustainable. These plants are adapted to our region’s conditions, making them easier to care for and more resilient to pests and diseases.  Planning your design and scheduling your installation will allow you  to enjoy a landscape that comes alive with beauty and wildlife

Phased Installation: A Smart Approach for Main Line Homes

As a landscape designer along the Main Line, one of my favorite challenges is creating a cohesive, beautiful native landscapes that enhance the curb appeal of homes and match client goals and budgets.

When thoughtfully designed, a landscape incorporating native plants can be stunning in bloom, have lower maintenance needs and be a budget friendly improvement to your home.

A major consideration for any project is the budget and deciding what is feasible for homeowners who are trying to move forward with projects while also planning and leaving a cushion for the unexpected.

Drafting a cohesive landscape design for your entire property and then phasing the installation for prioritized areas is an awesome option for beginning the process of transforming your landscape without feeling overwhelmed.

Why Native Landscaping?

A native landscape does more than just look works in harmony with nature. By incorporating native plants, you’ll attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds, improve soil health, and reduce water usage since these plants thrive without excessive irrigation. A thoughtfully designed native landscape also complements the timeless beauty of Main Line homes, blending classic architecture with the natural charm of landscapes in our region.

The Value of Phased Installation

While it’s exciting to imagine a fully transformed property, installing your new landscape in phases is a smart way to manage budgets while still achieving and enjoying immediate results. Here’s how we prioritize:

1. Start with the Most Visible Areas: We begin by focusing on the spaces that create a first impression, such as the front yard, main entrances, views from primary windows, and areas that are visible in the everyday coming and going from your home. These are the “wow” zones that boost curb appeal and create a welcoming entrance for guests.

2. Install Secondary Areas: Once the most visible areas are thriving, we move to side yards, backyard gathering spaces, and other less visible areas. By this point, you’ll already be enjoying the benefits of your new landscape, making it easier to envision how the next phases will take shape.

3. Flexibility and Customization: A phased approach also gives you the flexibility to adjust the plan as needed. Whether you want to add new features, prioritize specific plants, or tweak the design to reflect changes in site conditions from things like increased sunlight due to removed trees, it’s easy to adapt a plan that is already developed without feeling overwhelmed.

See the Benefits Right Away

One of the best parts of phased installation is that you don’t have to wait to see results. Imagine walking out your front door and being greeted by vibrant native flowers in bloom from spring through fall, swaying grasses, and the flurry of activity as pollinators visit your space. It’s an immediate payoff that improves every season and sets the tone for the rest of your home’s transformation.

If you’re ready to enhance your home with a native landscape, let’s design something that is uniquely yours. Together, we’ll create a plan that fits your vision, budget, and timeline one phase at a time.

Main LIne Landscape Design

The Main Line is a beautiful area.

When you think about designing your dream home, you likely focus on interior spaces. Kitchens, living rooms, and living rooms that reflect your style and bring you joy.

But what about your outdoor spaces? How do the outdoor areas serve to welcome guests to your home?

The landscape surrounding your home is a powerful first impression and can be just as important in creating a beautiful, cohesive environment and is worth considering along with the interior spaces.

Designing a low-maintenance landscape with native plants offers the perfect opportunity to elevate your home’s exterior appeal. In addition to inviting and supporting the local ecosystem, landscapes that require less maintenance can lead to major savings of time and effort.

Along the Main Line with historic homes and charming neighborhoods, designing a thoughtful and classic landscape with low-maintenance native plants is not only practical but also stunningly effective in connecting your property with the natural surroundings.

The Benefits of Native, Low-Maintenance Landscaping

1. Beauty: Native plants thrive in our local climate and soil conditions, which means they require less water, fertilizer, and general upkeep. Developing a landscape that looks lush and vibrant year-round is achievable when working with plants that “belong” here.

2. Environmental Appeal: Incorporating native plants not only connects your home to the surrounding landscape, but supports local wildlife, including birds, bees, and butterflies. These species rely on native flora for food and shelter, so your landscape becomes a haven for biodiversity. Whatever space you can provide becomes a small but impactful step toward environmental stewardship and gives you the benefit of seeing wildlife surrounding your home.

3. Cost-Effective: Lower maintenance demands means lower costs in the long run. Native plants typically require less water, no chemical fertilizers, and minimal pest control, making them a smart financial investment as well as an aesthetic one. Eliminating the need for monthly or weekly maintenance allows your landscape to develop sustainably over time.

4. Seasonal Charm: Native plants offer a stunning array of textures, colors, and blooms throughout the year. From the fresh push of growth in spring, through the lush flowers of summer, to the bold foliage and textures of fall and winter, your landscape can reflect the natural rhythms of the region.

A Holistic Approach to Home Design

Your home’s landscape is its first impression and the backdrop for outdoor gatherings A view from every window can look out to a beautiful natural scene. The spaces surrounding your home can serve as a outdoor retreat at the end of a busy day. By giving your outdoor spaces the same care and intention as your interiors, you create a seamless flow between indoors and out, enhancing your overall living experience.

Consider designing your landscape with:

• Low-Maintenance Native Plants: Think of beautiful bluestar Amsonia in spring, yellow black-eyed Susans blooming in summer, bright orange Butterfly Milkweed serving as a habitat for Monarch butterflies, and Little Bluestem grass standing tall through winter. All of these native plants can be incorporated into any type of landscape design and will thrive along the Main Line.

• Sustainable Features: Incorporate elements like natural, local stone for hardscaping and stormwater management areas on site to reduce energy use in construction and maximize the positive environmental impact of your space for the surrounding ecology

• Outdoor Living Spaces: Create patios, garden seating areas, or fire pits surrounded by native greenery to encourage time spent outdoors. Extending your living spaces outdoors creates a beautiful atmosphere for day to day living and hosting special events. Seamless transitions from indoor to outdoor living spaces creates an elegant home experisnce.

Transforming your landscape doesn’t have to be overwhelming and you don’t have to do it alone.

If you’re dreaming of a pollinator-friendly garden, a serene outdoor sanctuary, or colorful, show-stopping curb appeal, a low-maintenance landscape designed specifically for your vision and dream is possible this season.

Whether you are a planning a new home, remodeling before moving in, or preparing for long-awaited renovations, landscapes have the potential to inspire joy and create beauty as timeless and inviting as the homes they surround. Make this spring the season for wrapping your home in a beautiful and welcoming landscape

Top Native Plants for Supporting Pollinators along the Main Line

As a landscape designer and gardener, I love the overlap between beauty and function.

Along the Main Line, we have the benefit of beautiful homes and established neighborhoods. Installing landscapes with native plants can create outdoor spaces that are not only beautiful, but support wildlife and enhance connections to broader natural areas,

Designing with plants that are not only beautiful, but provide food and habitat to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds is an extremely rewarding aspect of working with native plants.

Here are some of my top recommendations for trees, shrubs, flowering perennials, and grasses to consider adding to your landsape. The number following the the plant name is the number of native lepidoptera species Doug Tallamy has recorded as being supported by similar plants in that genus

Trees:

1. White Oak (Quercus alba). 518. These gorgeous canopy trees are the iconic spreading oaks you imagine standing proud in an old field. Their spreading form and gently-lobed leaves are beautiful.

2. Hickory (Carya spp.) 233. A classic forest species with Shagbark being one of the most striking bark textures. Bitternut and Butternut are also beautiful species for.

3. Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) 119. Typically grown as a larger multi=stem shrub, Serviceberry provides a beautiful early spring flowers, nectar and berries loved by birds.

Shrubs:

1. Smooth Viburnum (Viburnum nudum). 97. Beautiful foliage, white flowers and late season fruit support wildlife throughout the groiwng season.

2. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) 34. White flowers early in the season give way to bright berries in fall and winter that attract birds.

3. St John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum) 20. Beautiful green foliage is covered with yellow blooms in summer. Bees love the abundant flowers and flock to it when in bloom.

Flowering Perennials:

1. ‘Golden Fleece’ Goldenrod (Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’) 112. Robust groundcover foliage carpets the ground all season. In late summer, spikes of bright yellow blooms emerge adding an awesome color and texture to the late season landscape.

2. ‘Bluebird’ Aster (Aster laevis' ‘Bluebird’) 105. Beautiful smooth leaves on upright stalks lead to a flush of light blue flowers late in the season that are a magnet for pollinators.

3. Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis) 15. Beautiful, silver-mint-green foliage emerges in spring followed by rich blue flowers. The sweet-pea shaped flower clusters are stunning.

Grasses:

1. Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) 36. For a shady location, these sedge provide a beautiful texture. As a nice contrast to broad-leaved perennials, sedge can help diversify a shady planting.

2. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) 24. This soft textured grass begins to emerge in late-spring and summer as the temperatures rise. The airy seedheads provide a late season food source for birds.

3. Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) 6. Provides habitat and seeds for wildlife and beautiful tan stems that stay up all winter.

If you’ve been curious about how to make your home’s landscape have a positive impact for wildlife, adding any of these species will help your landscape become a haven for pollinators.

Right of Way

One of the defining features of the Main Line is the train. The sound and sight of the R5 Paoli-Thorndale train is a familiar backdrop, running behind houses, over and under major roads, and moving people between Philadelphia and the surrounding towns.

When I look out my windows and the train tacks are across the street.

Having access to the space between the curb and the tracks presents an awesome opportunity to try existing and new varieties of plants seeing how they perform in low-maintenance conditions.

The area beside the tracks is totally exposed to sun, wind and competition from roots making the most of the shallow soil. It’s also a right of way and used occasionally by workers to access the tracks for maintenance.

I’m constantly working to build up the layer of organic matter that exists above a bed of crushed concrete and stones. In that challenge is where the beauty of a well planned design with native plants emerges.

Native species, when paired correctly with site conditions and potential disturbance factors, will thrive and require little maintenance and minimal watering. This resilience makes them perfect for low-maintenance gardening.

The goal for the space is to create a landscape that’s beautiful, functional, and sustainable (meaning I can maintain it in the brief window of time I get on Saturdays while my children are napping). Some of the factors I have used in selecting plants to add to this area include: learning more about species that are recent introductions to the trade or are new to me; seeing the differences in drought-tolerance and how that can be applied in landscapes for clients: and providing long-season beauty and wildlife value. It’s always important that landscapes look attractive while providing nectar, seeds, berries, and habitat for wildlife in all seasons.

Some of the species that have done well planted and naturally occuring beside the tracks include:

• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa): This beautiful and tough perennial wildflower not only adds a pop of tangerine-orange color but also serves as a critical nesting and food source for monarch butterflies. It is one of the most drought-tolerant perennials and is incredibly durable once established.

• False Indigo (Baptisia australis): Every spring, the beautiful mint-green leaves of Baptisia emerge, followed by clusters of blue-purple pea-shaped flowers. As a legume, this solid perennial is able to bring nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil, improving the growing conditions. Established plants feature a solid central mass of roots that can be divided and replanted in spring to increase quantity. Following their bloom, the foliage persists all season while the flowers turn into striking pods with seeds inside.

• Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium): The striking blue-green stems that turn reddish-orange in the fall are visible all along the train tracks, seeding in and growing out of the gravel base. They sway in the breeze and are perfect for adding texture and movement in the landscape and adding beauty that persists through winter.

• Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): A cheerful, hardy flower that’s a favorite for pollinators and provides seeds for birds in the winter. Their gently spreading habit is awesome for dividing and filling in as needed, while their drought-tolerance and long bloom time makes them an awesome staple of the summer landscape.

• ‘Bluebird’ Smooth Aster (Aster laevis): Clouds of light-blue flowers extend from these upright asters in late-summer and fall. These durable perennials have a beautiful smooth leaf and their flower color combines perfectly with Goldenrods. The abundant flowers are a magnet for bees.

• Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea): A small, multi-stemmed tree that offers spring blossoms, summer berries for birds, and gorgeous fall foliage. These were installed prior to my involvement with the space. The clouds of bright white flowers are an awesome sight in spring, followed by attractive fruit that is consumed by birds. While I typically think of Serviceberries as mor of a forest edge plant, they are a beautiful addition. here.

• Annabelle Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens): Its hard to beat the beauty of a hydrangea that blooms for months in summer. Annabelles are drought tolerant with their fuzzy leaves and their airy white flowers that last for months have made them a standout plant.

Once established, these plants have required minimal watering and chemical inputs like fertilizer and insecticide. Seasonal maintenance involves little more than cutting back grasses and perennials in late winter, mulching to keep the ground covered as plants fill in, and removing invasive weeds that would seed in and encroach on the space.

Gardening along train tracks might not be the most traditional setting , but it’s one of the most impactful projects I’ve undertaken. It’s proof that beauty and biodiversity can thrive in unexpected places. Even a narrow strip of land that would otherwise be ignored can become a landscape that wildlife and people passing by can enjoy.

Next time you’re riding the train through the Main Line, look out the window on the southwest side of Merion Station and you might see our plantings. Hydrangeas, Butterfly Milkweed, Baptisia, and Black Eyed Susans are some of the colorful plants that bloom and support visiting butterflies, bees and birds.

It’s a fun space and opportunity to reintroduce native plants and wildlife, giving them space and a shared “right of way.”

Landscape Design…DIY?

Is there a process for designing a landscape? Is it possible for someone to DIY their own landscape design and achieve good results?

Our answer to both questions is Yes.

Whether designing a courtyard in the Philadelphia, a small front yard in Narberth, or a full residential landscape plan for a home in Malvern, there is a process we use that helps us develop a cohesive landscape design.

1. Create goals. We work to match a client’s ideal vision for their home and the way they use it regularly. Walking the space and listening to client goals is the start of any design.

2. Understand site conditions. While on site, we take notes of existing conditions like sun and shade, wet and dry areas, existing vegetation, existing and ideal circulation patterns. Assessing what is on site and should be preserved versus what can be removed sets the stage for the landscape design.

3. Develop a plan. Working through layers, the landscape design is created to be function, low-maintenance, and beautiful in all season. First we develop an evergreen layer of trees and shrubs to maintain “structure” year-round. After that, we work to develop winter interest with grasses, berry-producing plants, and those that have interesting stem color or structure in winter. The finals step is to fill in the herbaceous layer with grasses and flowering perennials.

By starting with client goals at the forefront, we work to make any design meet those dreams.

Whether your space is large or small, sunny or shady, open or private, creating a design for an outdoor space that fulfills your vision is possible.

If you feel comfortable following these steps, you are well on your way to a successful DIY landscape that you can be proud of.

If this seems like too much work or is way too complicated, we are always here to help!

Designing for Impact

5 years ago we set out to bring an idea to life.

I saw a lot of opportunity along the Main Line, Philadelphia area, and at the beach for landscapes that could be reimagined. It seemed like there was so much potential to see landscapes that are beautiful, feel connected to our region, designed to complement the architecture on site, and incorporate native plants to support wildlife.

As we get ready for a new planting season, I was reminded of the benefits for wildlife that can exist within in a native landscape design. Doug Tallamy’s work documenting the Lepidoptera species (including butterflies and moths) supported by plants has always had an impact on our designs. Choosing plants not just for their beauty but also their wildlife value can add significant impact to any landscape design.

It’s powerful to think that a beautiful landscape with native plants requiring minimal maintenance can lead to that level of impact around your home. If you are looking forward to spring and want to make a beautiful and positive impact in your landscape, its worth taking a look at Doug Tallamy’s work and consider what native species could be incorporated at your home.

Spring Flowers

Creeping phlox is a great perennial.

The evergreen foliage persists year round and the carpeting of bright flowers is a beautiful addition beside a pathway or gently flowing over a stone wall.

As the snow begins to melt and greenhouses get busy, it’s nice looking forward to all that spring offers, like the rich color of creeping phlox.

With the right design and preparation, you can make the most of the growing season starting in spring. Plants like groundcover and woodland phlox light up the early-season landscape while the later-season plants enjoy the benefit of having time to establish roots before summer heat sets in.

Whether you are dreaming of a calming backyard retreat, a pollinator-friendly cottage garden, a meadow-style landscape, or a stylized ‘formal’ garden to match the architecture of a Main Line home, planning in winter ensures your landscape will be ready for installation in spring.

Planning and designing your dream outdoor space can turn your property into a captivating and seamless environment, both outdoors and inside, that you can enjoy this season and year after year.

Getting Started

It’s still winter outside.

The sunlight is hanging in the sky a bit longer.

It’s a visual reminder that spring is coming, but for now it is still very much winter outside.

Having a window sill mini-greenhouse ha been a massive help for me in not just getting through the winter, but enjoying the pace. Throughout the day, I can look inside this protected space and feel connected to growing plants when most of my other work is at a computer and focused on the next season.

When the weather was still warm in fall and before the ground was frozen, I dug up a few clumps of my favorite perennial from the garden. Amsonia is a well know genus of plants, with hubrichtii, and tabernamontana being two of the common species for native perennials in the mid-Atlantic region. There is a selection of A. tabernamontana called ‘Grande’ which is one of my absolute favorite perennials. It emerges early in spring and flowers for several weeks, beginning in late-April. The flowers are a beautiful light blue and the lush foliage looks great all season.

As fall settles in and the Amsonias drop their leaves, the root clusters show the eyes/buds that will become next year’s growth. In late November, I dug these root clusters up and gently separated them and placed them in plug trays to begin growing. While they would stay dormant if left outside in the landscape, mine are indoors on a sunny window sill and actively growing.

The idea was to start them early in their mini-greenhouse and hopefully take several rounds of cuttings to root and propagate as clones. The goal is to get more of this beautiful perennial back into the landscape, even if it is only feasible to make an impact in my home garden this year.

While I don’t have access to a greenhouse or professional backyard nursery right now, the joy that my little Amsonia ‘Grande’ sprouts in their mini-greenhouse brings is sufficient.

I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of these young and steadily growing bluestar, both this season and in the season to come.

Gardening in winter…?

As the days remain crisp and quiet, winter offers a unique opportunity to dream, plan, and design the perfect landscape for your home.

I get it.

It’s counterintuitive to think about lush, flowering gardens and during the dormant season when it’s below freezing outside.

It feels impossible to believe that spring and summer are coming…but they are and now is the ideal time to imagine a thoughtful, well-designed outdoor space. By beginning your planning process now, you have time to work through iterations and revisions of the plan and be ready to bring your vision to life in early spring.

Plants installed in early spring can get roots established while the weather is still cool, reducing stress, and allowing the landscape to grow into a lush, thriving habitat by summer.

Are you looking to create a backyard haven for pollinators, provide a safe play space for children, or simply add curb appeal?

Winter is the time to envision how you’d like to use your outdoor spaces and the mood you want to cultivate.

Steps to Get Started with a winter design

1. Assess Your Space: Take stock of your property’s features, including sunlight, soil type, and existing vegetation. Consider any challenges, such as drainage issues, wet areas in winter or privacy needs where evergreens could help build up screening.

2. Set Your Goals: Think about how you want your landscape to function and feel. Would you like to add pathways, a pollinator garden, or outdoor seating areas?

3. Consult a Designer: Partnering with a professional can help you turn your ideas into a cohesive plan. They’ll help you select plants, materials, and layouts that align with your goals.

4. Create a Timeline: Work with your designer to outline milestones, from design approval, budgeting, project phasing, and timelines for installation so everything is in place by early spring.

When spring arrives (and it will!) you’ll be ahead of the game, ready to transform your plans into a reality.

The reward of starting your landscape design in winter is a seamless transition from dreaming to doing. By summer, your landscape will be well-rooted, growing and look stunning in its first season.

Make this winter the season where you get inspired, and take action. Planning today will allow you to experience your landscape come alive in the months to come.

Thinking of summer

Winter is good.

It’s like a forced rest in the landscape. There are some tasks you can do to keep on with landscape management, like cutting back anything that looks bad, but those are primarily reasons to find time outside.

Using the winter to evaluate your landscape, address and problems, and design your dream space allows you to make the most of the seasons and set your new landscape up for success.

Designing in winter allows lets you see where more evergreen screening could help build a sense of privacy around your property. You can also see where structure, color and interest could help improve the landscape appearance during the colder months.

Evergreens like Magnolias and Inkberries and Leucothoe can keep things structured and avoid looking bare.

Grasses like Panicum and Little Bluestem stay upright and provide texture and a warm straw color that catches the light.

Colorful shrubs like Red Twig Dogwood provide a bright contrast to the browns, greys and greens of the landscape.

With all of those layers in winter, its fun to think of what the warmer half of the year offers.

Annabelle Hydrangeas absolutely pop starting in late spring and early summer. Puffs of bright white flowers are hard to beat as a texture that lasts throughout so much of the growing season.

It’s helpful to look at photos from this past season and make the most of the current weeks. Designing and schedule upcoming installations is a fun way to stay connected to the landscape and plan for the coming seasons.

Making Meadows

Meadows have a powerful effect in the landscape

Long views over bands of grasses and flowering perennials can leave you feeling like you are swimming in the landscape.

In winter, native grasses turn a silvery-tan accented by the remaining seedheads from perennials like Echinacea and Rudbeckia.

As the winter transitions to spring and then summer, the old growth is replaced by the flush of color provided by flowering plants in bloom and new foliage as grasses emerge.

Designing and installing meadows with native seeds and plants takes time, but creates a landscape experience that is layered and generous in the beauty and habitat it provides.

Some species like Baptisia, Asclepias, and Amsonia can take a few seasons to develop their full form from seed. Other species like Coreopsis, Rudbeckia and Ratibida are quicker to sprout and flower.

If you have been curious about what a meadow could look like in your space, there are different approaches you can use with seeds or live plants to achieve different effects with success.

However you decide to create a meadow, adding native grasses and flowering perennials back into the landscape is a great way to create beauty and have a positive impact on your local ecology.

Everyday Color Palette

Fall is an awesome season in the landscape.

Plants are mature.

Perennials are finishing blooming for the season.

Evergreens, grasses, and plants with berries and stem color are comign to the forefront of the landscape as we head into winter.

Fall can also be a busy social season. School is back in full swing and schedules get busy with sports and activities that fill the calendar.

For those of us designing and installing landscapes, fall is nice because there isn’t the same pressure that comes with spring. Plants are going dormant, requiring less water to stay healthy. Nurseries are full with plants that are well-rooted and ready to be planted in the ground, which stays warm for a bit longer than the air temperature.

This season especially, with all that is going on, its nice to work with plants and landscapes that are establishing and will look great through winter, and be ready to pop when spring appears.

For now, I am drawing inspiration from the colorful moments and palettes that I find in everyday places.

Designing for Wildlife AND beauty

Late Summer is the time to enjoy all of the work of winter and spring.

Winter designing, spring planting and summer management lead to the beauty and easier pace of late summer heading into fall.

Summer perennials are at their mature size. Fall perennials are getting ready to bloom, and warm-season grasses are showing their fall colors before drying out for winter.

Butterfly Milkweed has been an awesome perennial, flowering all summer. There’s something really touching about seeing a monarch butterfly land on the flower and feed from the cluster of bright tangerine blooms. Even if Asclepias tuberosa wasn’t a critical host plant for Monarch butterflies to lay eggs and provide food for multiple generations of caterpillars, it is a beautiful low-maintenance perennial in its own right.

Sometimes landscapes get divided into categories like “Rain Garden” or “Wildlife Garden” or get characterized as being wild and messy and overgrown if they use native plants. It’s an understandable response to a lot of landscapes that are based on wildlife value of plants, without maintaining a design standard.

Beautiful landscapes have layers of evergreen trees and shrubs, flowering and berry producing shrubs, flowering perennials and grasses. The combination of plants from these categories can yield a landscape that looks beautiful year round.

It’s good to remember that native plants can fill all of these categories, creating a beautiful composition, that looks great year round, while supporting wildlife. To continue increasing public awareness of the need for designed landscapes with native plants, it important for landscape to be designed with mature sizes of plants and their aesthetic qualities at the forefront.

Butterfly Milkweed is the perfect example of a beautiful native plant that supports wildlife and looks incredible in any dry sunny location.