From Weeds to Wonder: A 25-Year Journey to a Suburban English Cottage Garden Twenty-five years ago, we stood in the kitchen of our 1925 corner house in Western Springs, looking out at a snowy rectangle of grass. When the thaw finally came, it revealed a landscape of creeping charlie, orange ditch lilies, and buckthorn. There […]
The DNA of the English Garden: Uncovering the Hidden Codes of Landscape English gardens often present themselves as timeless, serene, and almost accidental—as if a collection of roses and oaks simply decided to assemble in a perfect, picturesque arrangement. But beneath the soft moss and the curving paths lies a complex, invisible code. In this
Dog Friendly Garden Design How to Stop Your Dog Destroying Your Yard (Without Compromise) I love dogs. I love gardening. But if you’ve ever tried to combine the two… you’ll know it’s not always a peaceful relationship. From digging holes to trampling borders, our dogs can undo hours of careful work in minutes. So the
The Elements of English Cottage Garden Design: Structure, Abundance, and Timeless Charm https://youtu.be/MftF7DmcGH4 There’s something about an English cottage garden that stays with you. It’s not just the flowers—though they are abundant and beautiful. It’s the feeling. A sense of softness, history, and quiet structure beneath the surface. A garden that welcomes you in rather
Garden Design Ideas to Transform Your Space In this post, I want to explore some foundational garden design ideas—simple principles that can truly take your garden to the next level. These are the same ideas we’ve used to shape our own garden over the past 25 years, starting from nothing more than a rectangle of
The Principles and Elements of Garden Design A Complete Introduction to Creating Beautiful, Functional, and Timeless Gardens Introduction: Garden Design as a Living Art Garden design is often described as the slowest of the performing arts—and for good reason. Unlike painting or sculpture, where the work is fixed at the moment of completion, a garden
Garden Design Philosophy “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” — Claude Monet A garden is never just a collection of plants. It is not a static arrangement, nor a finished object. A garden is a living composition—something that grows, shifts, and evolves over time. It is shaped not only by the hands of the
The Principles and Elements of Garden Design A Complete Introduction to Creating Beautiful, Functional, and Timeless Gardens Introduction: Garden Design as a Living Art Garden design is often described as the slowest of the performing arts—and for good reason. Unlike painting or sculpture, where the work is fixed at the moment of completion, a garden
English Garden History: From Formal Designs to Wild Beauty English gardens feel timeless. Many people imagine soft lawns, winding paths, and flowers spilling over borders. But this familiar style did not appear overnight. It grew over centuries as ideas about nature, power, art, and beauty changed. https://youtu.be/WSliVCo8ClA The story of English garden history is really
