Gardening
I had a hand in designing, planting, or maintaining the gardens pictured here, independently or through supervision of a larger crew of knowledgable horticulturists. These gardens reflect the wildness and resilience at the heart of ecological gardening.
a savanna garden of Pennsylvannia sedge and Camassia planted beneath young white oaks
the first year of a planted meadow: little bluestem, true-blue Allium, and orange butterflyweed are knitted together to discourage weed seed establishment
fall color in the same planted meadow, at the end of its first full year
intermingling sedges and Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'
Monarda fistulosa 'Claire Grace', Pycnanthemum muticum (mountain mint), and Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop) occupy a mid-layer niche and contrast nicely
hummingbird clearwing moth visiting Monarda fistulosa
high diversity roadside garden in Riverside, Rhode Island just after planting
the same garden in Riverside, Rhode Island two months later
Knautia macedonica and Salvia sylvestris 'May Night' fill in the ground layer around taller plants
Bouteloua curtipendula 'Blonde Ambition' hovers above mountain mint (my favorite, with the silver foliage), Baptisia australis, and Monarda fistulosa 'Claire Grace'
grasses provide excellent fall color in this new pollinator garden in Rhode Island
Viburnum nudum ‘Winterthur’ has amazing fall color and edible fruits
river birch, blue flag iris, sensitive fern, and Primula 'Miller's Crimson' planted in spring of 2022 and sufficiently irrigated from retained rainwater to survive a summer drought with no supplemental watering
small ferns, lowbush blueberries, and plugs of woodland grasses and perennials will establish quickly on this new lawn conversion in Charlestown
this steep lawn was converted to a part-shade, well-drained, acidic soil woodland garden
BEFORE - North Kingstown pollinator garden
AFTER - North Kingstown pollinator garden
diverse privacy screen just after planting, with strategic plant placement to preserve water views
BEFORE - ecological restoration-style garden along a historic dam in Rhode Island, prior to weed management
AFTER - ecological restoration-style garden along a historic dam in Rhode Island, following weed management; desirable plant species have been preserved, supplemental plantings were added in autumn
Amelanchier ‘Rainbow Pillar’ and Narcissus ‘Thalia’ are first to flower below the dam
fall of the first year following weed control at the dam stream - still some spot management, but new plants are on track to fill in quickly
the plants below the dam were selected to withstand serious flooding, so everyone weathered Hurricane Henri with no complaints
monarch butterfly larvae feeding on revealed swamp milkweed at the historic dam streambank restoration in Rhode Island
blueberries, grasses, and flowering perennials taking root in their first year following organic weed control
historic dam garden two years after initial organic weed management and planting, with minimal maintenance and zero irrigation after 2020; thriving in August 2022 after an intense drought
Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' feeding an endangered monarch butterfly at the unirrigated historic dam garden.
Phlox ‘Jeana’, here with Eutrochium purpureum, was the highest rated in attractiveness to pollinators in the Mt. Cuba trials
hardy lotus in a small woodland pond
a woodland garden with an understory collection of Japanese maples in New York
fall in a densely-planted woodland garden in New York
Tiarella cordifolia 'Oakleaf' flanking the sides of a stone slab staircase
spring-blooming crocus planted in naturalistic sweeps
a one-acre seeded meadow in its second season: joe-pye weed, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, and Heliopsis intermingle with volunteer Queen Anne's lace
Echinacea purpurea is a short-lived perennial, but can make a continual showing in wild gardens where it's encouraged to seed around
mature plants like this joe-pye weed can be planted into seeded meadows to give repetition and contrast with the wilder seeded plant community