Noble Root

🌿 A garden that keeps growing into its purpose.

This is one of those projects we love revisiting year after year, not only because of how beautifully the garden has grown and evolved, but because of everything it has become along the way.

What began as an expansive lawn was reimagined as a layered, cottage-inspired garden filled with winding paths, edible plants, native and pollinator-friendly species, and places to gather, wander, and simply slow down.

Over the years, the plants have filled in, the habitat has grown richer, and the garden has taken on a life of its own. But perhaps our favorite part of its evolution is that today, this landscape is also home to Hand to Heart OT, a pediatric occupational therapy practice that incorporates its calming garden setting into the experience it creates for children and their caregivers.

It’s a beautiful reminder that a garden can become so much more than a beautiful place to look at. It can feed us, support wildlife, offer a place to rest and reconnect, and even become part of the meaningful work that happens there. 💚

We’ll happily keep coming back to this one and watching its story grow.

Swipe to see how far this garden has come. 🌱

Tall, a little wild, and hard to miss. 🌻🌿

Meet Elecampane (Inula helenium), a bold perennial that can bring height, movement, and late-season flowers to the garden.

Growing several feet tall, Elecampane isn't interested in quietly filling a gap. Its large leaves and bright yellow blooms create a wonderfully naturalistic presence, especially in gardens where there's room to let plants be a little wild.

Its flowers can also provide nectar and pollen for visiting insects later in the growing season, making it another example of why bloom time matters when we're designing for pollinators.

And when flowering is finished? Consider resisting the urge to clean everything up immediately. Leaving some stems and seed heads standing through winter can add structure while making the garden a little more welcoming to wildlife.

Sometimes a garden gets more interesting when we let it be a little less tidy. 🌿

What can a vacant lot become? 🌿

The vision for this space is much more than filling unused land with plants. The goal is to transform the vacant lot adjacent to the homeowners’ main home into an extension of the surrounding Pacific Northwest: a place for wildlife, food, exploration, and quiet moments outside.

Our design brings together two complementary experiences. A naturalistic habitat garden layers native trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns, and flowering plants to provide food and shelter for birds and pollinators. Meandering paths invite you into the landscape, creating space to wander, pause, and enjoy the garden as it grows.

Alongside it, a productive kitchen garden brings raised beds, herbs, berries, and other edibles into the plan, creating space to grow food while still feeling connected to the larger landscape.

Plants like vine maple, serviceberry, Oregon grape, evergreen huckleberry, red-flowering currant, Douglas iris, native roses, and sword ferns help build the structure and diversity of the habitat. 🌱

This is what we love about the design stage: taking a client's priorities and imagining how a space can work for people, plants, and wildlife before the first plant ever goes in the ground.

The vision is here. Now we can’t wait to see it grow. 🌱 Stay tuned... we hope there are “after” photos in this garden’s future!

What if your garden became more colorful after the leaves fell? ❤️🌿

Meet Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea), a native shrub with something to offer in every season.

Its flowers provide resources for pollinators, its fruit can feed birds, and its dense growth creates valuable shelter. But winter is when this plant really gets attention: once the foliage drops, its vibrant red stems become part of the show.

It's also a great reminder that ecological gardens don't have to peak in summer. By choosing plants for their stems, berries, structure, and habitat value, we can create landscapes that stay interesting and useful throughout the year.

And here's a garden tip: the youngest stems tend to have the brightest color, so thoughtful pruning can help keep that winter display going.

Another plant doing more than one job. Our favorite kind. 🌱

A front yard should feel like part of the home, not just the space around it. 🌿

The goal was to create a front garden that felt welcoming, beautiful, and connected to the character of their Portland Craftsman home, without creating an overwhelming amount of maintenance for two new gardeners.

We reimagined the space with a layered mix of native and ornamental plants selected for seasonal interest, pollinator value, and easier care. An informal flagstone path winds through the planting, creating a softer journey to the front door while giving the garden a distinctly Pacific Northwest feel.

Evergreen huckleberry, red-flowering currant, Oregon grape, ferns, Douglas iris, mock orange, snowberry, and other flowering plants bring together texture, color, habitat, and year-round interest.

The result is more than curb appeal. It's a front garden designed to welcome people home, support life beyond the front door, and become more beautiful as it grows. 🌱

Swipe to see the before and after.

One plant. Food for you. Food for pollinators. 💜🐝

Meet Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), an edible perennial that deserves a place beyond the traditional herb garden.

We know chives for their mild onion-flavored leaves, but let them flower and they reveal another side. Those beautiful purple blooms provide nectar and pollen for visiting insects, and they're edible for us, too!

That's one reason we love incorporating useful plants into the landscape. You can harvest some leaves for the kitchen, leave some flowers for the pollinators, and enjoy the blooms along the way.

Even better, chives return year after year and mature clumps can be divided and shared.

A little reminder that a garden doesn't have to choose between beautiful, edible, and ecological. It can be all three. 🌿

What to Plant in September 🍂

The first two weeks of September are prime time in kitchen gardens! With long, warm days still on our side, it’s the perfect window to plant cool-season crops. 🙌

🌱 Seed Now:
Arugula
Giant Red Mustard (beautiful and tasty!)
Beets
Cabbage (for spring harvest)
Fava Beans
Kale
Radishes
Salad Greens

✨ Bonus tip: Not feeling like beginning another round of veggies? September is also the perfect time to sow a cover crop in your raised beds. Think of it as tucking your garden in for a cozy winter nap while building healthier soil for next year.

Growing Food. Sharing Abundance. Caring for Community. 🌱🍅

Through our partnership with 1% for the Planet, we’re proud to support local organizations working toward healthier, more resilient communities.

This month, we’re celebrating Lift Urban Portland, a nonprofit working to reduce hunger and improve access to nutritious food for neighbors in Northwest and Downtown Portland. Through programs including Preston’s Pantry, a monthly Free Food Market, and delivered food boxes, Lift UP helps make quality food more accessible.

One initiative we especially love is Grow to Donate. Gardeners can pledge a garden row or fruit tree and share extra tomatoes, zucchini, berries, and other homegrown abundance with their community. 🌿

It’s a beautiful reminder that a productive garden can reach far beyond our own table.

When we grow more than we need, that abundance can become an opportunity to care for someone else. 💚

Learn more about Lift UP and ways to get involved.

Don't let the name fool you, Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) won't make you sneeze! Its unusual name comes from a historical use of its dried leaves, not from allergy-causing pollen.

What makes this native perennial truly special is its timing. As many summer flowers begin to fade, Sneezeweed bursts into bloom, providing a much-needed source of nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies preparing for the colder months.

A healthy habitat supports pollinators all season long, not just in spring.

Would you make room for a plant that blooms when wildlife needs it most? 🌼