05/30/2026
Now that the weather has finally settled into something that feels like summer, I find myself drifting outside whenever the studio allows.
There is always a patch of soil waiting for attention. A space that could use another perennial. A corner that might be better with something unexpected growing through it. This season, it’s lavender and lantana finding their place among the landscape.
And then there is the tree.
Beautiful in the way old things often are, but equally stubborn. Messy. Towering. Constantly reminding me that nature has its own ideas about how a landscape should look. Most days, I’m simply trying to work around it rather than with it.
I suppose it isn’t all that different from designing with flowers. You begin with a vision, make a plan, and then learn to respond to what is actually in front of you.
When the day winds down, my favorite place to be is right in the middle of it all at the fire table. Surrounded by the beds that still need work, the plants that have finally found their home, and the projects waiting for another day. Beverage in hand, I get to sit quietly in the midst of the progress and the imperfections, watching the landscape slowly become what it was always meant to be.
For now, the lavender is planted, the lantana is settling in, and the tree remains unconvinced by all of my efforts.
