For a couple of months you worked with Ross NW Watergardens on a landscape design. Then you signed off on a contract to install the landscape. You waited even longer for your slot in the schedule to arrive. Now, finally, it is time to plant. Guess what?

Some of the plants, so carefully chosen, are not available. Why?

Most of the time I do blog posts about stuff Ross NW Watergardens does well. This post is about something we do not do at all, ever- sell pond supplies.

Ross NW Watergardens has two vineyard / winery projects in the pipeline, one a home above a couple’s winery and the other a new garden at a winery that is soon to be built. Wondering what design principles come into play? Here are three things we have learned while planning for these projects:

Here is a list of commonly used landscape and landscape design terms, so you and your designer can speak the same language. Landscape jargon can be regional, so this is specifically for the Portland, Oregon area.

Once your ADU is completed you will probably realize that your landscape is gone, available space is tighter, and there are now two structure that feel like the yard belongs to them.

How can you create garden that works as well as your ADU does? You can hire a landscape designer or DIY, either way these principles will help as you develop a plan.

What if your landscape is already completed, and isn’t as modern as you would like? Or maybe you are having a hard time completing the look because most garden accessories are traditional in style.

Here is a collection of truly modern accessories (some from Portland) that will put the finishing touches on your modern garden:

Pictures from a landscape designer’s visit to the Portland Japanese Garden!

Do you need a landscape design? What exactly is a landscape design? And if you don’t need a design, what do you need? Our landscape designer answers all those questions here.

Camas, WA landscape project by Ross NW Watergardens. See how we took a boring front yard and back slope and transformed it into something modern and special…

As a homeowner, landscaper, designer or architect we spend a lot of time deciding what to put into our landscapes.

It is just as important, though, to know what not to include in your design. Landscape preferences are subjective, of course. But the following three things should never be in your Portland landscape design.