A favorite past time in these parts: Floating down one of the many rivers.
Dear Friends,
I’ve done it! I have taken the big leap and arrived at our new home in Dixon MT, a small town in easy reach of Missoula on the Clark Fork River, one of “America’s 10 Best River Towns” in western Montana. Getting here was an adventure, not being used to driving on snowy roads; carrying and pushing my piano and our belongings through the snow into the new home was another challenge.
The snow has melted away, and out of my window I see the barren trees along the Flathead River. I’m enjoying the play of sun and shadows on the hills across the water and the snow-capped peaks of the Mission Mountains in the distance. I hope that the mild weather will hold as long as possible and I can begin getting a feel for our new property and the lay of our hilly terrain.
In Tizer Botanic Gardens, Jefferson City MT
What brought me here is my family, but also the beauty of Montana’s open plains, valleys, and the emerald green waters of the Clark Fork River that merges with the Flathead River a few miles away. There are so many creeks, rivers, and lakes here that it would take me another lifetime to see them all. Add to this the excitement over discovering a new plant palette and the desire to master the challenges of gardening in the Rockies.
I look forward to designing gardens that survive the winters here and the many other challenges of deer/pocket gophers/squirrels, extreme heat, difficult soils and limited rainfall. One question in particular is on my mind when I look at gardens: What are the design secrets to designing a garden that holds its visual interest even under several inches of snow?
In Missoula, I’ve noticed a distinct appreciation for durable, naturalistic plantings in private gardens and public and commercial landscapes. The design at my local grocery store, in particular, caught my eye by its use of boulders, comfortable stepping stones, long-flowering hardy perennials, shrubs, small trees and ornamental grasses. The whole has a very relaxed and naturalistic feeling, and from Lori Parr, its designer, I learned that her goal was a sustainable plant composition that uses beautiful, low maintenance xeriscape plants of the Mountain West that give the whole a distinct Rocky Mountain feel. (Lori goes by the name of “Lavender Lori” because she now grows hardy Lavenders and makes various products with its oils.)
A very relaxed and sustainable design by Lori Parr at the Good Food Store, Missoula
As I’m looking around to see what other local designers are doing, I talked to Will Grant of Grant Landscape & Design of Missoula. His use, too, of indigenous plants, his stated preference of water-conserving plants and his way of incorporating local stone and rocks in pleasing ways impressed me. Both Lori’s and Will’s supportive and easy sharing of their experiences enforced what I learned in Southern California: Gardeners everywhere love their work so much that they are willing to share secrets and experience and always support those who want to know…
Grant Landscapes, Missoula: Low maintenance, water-wise gardens, beautiful rock work and native plants and materials. (quoted from their website)
Gardening and Sustainable Design
So I invite you to follow my next blog posts. I’ll share what I have learned about gardening and sustainable design in Western Montana. I’m really excited to see which tricks are employed to keep a landscape interesting even under several inches of snow! I will share with you what I learn here.
For my new gardening friends in Montana although working now in a different environment, my “eyeball” is still good and I bring my design passion and experience that brought me awards in Southern California. I look forward to working with you and to helping you articulate your ideas, to interpreting and transforming them into reality. And to make you feel what this client of mine wrote: “Every day I am thrilled to open the front gate and walk through the first garden you designed. Sometimes it is late afternoon and the light is glorious in the garden.”
Thank you so much for your continued reading of my posts From Montana. I appreciate this support and hope you’ll follow me on this new adventure.
I wish you the very best for the new year and a festive holiday season.
Along the Clark Fork River, a few miles from Dixon MT
Suggestion for protecting gardens from frost if irrigation uses drip tubing (Netafim, etc.).
Install hot air pump to blow hot air into the irrigation tubing. The heat will be distributed to mainly where the plants need it, the pressurized air will drain the irrigation tubing to prevent freezing, and the continuous leakage of hot air from the irrigation holes in the irrigation tubing will keep the air around the plant above freezing point.
Would work the best if tubing is covered by layer of mulch. This will distribute the heat more efficiently and also prevent heat loss within the irrigation tubing. The end of the tubing will therefore be almost the same hot temperature as the proximal end.
Dear Christiane, I’m so sad that you are gone. (Happy for you, of course). I got your name from Connie and Ray in San Marcos and I was going to call you about designing a garden for me down the street from them. Now you are gone. Is there anyone in San Diego County that you could recommend that has the same style, knowledge, and sensibility that you have?
Christiane, thank you for all of your design support and expertise. The projects we collaborated on for our joint clients will remind me of our time together. We already miss you. You are in a beautiful place and I’m sure you will create beautiful gardens for your clients.
Hi Christine,
I had completed your questionnaire and had planned on contacting you when you sent the notice of your relocation. I am happy for you but was sad for me because I had spent so much time researching landscape designers when I finally found your website. Now I am back to square one and am hoping you can recommend someone in San Diego who does also does hardscape design. We will do much of the work ourselves but definitely need professional advice.
Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
Belinda
Hi Belinda,
I’m sorry that I’m not able to assist you in your landscape needs and hope that since you contacted me, you have found a designer that you trust and whose work you appreciate and enjoy. Happy gardening and landscaping, and thank you for writing to me. (And please excuse my late response; adjusting to to this new place has taken all my attention this year.)
Hi Steve,
I much appreciate your message here, and wish you all the best to your work and company. Working with you has always been enriching and rewarding; I have learned so much through it and enjoyed all of it. (And I miss the collaboration with you and your team.)
Happy gardening and landscaping, and thank you for writing to me. And please excuse my late response; adjusting to to this new place has taken all my attention this year.
Hi Dawn, I’m afraid I never responded to your message here; in the turmoil following my relocation to my new home in Montana I must have overlooked it, and since I’m in a sabbatical for this year I haven’t paid much attention to my website — please excuse my not responding! I hope that you were able to find a designer that you have enjoyed working with and who was able to translate your wishes into a beautiful garden.
Happy gardening! And thanks for contacting me.