our blog
Field Journal
a collection of resources, reflections, and design stories
Dense, Layered, Native Planting
There are many ecosystem services that can be protected, restored, and enhanced, which we’ll explore in this and other essays. Today, we’ll focus on the vegetation life-cycle and the ways in which sustainable design can leverage the functionality of native and appropriate plants, which reduce irrigation and maintenance needs, increase habitat, and promote regional identity. By replacing lawn, hardscaping, and invasive populations with native plant communities, we create a landscape that’s as beautiful as it is functional.
Managing Precipitation on Site
There are many ecosystem services that can be protected, restored, and enhanced, which we’ll explore in this and future essays. Today, let’s focus on the water cycle and the ways in which sustainable design can lend a hand in conserving water and managing runoff, while protecting floodplains and aquatic ecosystems. The goal of this strategy is to mimic ecological systems, all while creating a landscape that’s as beautiful as it is functional.
12 Native Plants of Lenapehoking
Native plants are species and communities of plants that have lived in relationship with the land and its inhabitants, long before European settlers arrived. Not only do native species “come from here” (wherever you are), their very DNA has been shaped by the regional and local environment. From the amount of annual rain to how long a growing season lasts, plants not introduced by colonists (on purpose or accidentally) have adapted characteristics alongside the land and other living organisms over thousands of years.
The Generational Garden
Discover how a North Jersey front yard was transformed into a native woodland garden designed for multigenerational connection. Learn how layered plantings, reclaimed stone, and intentional design create space for ecological healing, family memory, and ongoing relationships with land.
The Quiet Winter Garden
The leaves have fallen, the days grow short, and the garden takes on an air of quiet stillness. Frost creeps across the landscape, softening edges and lending the world a crystalline beauty. For many, winter is the season when the garden sleeps—but beneath the surface, life is bustling. The winter garden is a paradox: the apparent dormancy hums with hidden activity, and simplicity reveals profound complexity.