Hamilton Residence

A small cottage on a double-lot was transformed into a multi-generational living space with the addition of a new wing, designed by Communitecture, and a tiny house. The gardens have multiple outdoor rooms for solo reading and relaxing and big dinners with family and friends, or a place to chat with neighbors. Plantings emphasize drought-tolerance, bold colors and year-round interest. The many edible and pollinator plants include alpine strawberries, mediterranean herbs, grape vines, and berry bushes.

Beach School Garden

Beach Elementary is a Portland Public School serving families with kids in grades K-5. In 2016, parents got together to renovate and expand a disused school garden with the help of Resilience Design. Since then, the garden has become a beloved outdoor learning laboratory for the school and neighborhood, with annual raised veggie beds, perennial foods and herbs and 1,000 square feet of Willamette Valley native pollinator meadow. The garden has hosted multi-cultural guest teachers, community workshops on organic orchard care, meadowscaping, and plant medicine as well as garden-to-table dinners.

Black Broom Farm

A multifunctional orchard design for a farm in the Willamette Valley on traditional Tualatin Kalapuya land. The primary planting is perry pears (varieties for hard cider), mixed with heirloom cider apples, stone fruits, nut trees and elderberries. The tree spacing allows for pasture beneath the trees where the family’s goats and sheep will graze. Polyculture (multi-species) plantings around the trees attract pollinators during bloom time as well as predator insects to help keep trees healthy.

Whimsical Family Backyard

This dreamy backyard offers opportunities for the whole family to play and relax. There is a hot tub, whimsical playhouse with a hobbit tunnel beneath, an eco-lawn, cedar deck, arbor-covered benches, and a fairy waterfall and pool to dip your feet in. And there is space to grow fruits, veggies, and herbs with a greenhouse, raised beds and edible plantings. Many Northwest native plants are incorporated into the backdrop to bring in bird visitors and host pollinators.

Community Living in 5,000 sq. ft.

An inspired young couple restored their older home into a rental and then transformed the garage into a compact modern casita for themselves, even leaving space in the garden for their best friends’ tiny house. A series of interconnected outdoor rooms provide shared space for dining, relaxing and play amid lush edible plantings and medicinal herbs, weaving in accents that reflect their Chinese and Mexican heritages. Tucked into this compact, multi-functional space is also a private deck for the tiny house, chickens, water catchment, and honeybees!

Container Plantings

Our Garden – Resilience Design HQ

My own garden is guided by a master plan, but evolves and I learn so much each year. I continue to be informed by the site, inspired by incremental accomplishments and cheered on by the birds (26 species!) and critters who have taken up our offer of habitat.

Our urban homestead includes a greenhouse made of reclaimed windows, a rain water storage system, micro-drip irrigation, a space-efficient structure that incorporates a coop, compost bins, a potting bench, a tool shed and will have a green roof. We have a small eco-lawn, permeable paving, a rain garden and over 90 species of edible and medicinal plants.

Prairie Farm

A 40 acre parcel is undergoing an ecological restoration, preserving a large tract of wetland, converting 19 acres of corn fields into tall grass prairie. A 2-acre permaculture homestead site (shown at left) includes a timber-framed green home with solar power and stuga, a traditional sauna and a pole barn. The land surrounding the new house has honeybees, a fruit and nut orchard, a sugar bush for maple syrup, and extensive gardens focusing on native and multifunctional plants. Planned amenities include a poultry coop, rainwater storage, a contemplation garden and hedgerows. The project, now in its third year, draws on many of the family’s and community’s skill sets and local resources such as reclaimed lumber.  Techniques utilizes in site preparation on a sandy soil include sheet mulching and hugelkulture.

Falling in Love with Your Yard

Sometimes a yard is not as useable and inviting as you wish. This design creates welcoming spaces for spending time outdoors for the various ages of family members: a patio with a fire pit, a covered area for reading, doggie play space, herbs and berries, plus a front entry garden for chatting with neighbors. The plantings give a sense of enclosure, yet with dappled light that evokes the owner’s mountain hometown.

Modern Family Garden

This minimalist take on an urban homestead includes several outdoor living spaces: a terrace with poured concrete pavers, a sunken patio with fire pit and a children’s play nook. Plantings include a mix of NW native and New Zealand species, a parking strip meadow of wildflowers and oaks, and a small eco-lawn for play. A raised bed vegetable garden and perennial edibles throughout ensure plenty of snacking opportunities. The homeowner added elegant planters with mediterranean plants. A drip irrigation system makes for easy maintenance. Another example of much can be done in a small space, this is one of my favorite projects in years.