Wildscape Design, LLC.

11/09/2023

As the first real snow of the season is falling here in Burlington, we can't help but dream about this sublime lakeside landscape we had the opportunity to design and install for one of our clients this summer 😍

We helped them to establish a no-mow buffer along their existing stabilized shore (boulder and retaining walls), planted a sweeping garden of native species to further reduce lawn and improve habitat, and finally -- what would a lakeside property be without meaningful access for recreation? -- we designed a sheltered gathering space with sweeping views of the sunset over the Adirondacks and steps down to the water.

The dry-laid stone seating wall, steps, and site grading were completed by and we're obsessed with how it all turned out. Thanks for delivering on our client's vision!

Wishing everybody warmth and comfort as winter arrives!

08/16/2023

We're in love with the combination of colors, textures, and structure that evolves throughout the season in this memorial pollinator garden. We designed and installed this last spring and it's already grown in so fully with the help of this year's consistent supply of rain.
The golden brown of the fading deschampsia contrasts against the dusky silver rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) and pycnanthemum muticum (mountain mint, which the pollinating insects are obsessed with) and the purple pop of the agastache. The Zizia (golden Alexander) fades to a rusty red and accentuates the backdrop of green hues. White coneflowers and shockingly pink liatris add a nice flare, while drifts of 'blackhawks' big bluestem tower over them.

If you're in the Burlington area, don't miss this beautiful garden as it turns to late summer -- the show is only beginning as the asters come into bloom. Check it out at the Wheeler Homestead and Nature Park off Dorset St in South Burlington, and while you're there take a stroll through the sprawling meadows with views of the Green Mountains.

06/26/2023

Squeezed in a visit to western MA this weekend and took in the glory of the mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) super bloom happening right now. What an awesome native understory shrub 😍

06/19/2023

Taking advantage of the sunshine after the heavy rains to work some conceptual designs out in the hammock.
Winston -- and about 20,000 honey bees in the background -- keeping me good company 😹

03/17/2023

We're hiring!

Are you, or is somebody you know, looking for a fun outdoor job in Vermont this spring through the fall? Apply to come work with us! We're a small-but-growing ecologically inspired landscape & garden design/build company, based in the Champlain Valley. Get in at the ground floor and work directly with the owners and founders, with lots of potential for growth season-to-season!

Visit our "Jobs" page on our website, or follow the link in our bio to learn more.

Spring is coming! 🌱 🌼

03/17/2023

We're hiring!

Wildscape Design currently seeks a professional and dependable performer for a fast-paced and constantly evolving outdoor work environment, committed to creating and managing landscapes that improve people’s lives and benefit Vermont's ecology.

The Landscape Laborer/Gardener is a horticulturist and a garden builder. You will execute daily landscape and garden operations with our clients. You will be a critical member of the landscape crew and work closely with the company owner’s.

Interested parties should email a brief cover letter and resume to Cara and Rowan at:
[email protected]
Find a full job description on our website, https://wildscapedesign.com/jobs

No phone calls, please.

11/30/2022

Peek-a-boo 👀
One of our community facing gardens at Wake Robin was briefly featured on this interesting piece from WCAX-TV

Stories are handed down through generations and the best ones are well-told. Now, the residents at Wake Robin in Shelburne are learning how to share their legacy.

10/14/2022

Our fall gardens are really popping right now, with asters, anemone, and chrysanthemums putting on a spectacular flower show against a backdrop of autumn foliage 🍂 such a magical time of year!
Also the best time of year for a break to hike some mountains and peep some leaves with your special people 💛

05/19/2022

Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) and woodland phlox (Phlox divartica) are coming in strong and putting on a show at . We love these native groundcovers!

05/04/2022

Looking forward to picking up this gem from a great company in the Northeast! Wild Seed Project

Treat yourselves to this beautiful book by the ! (Update- the book will be available on the Wild Seed Project website in a few weeks. Stay tuned!)

03/22/2022

One of our larger projects to date, and very exciting!

The owners of this 6-acre property in the Champlain Valley aim to convert over one-and-a-half acres of their existing lawn into meadows, adding onto the two acres of existing oldfield/meadow. The process has been really interesting, as we co-create new spaces, destinations, windbreaks, and focal points across their landscape.

We're integrating a mix of "designed meadows," which will be tarped this spring to destroy the sod, and seeded with a custom seed mix from this fall (it's been quite fun putting together the spreadsheets); "naturalized meadows," which abut existing meadows and will be allowed to return through reduced mowing - we'll curate these spaces with masses of native shrubs and plugs, while regularly pulling nuisance plants, such as brown-spotted knapweed and parsnip; and managing an oldfield complex toward meadow once again, through a targeted brush hogging schedule and removal of some invasive woody perennials and shrubs. We were honored to consult with Mike Bald (Got Weeds? Not on IG) this fall to ID nuisance plants and develop a restoration and maintenance strategy.

The new landscape will boast a dramatically improved habitat value for migratory birds and native insects, a ten-fold increase in biodiversity, and a cure for the traditional lawn aesthetic to boot. We'll be sure to post about the process as it unfolds over the next three-to-four years.

11/11/2021

Our final garden installation of the season!
We've been excited about this project since the first conceptual designs (one pictured here), working with a client who was super engaged & excited by the design process.

This family's existing front yard was tight -- small patches of struggling lawn eeking out a marginal existence between a mature mixed evergreen hedge and an undersized driveway. They hoped to convert the entire front lawn into gardens, and optimize the access between parking, porch, and sidewalks. The resulting design extended the driveway turnaround into a curve, with an elegant and formalized irregular flagstone walkway (replacing tired stepping stones) embracing the curve. Dimensional stone landings at the foot of the porch and the fence's gate create a threshold to the space. A silver-blue themed (native plant-heavy) perennial garden runs alongside the walkway, and a groundcover of sedges & painted ferns fills in the gaps along the fence and under the existing lilacs.

We had some fun collaboration with the stone masons at Champlain Landworks (formerly Queen City Soil & Stone, not on IG) who did all this beautiful stonework, and our friend who built these gorgeous custom planter boxes.