Projects

West 7th - St. Paul

Gathering Space Surrounded by Native and Edible Plants

Here, a circular gravel patio was built off of the back deck, offering the homeowners an expanded space to gather and enjoy company. A rain garden is adjacent to the gravel patio and collects water from a nearby downspout. Gardens composed of native prairie species surround the patio, which will offer wildlife habitat and visually frame the space once the plants become fully established. Several fruit-bearing trees and shrubs were planted into this mix of native plants, including pears, serviceberries, and honeyberries.

  • A landscaped backyard features a gravel pathway, various potted plants, and some empty flower pots on dark soil.
  • Backyard with a patch of grass, flower bed with small plants and a white picket fence, blue house with three windows, garden hose coiled on the wall, trees in the background.
  • Residential backyard with a gravel walking path, small garden beds with plants, and a wooden deck with outdoor furniture.
  • Backyard garden with a gravel pathway, flourishing plants, and a wooden deck with outdoor furniture, in front of a house with stairs leading up to the second story.
  • A backyard garden with a small gravel area surrounded by plants, a wooden deck on the left, a blue building on the right, and a large tree in the background.
  • A backyard garden with a winding gravel pathway surrounded by newly planted flower beds and a small circular arrangement of rocks in the center of the pathway. There is a detached blue shed on the left, a white picket fence in the background, and some garden supports and lush green trees and bushes on the right.

Northrop - Minneapolis

Reclaimed Materials & Stormwater Capture

The number one priority for this project was diverting stormwater runoff away from the garage and making space for it to naturally permeate into the soil. Prior to our work, the client’s garage would often flood due to the lowest point of the yard being adjacent to the side garage door. We created a new path below the garage roof that was pitched out towards an adjacent bioswale and rain garden, therefore diverting it away from the garage. The rain garden now collects water from one side of the garage roof and the rest of the yard.

We also built a new patio and fire pit area to offer more space for gathering with friends and family. This was a great project for material reuse. The old patio was made out of old bricks that we gladly reused with a combination of leftover scraps of bluestone from a stone yard. The unique shapes allowed us to get creative with the patterns of bluestone and bricks, resulting in a really beautiful and unique path. By creating a berm in one corner of the yard we also kept all soil on site.

  • Backyard garden with small plants, brick borders, soil, and a wheelbarrow in a sunny yard surrounded by trees and neighboring houses.
  • A person kneeling on the ground, using a level and a straightedge to lay paving stones on a pathway. There are buckets and tools around him, with a brick border on the left and dirt surrounding the area.
  • A sidewalk with a concrete and brick border next to a house wall, featuring a small step. To the left, there are rocks and some metal rods, while the right side has a textured beige house wall.
  • Backyard patio with stone and brick paving, a fire pit, a small white shed, a large tree, leaf-covered ground, and outdoor tools and accessories.
  • Close-up of a walkway with gray concrete slabs and multicolored bricks, bordered by plant soil with small green leaves, and a shoe at the bottom.

East Isles - Minneapolis

Front Yard Pocket Prairie

Our work is part of a larger movement that seeks to make the conventional lawn unconventional. We imagine a future where an expansive lawn is no longer the default for every home landscape. We had the joy to work on a project for a homeowner who shares this same vision. They had us remove their entire front lawn, replacing it with a pocket prairie. The lawn suffered from hot and dry conditions and white grubs which specifically like to feed on the roots of conventional turf grass. Now they have a pocket prairie filled with a diverse group of native plant species adapted to these specific site conditions.

In addition to their desire for a habitat-friendly yard, this homeowner was seeking a specific textural impression. We hope to achieve a lush and grassy texture, with smaller splashes of wildflowers mixed in between. We used a combination of warm and cool season grasses to maintain ground cover across various points of the growing season. This lush groundcover is also intended to result in less maintenance over time.

  • Residential sidewalk with rocks lining the edge, grass, bushes, and trees in front of houses under a clear blue sky.
  • A freshly tilled garden bed with small plants and a dirt path, adjacent to a sidewalk.
  • A small garden bed with decorative rocks, small green plants, and mulch, adjacent to a concrete sidewalk, with a red pickup truck in the background.
  • A sloped garden bed with various plants and flowers, edged with large rocks, in front of a house with a porch and white siding.
  • Front yard of a house with steps leading to the front door, surrounded by green plants and flowers, and a large tree casting shadows on the house.

South - Minneapolis

Hillside Prairie for Erosion Control and Pollinator Habitat

City sidewalk lined with trees and colorful houses, front yards filled with wildflowers

This South Minneapolis home had a weedy and patchy lawn on the slope down to the sidewalk. The sparse vegetation was unsightly, difficult to mow and care for, and caused significant soil erosion. While a lawn is not well adapted to the hot, dry conditions of the steep west-facing slope, there is a whole community of prairie species adapted to these same conditions.

When planning a garden for this space, various species were selected based on a few factors. First, that they should be fairly short in stature so as not to overwhelm the front entrance. Second, to have staggered bloom times to offer nectar and pollen resources to pollinators throughout the growing season. In addition, we include what’s known in ecology as ruderal species. These are plants that are the first to grow in space after a disturbance. They tend to be annual plants but there are also many shorter-lived perennials. By picking a few of these quick to establish plants, it would help to hold the soil in place during the first year. We went with yarrow (white flower) and sand coreopsis (yellow flower) and they went absolutely crazy in the first year!

  • A residential street with a sidewalk, parked cars, trees, and yellow flowering plants along the grassy hillside in front of houses, during daytime with sunlight.
  • A sidewalk lined with yellow and white wildflowers in front of row of houses with trees in the background.
  • A garden with various colorful flowers including yellow, white, and orange blooms in front of a house with a brick and siding exterior.
  • A vibrant garden with various flowering plants, including white, purple, pink, and yellow flowers, next to a house with a porch, under a clear blue sky with some clouds and surrounded by green trees.
  • Various purple and pink flowers growing in a garden with green foliage and a building wall in the background.
  • A suburban neighborhood street with several houses, a green lawn with purple flowering plants in the foreground, and large trees providing shade.
  • Sidewalk lined with dry grass and trees in autumn, residential houses on the left, parked cars on the street to the right, overcast sky.