Frequently Asked Questions

I'm a landscape designer and plant consultant based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with over two decades of experience in ecological and native planting design. I trained at Utah State University, and worked as Senior Garden Designer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, leading planting design on one of Utah's most high-profile historic landscapes. With an eye toward the future, I engage a wide range of clients as the founder of OneGirlGardens, developing visions together that will stand the test of time — taking key aspirations and transforming them into holistic approaches that prioritize innovation, habitat regeneration, and native landscape conservation within the built environment. I specialize in native and water-resilient planting, naturalistic garden design, and plant consulting for larger architecture and landscape design firms.

I'm based in Salt Lake City, working close to home in the city's older neighborhoods — the Avenues, Yalecrest, and the historic grounds of Temple Square. I serve clients throughout the Salt Lake Valley, with plant consulting engagements further afield.

I serve clients throughout the Salt Lake Valley, with a particular concentration on Salt Lake City's historic neighborhoods. I also take on plant consulting for firms outside Utah, and have designed native gardens as far away as Australia.

Primarily residential gardens — new planting plans, garden renovations, and ongoing consulting for established gardens. I also take on select civic and institutional planting work, and plant consulting for larger firms already leading a project. My work ranges from a single private garden bed to civic-scale grounds.

An ongoing planting relationship with the historic grounds of Temple Square in Salt Lake City — one of Utah's most high-profile landscapes, where I've led native and water-resilient planting design at civic scale.

From a private Yalecrest garden to major civic public gardens, every project starts with a process that is equal parts design strategy and conversation. We start by researching a site's social, ecological, physical, and historical context, and begin to weave this brief into visual stories that invite everyone into a design conversation — asking questions and sharing ideas. Whether the project is streamlined or multilayered, each one begins with the same initial steps.

A typical residential garden takes one to three growing seasons from first meeting to full establishment. Design and planting usually happen within a single season, but naturalistic plantings need two to three years to knit together and reach their intended form.

Before, whenever possible. The site is the most important design input — its sun, slope, existing plant life, and soil all determine what a garden can become. I've helped clients evaluate a property's outdoor potential before purchase, and in several cases identified opportunities that changed the decision.

I don't handle permitting or hardscape construction. What I do handle is planting coordination: reviewing plant material on site, walking the layout with the install crew, and providing regular site visits during installation.

Yes. Maintenance guidance is integrated into my design practice. I set up a maintenance plan for a garden's first few seasons, and can stay on in an ongoing advisory role for homeowners or maintenance crews who want a naturalistic garden cared for correctly.

Two things, primarily. First, I design from the site inward — sun, slope, soil, and existing plant life shape the palette before anything else does. Second, I plant with water resilience and native species, rather than the thirsty, high-input plants that dominate conventional landscaping.

Water-resilient planting means choosing native and climate-adapted species already built for this valley's water, soil, and light — so a garden needs less irrigation as it establishes, not more. It's the operating principle behind the most resilient plant communities in this region: the ones that were never irrigated at all.

Hydrozoning means grouping plants by water need, so a bed is watered to what it actually requires rather than to satisfy its thirstiest neighbor. It's fundamentally different from a single fixed irrigation schedule, which either overwaters drought-tolerant plants or underwaters thirsty ones.

I share xeriscape's commitment to reduced water use, and incorporate its principles — hydrozoning, mulch, native selection — into every project. However, I don't limit myself to gravel-only planting, as a well-chosen palette of climate-adapted perennials can achieve the same water savings with far more seasonal beauty and habitat value.

Historic and civic work is a core part of my practice.

Fees depend on the scope of the project. A single-visit consultation is billed hourly; a full planting plan is scoped and quoted once I understand the site and how much of the process you'd like me involved in.

Fees are typically structured as an hourly rate for smaller residential consults, or a retainer for larger or ongoing engagements — plant consulting for a firm, multi-season maintenance oversight. I don't charge for an initial conversation.

Yes. The most powerful tool for delivering a beautiful, resilient garden at an accessible cost is a well-designed plant palette. A smaller, disciplined selection of self-seeding, spreading perennials fills in and multiplies rather than needing replacement — less input, less cost, over the life of the garden.

For a more detailed explanation of our fees and working process, please email the studio.

My work at Temple Square spans landscape design for the Northwest Quadrant and Assembly Hall gardens, the Visitor Centers, the North Entrances, and the Temple deck's grass matrix and sedum mixed beds. I designed the annual bulb displays at the Church Office Building and Administration gardens, and led design, installation, establishment, and ongoing maintenance oversight of planting across every garden listed. I also served as team lead on the weather-track irrigation systems supporting these grounds, and produced illustrative masterplans, schematic plans, and plant schedules throughout.

Yes, primarily as a plant consultant to firms already leading a project elsewhere. I've also designed a native garden as far away as Australia. Distance isn't a barrier to a planting consultation — many parts of the process happen over calls and drawings.