Year Two in the Corporate Habitat Garden Last summer I was contacted by a forward thinking financial advisor in Clifton Park, NY to renovate her landscaping into something more natural and easy to care for. The area where the garden was planted sits right under a mature Ash tree, creating dry, woodland-like conditions, and so [...]
This week saw the much anticipated butterfly garden installation at the Woodlawn Nature Preserve in Schenectady, NY. The Friends of the Woodlawn Preserve contacted me to design a butterfly garden that the volunteers could plant. The nature preserve is located at the edge of a Schenectady district elementary school, and the butterfly garden site is [...]
Recently I wrote an article about the link between using Japanese Barberry shrubs in landscaping and an increase in human Lyme disease infection rates in the surrounding neighborhoods. As people in Saratoga Springs, NY are learning about how we the people are collaborating against ourselves in a public health crisis through lazy and shortsighted landscaping practices, [...]
In the region of upstate New York where I live, Lyme disease- an infection of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria that's spread primarily by deer ticks- has become an epidemic. All the odd controversies aside, there are physical realities about this situation that are not being acknowledged. Primarily the reality that we are a part of [...]
Privacy Landscaping in Saratoga Quick, don't think about it just answer: what do you think of your neighbors? Do you secretly cringe when they catch you at the mailbox? Or do you like them enough to comfortably share the neighborhood without overthinking it? I'm asking because "landscaping for privacy" is brought up [...]
Archimandrite Athanasy in the Monastery Gardens This fall I had the delightful opportunity to design and install a new butterfly garden at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Monastery in South Canaan, PA in the yard for Archimandrite Athanasy. Butterfly Garden for St. Anna The monks at the Monastery keep honeybees and sell the [...]
Diane Donato interviews Jesse from Jessecology about native plant gardens in Saratoga Springs, NY.
A Native Plants Walk in Saratoga Springs, NY In Saratoga Springs, NY there's a public access trail right in town where people can walk, run, take their dogs and view some native plants in the wild at the same time. Having access to nature trails in an urban area like this exponentially increases the [...]
On August 9th there will be a Habitat Benefit Garden Tour in Saratoga Springs from 4pm-7pm. The tour is self guided, consisting of ecosystem friendly, sustainable gardens designed by Jessecology. Tickets are $10 and will support the Saratoga Code Blue Shelter. They are available at 2 locations: the help desk of the Healthy Living [...]
This week, to coincide with the first snowfall I had the delightful privilege of planting a butterfly garden with a homeschool group. The children in this homeschool group happen to be the progeny of my best friend from childhood, so this butterfly garden planting adventure was extra special for me. A few weeks before we [...]
This summer I had the privilege of doing ecological garden renovations at a farm in Saratoga. The farm is located in quintessential farm country, heading east on the way to Schuylerville, surrounded by miles on all sides of wild beauty. It's a dream location for this exact kind of project: planting dozens of native plants [...]
This summer a longtime landscaping dream crystallized into reality for me: I was called on to be the landscape designer at a new Saratoga County construction site. The homes are located in a new subdivision in Clifton Park and use a lot of high end, eco-friendly building materials from the Saratoga Springs based Green Conscience [...]
Giant Ironweed (Vernonia gigantea) is a gorgeous New York state native species plant that's listed as endangered and rare in New York, and is noteably difficult to find for sale, even at specialty native plant nurseries. NY Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis) is another native Ironweed species that's easier to locate at nurseries. Both Giant Ironweed and [...]
Imagine my delight to see a Monarch caterpillar at the Saratoga Springs Healthy Living Market's certified Monarch Waystation during a visit this week! When I initially wrote about the Monarch waystation project, I mentioned I didn't expect to even see butterflies this year; I definitely didn't think we'd see Monarch breeding success in the waystation [...]
Last year I did a landscape renovation for an urban client that I felt crystalized a wildlife corridor in Saratoga Springs, NY through the positioning of multiple individual local properties with eco-savvy landscape design. This habitat renewal space is located in front yard gardens by the Oklahoma Track, on East Avenue in Saratoga Springs. The [...]
This June I decided to spend my birthday creating a foundation landscape design for a client in Malta, NY, right on Saratoga Lake. The house, located so close to the lake, is built with a high foundation to prevent flooding issues. We used New York state native plants in the design to grow as tall [...]
Last year in May I was called to design a new butterfly garden in Glenville, NY, using exclusively NY native plants. This photo was taken the spring of the second year in the Glenville butterfly garden, this May, as it was just starting to develop for the season. And the second photo is the view [...]
This spring I was delighted to be asked to be a part of one of the loveliest projects I could imagine. There's a health food store in Saratoga Springs, NY called Healthy Living, which occupies the former JC Penny retail location in the Wilton Mall. Healthy Living sells organic and artisan foods, much of it [...]
These days a lot of people want to grow their own organic food in edible gardens, at home. In Saratoga Springs I have several clients who have edible gardens in raised beds like the one shown here. It is always a good idea to plant to attract pollinators, like the Sunflower, Borage and Nasturtium in [...]
In July of 2013 I designed and installed an eco-friendly garden in Saratoga Springs, NY. The new, eco-friendly landscaping is mostly located in the front yard of the property, and it's really developed into something beautiful this year. We decided to create a formal garden theme to fit the track neighborhood motif. There is gorgeous [...]