Eleven years ago I was talking with a good friend and classmate from university about starting an independent design school. It would be the Taliesin West of landscape and garden design. I was in my final year of my undergraduate studies and as we walked around campus, the plans for the school became more grand and more exciting. Around the same time we had contacted Dudley, a caretaker for a castle in Ireland whose gardens we were going to spend the summer restoring. Our ambitions were definitely running high though the castle project never happened.

Over the past few years I have felt a shifting was needed professionally but I haven't been sure what to shift to or from. Several weeks ago the idea to teach again came up in conversation and then I remembered my plans for a design school. And so the dream moves forward!

To start, I will begin teaching 3 day workshops tailored to the homeowner who wants to create a design themselves rather than hire a design professional. My minimum for a design is $5,000.00, but by providing a workshop environment, I can teach you how to create a design for yourself at a fraction of what it would cost to hire me to create a design for you. The workshop will take place in my home studio in Salt Lake City and will be capped at 10 students per section. My goal is to teach you how to think about your spaces, and how to make wise design decisions. I give you the tools to create your own landscape or garden and I will be there to guide you throughout the workshop. Workshops will be part-lecture, part-studio time, part-discussion. If you take WORKSHOP I, you will have a solid foundation from which to grow and build once the workshop is completed. If you add on WORKSHOP II you will receive more in-depth teachings and I will be there to guide you as you work through your design in the studio. For participants who don't have their own property yet, or who simply want to learn more about landscape and garden design (students and professionals alike), I will have a property for you to use for your design.

I will spend the fall and winter writing my curriculum and will begin teaching workshops March 2017. Below is a tentative breakdown of what is to come, subject to change. I will teach two WORKSHOP I's for every WORKSHOP II.

WORKSHOP I Section A and B

Introduction: gardens and landscapes
Creating a site plan and a program list
Site inventory and analysis
Mood boards and motivation
Creating a foundation and a framework
Common mistakes
Studio time for design development

WORKSHOP II

The psychology of a space
The personality of plants and how to use them
Color and seasons
Using natural light in the garden
Japanese design principles translated for an American garden
Group discussion from reading
Studio time for design development

WORKSHOP I Section A: March 18th 10:00-1:00 PM, March 24 7:00-9:00 PM, March 25 1:00-4:00 PM. Cost $200.00 plus materials.

WORKSHOP I Section B: March 21st 6:00-9:00 PM, March 27th 6:00-8:00 PM, March 28th 6:00-9:00 PM. Cost $200.00 plus materials.

WORKSHOP II: April 8th 10:00-3:00 PM, April 15th 10:00-3:00 PM, April 22nd 10:00:-3:00 PM. Cost $300.00 plus materials.

There must be a minimum of 5 students registered for the workshop to take place.

I have worked as a professional landscape and garden designer for 11 years and have taught Intro to Residential Design at Brigham Young University for several semesters. I received my Postgraduate Diploma in Garden Design from the prestigious Inchbald School of Design in London where I was awarded the Society of Garden Designer's award. I was a participant and also a TA for Mike Lin's internationally-attended two-week graphics workshop, and have been a presenter twice at the Green Conference for the Utah Nursery and Landscape Association. I have studied garden design in Japan, and completed the Japanese Garden Intensive Seminar from the Kyoto University of Art and Design. For the past nine years I have overseen the gardening at the private estate, Rivendell. I designed the grounds and gardens in 2007, and have worked as the head gardener for one of those years. I travel extensively to visit gardens and landscapes around the country and world from which to draw inspiration and increase my understanding of my craft. I love to teach and share my knowledge with others, empowering them to create more beautiful lives through well-designed landscapes and gardens.