Show Notes
As the 2026 growing season waves tantalizingly on the far horizon, we’d like to help you prepare for a disaster-free garden. To do that, we’re sharing a few key landscape design principles…along with a whole heap of stories about landscape design fails.
No garden is truly no-maintenance, but while ordinary weeding and pruning is one thing, fighting endlessly against the effects of a bad design decision is something else entirely. We’re talking about hardscaping installed in the wrong spot, poorly selected plants, ever-spreading invasive species…The list goes on. Sean shares some zingers from his history of managing client landscapes, and Erin gets vulnerable with some stories of her own past mistakes. Tune in to find out what not to do…and to journey with our hosts through the steps you should take when designing a garden or landscape of your own.
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Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Timestamps
00:15 Introduction 00:55 What’s Growing On? The End of Erin’s Winter Garden 04:27 What’s Growing On? Sean’s Winter Observations 07:56 Water Break 09:05 Myth Busting: The Low-Maintenance Garden 12:34 Landscape Design Step 1: Dream and Observe 15:44 Landscape Pre-Design: Know Your Needs 17:21 Designing for Accessibility and Maintenance 19:07 Considering Microclimates 20:16 Landscape Design Step 2: Hardscaping 22:25 Artificial Turf Legislation Fail 27:14 Decisions about Paths 28:00 Myth Busting: Permanence in Landscapes 29:36 Landscape Design Step 3: Plant Selection 31:00 Sean’s False Sorbaria sorbifolia Stories 34:36 Erin’s Invasive-Plants-in-Woodland-Garden Story 40:04 Landscape Design Step 4: Plan for Changes over Seasons and Years 46:32 Retaining Wall Fail 50:00 Maintenance Nightmare: Nothing But Stairs 54:30 Compromise and Education are Important 57:09 Staghorn Sumacs Always Win 58:55 Outro and Contact Us
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