I use Twitter, like a lot of people, as my personal news feed. For me, that means following other landscapers, designers, manufacturers, gardeners, and industry news media. I follow a bunch of great accounts, but here are 10 that I highly recommend (in no particular order):

If you are a fellow landscaper check the bonus 3 at the end!

This is not a post where I tell you personal details about the guy who designs your garden or installs your water feature. You probably don't need (or want) that. But, if you are going to have someone at your house for 40 hours a week, for a week or two or more- you might want to know a little about them.

Our "About" page gives you a brief overview of Ross NW Watergardens. If that doesn't satisfy your curiosity, read on...

And why it isn't a bad thing.

Rejection hurts. I totally get that. And when someone says "It's not you, it's me" it doesn't feel any better.

Knowing this makes it difficult for me to do what I sometimes have to do: decline a potential client's landscaping project.

So why would we turn down the opportunity to work with you?

Rain hits your roof, driveway, and patios. All that rain that should be nourishing plants and replenishing groundwater supplies. But since it has picked up oil, chemicals, and debris so it has to be treated like waste. What a shame, right?

Happily, there is a way to mitigate the damaging effects of all those impervious surfaces. Rain gardens to the rescue!

 I get this question all the time.  In the summer people are worried about the heat. In the winter they are afraid of the cold. And while it's true, heat and cold can be dangerous to plants, we usually have pretty mild weather here in Portland. 

Does that mean you can plant at any time?

You did your research (or paid a designer to). You went to the nursery (or paid your landscaper to). You carefully chose a location for your new plant, dug a hole, and planted it (or...you get the picture). Then you watered the plant and waited for it to grow. 

Now, less than a year later, it is dead or dying. What happened? I have 3 good answers for you:

Everyone wants a deal. I get it. So you have three bids, from three landscape companies. Why is one bid higher than the others? Should you just go with the low bid?

There is often a good reason one bid is higher. And sometimes that means you would be wise to pay it. But there are projects where the low bidder probably makes sense. I will explain it all here:

Clean, sleek, sophisticated. This not how I would describe a typical Portland landscape. Our gardens are lush and rowdy. Portland is full of gorgeous gardens- but very few modern ones.

Is that changing? Is Portland on the cusp of embracing a more modern landscape design aesthetic?

I think so, for a couple reasons:

No, our site was not hacked by some other Portland landscaper.

We just realize that we should not try to be "all things to all people". And that's ok. Your landscaper is out there. 

Here are a couple reasons you might NOT want to hire us for your landscape project:

For 9 days in January you can get free admission to the excellent Lan Su Chinese Garden. 

If you have never been to the Chinese Garden you are missing out! The garden is small, but every square inch is covered with intricate beauty.

For more on the Chinese Garden's Nine Free Days check out the full post.