Client Testimonial: Tammy's Front Yard Edible Landscape

"I liked most that Marni considered factors that I would have never thought to consider. She tracked the sunlight, considered the existing pine trees and the soil beneath, and introduced color. Marni is truly connected to her plants, she does not want even one plant to fail." - Tammy

Above photos: Scroll through to see Tammy's front yard before and after photos

I met Tammy when she attended a class I was teaching on edible gardening. Tammy reached out to me later to come and take a look at her front yard that was in desperate need of some help. Her front yard was pretty bare, excluding a few overgrown evergreen shrubs. The yard had a bit of a slope that ran right into a gravel parking/right of way with no delineation between the two.

Echinacea purpurea in bloom

Tammy wanted to grow more food crops, including lots of herbs. She also wanted to have a "Grandmas berry patch" to be able to garden together with her grandkids.

My design included adding a retaining wall to add some separation between the "yard" area and the large gravel space in front of it. Since her front yard is North facing, I designed the space to include shade tolerant plants closest to the house, and utilizing the sunniest spot, the gravel area, for annual garden beds.

The after pictures show the garden in it's second year, so still waiting for the elderberries, evergreen huckleberries, and blueberries to really fill out in the space. However, the herbs and flowers are doing an excellent job of creating visual interest and plenty of food for pollinators in the meantime.

Using permaculture principles, I take into consideration the entire property to determine the most functional use of the space and the right plants for the client. Part of the plan included moving some struggling blueberry bushes from the shady backyard to the sunny center of the new front yard. Meandering pathways throughout the space allow for humans to interact with the plants on a daily basis.

"If you don't know much about PNW edibles, hiring Marni will help you save money in the long run. You will no longer have the urge to grab items from the garden center of big superstores, the fronts of grocery stores or expensive nurseries and just to take them home and watch them die. With Marni, your garden will grow to its best potential. Marni is worth every dollar. I would make the investment again."

I work with clients who are hands-on and really want to learn about the plants, their care, and their uses. After the design is done and the plants are all planted, it's important to also learn about ongoing care, including pruning and more. Here's what Tammy says about the follow up visits:

"I LOVE, LOVE the written summary after each visit. I need it to refer to because with life being so busy it's hard to learn it verbally just once. I am killing less plants now from underwatering, overwatering, wrong sun placement, and not investing (enough) in my soil."

Tammy is still working on picking the perfect raised beds for the front area and finding a water feature that she loves that will be the center attraction in the edible design and THE place for the thirsty birds to get a drink and a bath. I can't wait to see how Tammy's edible front yard continues to grow and mature over the years. Thank you Tammy for trusting me with your design and for stewarding the soil, plants, pollinators and all the critters and humans who will enjoy the space for years to come.

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Above: Tammy's yard is now a pollinator paradise. Shown are Agasatache/Superior Licorice Mint, lavender with rosemary behind it, and bee balm photos taken on August 2025, one year after installation.