Welcome to the homepage for the website of JJ Sweeney, Landscape Designer. I specialize in creating gardens and landscapes that are organic, waterwise, lower maintenance, beautiful year 'round, and incorporate Pacific Northwest native plants with site-appropriate non-natives. I also specialize in helping clients determine what it is that they need and want, and then helping them to achieve it.

On each page you will find links to the other pages that further describe the areas in which I specialize, including some photos. Below you will find additional information, plus links to other websites that you may find valuable. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please feel free to email me using the link at the bottom of each page. Thank you for visiting my site, and enjoy!

WHY HIRE A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER?

A professionally designed landscape can: *help prevent costly mistakes and save time, energy, and money *provide a blueprint that can be referred to over time if the installation must be done in stages *increase property value (by as much as 10-15%) and create a positive first impression *provide privacy, tranquility, and security, as well as a place to play, share, socialize and grow food *reduce heating and cooling costs *prevent erosion, conserve water, reduce pollutants, produce oxygen, and reduce noise levels *provide wildlife habitat *satisfy your aesthetic, functional, budgetary, time, energy, and spiritual needs In addition, no one knows plants better than a Landscape Designer, and the Designer can be your guide, coach and advocate throughout the process.

SERVICES PROVIDED ($80.00/hr, 2 hr minimum): DISCOUNT! Until the economy gets better, after the first two hours the price will drop to $75/hour.

*Consultation Only: elicits your tastes, preferences, ideas, and goals; provides problem-solving, ideas, and recommendations; can identify existing plants and answer questions about plants, soil, light, water, organic gardening methods, composting, maintenance issues, etc.; provides resources, referrals, written information and complimentary items. *Consultation Plus: Consultation, plus organizing, printing up and fleshing out (adding ideas and suggestions) of all consultation notes/discussion for client's continuing use; selected plant lists; may include rough sketch if appropriate. *On-Site Design: Client and Designer meet for an initial consultation; 2nd meeting Designer generates a rough plan and plant palette on-site and reviews with Client; subsequently Designer cleans up/tweaks design & provides plant list. Optional: Client & Designer go plant shopping together, Designer places plants, Client or Contractor plants. This only works for a relatively small space. *Plant Procurement: I will go to great lengths to get the right plant, can go to wholesale nurseries, have many resources, and can make appropriate substitutions if necessary *Plant Placement: can occur with or without a plan, for Do-it-Yourselfers or for a Contractor *Maintenance Schedules: a consultation about your existing landscape followed by a written schedule based on what needs to happen when, in YOUR landscape *Coaching: I can teach you to design your own garden, garden organically, prune appropriately, create habitat, etc. - if you want to know how to do it, just ask! FOR SMALL SPACES/PART OF LANDSCAPE ONLY: *Conceptual Plan: site analysis; before photos; accurately scaled basemap including existing features (structures, hardscaping, plants to be retained) and proposed new features and planting areas; presentation meeting before finalizing; design analysis which includes everything discussed at the initial consultation; plant lists; resources and information materials *General Plan: everything with the Conceptual Plan plus more specifics on plant placement, plant selection, and plant lists *Planting Plan: everything included with the Conceptual & General Plan plus full detail, most or all plants specifically identified, very specific plant lists, a purchasing list, and a post-receipt consultation *Oversight of all phases of installation, including communication with Contractors, plant procurement, and plant placement *AVAILABLE FOR TEACHING AND PRESENTING ON SEVERAL TOPICS, e.g.: Sustainable Landscaping Techniques, Lower Maintenance Landscaping, Landscaping for Year 'Round Beauty, Landscaping with Native Plants, Basics of Landscape Design, Organic Gardening, Naturescaping, Preparing the Soil, Watewise Landscaping, Seasonal Tasks, Best Plants for Specific Conditions/Sites, etc.

Hardy Plant Society	Berry Botanic Garden	Territorial Seed Co.

Ain't Life Grand? A Client's exuberant garden oasis This colorful island separates the lawn from a peaceful little getaway sitting area (out of sight). The entire landscape is naturescaped: organic, layered, and providing diversity, food (for humans as well!), shelter and water. What a pleasant way to spend a Summer evening, sitting with your favorite beverage, tucked into your own garden, watching the birds play in the water!

Summertime... Parking strip beauties This large (100ft.x7ft.) parking strip is planted fully with all drought-tolerant shrubs, perennials and groundcovers. Once established, it needs little supplemental water, blooms from Late Winter through Late Fall, with evergreens holding their own through the Winter.

and the livin is easy A small backyard dominated by native Western Red Cedars Planting under large conifers can be challenging, but just requires picking the right plant palette. This bed has been raised slightly in order to add some organic compost to help with the drainage and is watered primarily with soaker hoses on a timer. The bed at the base of the Cedars is planted with about 50% natives (which are also used thoughout the landscape) and is also watered with soakers on a timer. Even natives need help under the thirsty Cedars (at least until they’re well established). The area in front of the little retaining wall is planted with various "path plants" or "stepables" as an experiment to see who takes the most traffic, who will dominate whom, and who looks best year'round and year after year. I'll report back on that. The tiki torches are solar lights which come on automatically when it's dark enough and flicker slightly, making them look like flames - no effort and very cool.

Fish are jumpin' A shady spot coyly hints at the presence of a tiny creek (but which doesnt actually exist!) I love the play of different textures in this corner, with the bold Hosta and Brunnera contrasting with the delicate Western Bleeding Heart and the graceful blades of the Japanese Forest Grass. The Iris foetidissima picks up the grassy texture of the Forest Grass while the Soloman's Seal picks up the flow. And to top it off, the fragrant evergreen Star Jasmine which takes the shade, has been blooming all Summer, and will grow up over the arbor soon (this is the first year for some of these plantings). I love plants!

and the tomatoes are high! Container gardening is only limited by your imagination Anything can be grown in containers. Here you see several herbs, all edible (except the 'Kent Beauty' Oregano in the lower pot) as well as beautiful. They surround a dwarf columanr apple (one in each barrel). The one in the back is almost engulfed by the massive beans - yikes! I never realized how vigorous runner beans were. They are in the ground in a tiny plot (about 5x3) shared by an equally vigorous cherry tomato to the left, out of the picture. These containers are all on a drip irrigation system controlled by timers - no need for me to do anything once set up - yay! (I hate watering). The bamboo stakes in the back barrel are to keep my neighbor's kitty out of the catnip - he was squishing all of the plants in that barrel!

salamanderd@earthlink.net