What I Do

Trees. Stones. Gardens.

Awen Gardens works across several disciplines, but they are all connected by the same approach: understanding the material, the place, and the work before deciding what should be done.

I don't offer a menu of standardized landscape services.

Each project begins with the space itself.

Trees

  • With a background in Japanese garden pruning, bonsai, arboriculture, and aesthetic pruning, I bring principles from each discipline to the way I work with trees and shrubs.

    Every tree has its own structure, history, and character. Before making a cut, I consider the individual plant—its growth, proportions, relationship to the surrounding landscape, and the role it plays within the garden.

    Whether the work involves structural pruning, ornamental trees, Japanese-inspired garden pruning, or the development of niwaki, the goal remains the same: to understand the tree before deciding how to shape it.

    An attention to structure, proportion, scale, and character can improve the way plant material is approached in almost any landscape.

    Services may include:

    Hand pruning · Structural pruning · Ornamental tree pruning · Specialty and seasonal pruning · Japanese maple pruning · Niwaki and cloud pruning · Shrub restoration

    Stone

    Natural stone has a character that manufactured materials cannot reproduce.

    Awen Gardens creates original stonework using real, full-bed stone. Each piece is selected and fitted individually, with attention to composition, proportion, structure, and the character of the material itself.

    The work may include:

    Dry-stacked walls · Garden walls · Natural stone patios and features · Fire pits · Fireplaces · Stone steps · Garden structures

    The goal is not to install stone. It is to build with it.

    Gardens

    I build gardens. I don't manufacture them.

    From restoring an established garden to developing an entirely new space, the work is guided by the existing conditions and the character of the property.

    Planting, transplanting, pruning, stone, water, and structure are considered together rather than as separate services.

    Services may include:

    Garden development · Garden restoration · Planting and transplanting · Fine garden care · Seasonal enhancement · Perennial and shrub care · Garden renovation

The Awen Way

Awen Gardens is intentionally small.

I work directly with homeowners from the first conversation through the completion of the project. That collaboration allows the work to remain responsive—to the space, the materials, and the ideas that develop along the way.

I don't arrive with a predetermined formula or hand the work off to a production crew.

Every property is different. Every project has its own constraints and opportunities. The design develops through the relationship between the homeowner, the place, and the work itself.

The person you meet is the person doing the work.

Attention over volume.

Portfolio

A pond with a pink water lily, surrounded by rocks and lush green and colorful plants, with a small waterfall in the background.
A pond with a pink water lily, surrounded by rocks and lush green and colorful plants, with a small waterfall in the background.
A colorful garden pond with rocks and various plants, including purple, yellow, and green foliage, reflected in the water.
A garden scene at night with a variety of colorful flowers, a decorative woven wicker structure, and greenery in the background.
A garden scene at night with a variety of colorful flowers, a decorative woven wicker structure, and greenery in the background.
Front view of a two-story white house with a gray roof, front steps, and landscaped garden with plants, bushes, and flowers, and a hand made stone-bordered yard. Dry stack stone wall
A variety of pine and deciduous trees in a landscape with a clear blue sky in the background.
A variety of pine and deciduous trees in a landscape with a clear blue sky in the background.
A pond with clear water, surrounded by rocks and greenery, with a small waterfall and trees in the background.
A rocky stream with small waterfalls flowing over large boulders, surrounded by green and yellow trees.
A lush garden with various green trees and shrubs surrounding a rocky dry creek bed.
White garden bench with tree branch design, positioned on grass near shrubbery and flowers.
A lush green bush with multiple layers of foliage in front of a red brick building.
A landscaped garden with several evergreen trees, a iron fence on the left, a white bench on the right, and white flowering shrubs, set against a wooded background with tall trees and a bright sky.