Design the garden you actually have.

Garden guidance, real experiments from a one-acre woodland property, and a visual app for keeping track of what grows.

White lilies flowering beside a garden table in the woodland garden

Pink tulips, hyacinths, and purple pansies growing together

A layered shade bed with hydrangeas and evergreen foliage

A sunny ornamental bed opening into mature woodland

A flower-filled garden beside the house and woodland gate

White azaleas flowering beneath mature trees

Hydrangeas and pink flowers framing a sunny woodland lawn

The garden behind BloomMap

One wooded acre. A lot of trial and error.

My husband and I chose the woods intentionally. The challenge was learning how to keep the mature trees and still create the ornamental garden I wanted - flowers, structure, seasonal interest, and spaces that feel designed.

About the garden

Three ways into BloomMap.

Studio

Bring me one difficult space.

Personal garden direction for one ornamental space that needs another set of eyes.

Work with me

A layered shade garden with flowers and evergreen structure

Garden beds with hydrangeas and pink flowers beneath mature trees

Ideas

See what I am learning.

Real projects, planting ideas, ready-made plans, mistakes, and design decisions from a wooded Raleigh garden.

Explore ideas

App

Keep track of what grows.

Your plants mapped directly onto a real garden photograph, so what went where never becomes a mystery.

Explore the app

Plants mapped directly onto a real garden photograph in BloomMap

From the garden

Notes worth returning to.

All ideas

Garden design

A garden bed designed with intentional layers, color, repetition, and seasonal structure

How to Design a Garden Bed Like a Designer: The 5 Principles That Make It Look Intentional

The difference between a garden that looks designed and one that looks like a plant sale isn't the plants - it's five principles. Layering, structure, color, repetition, and bloom sequence, explained.

Garden design

How I Track My Garden Year by Year (Without Guessing Every Spring)

If you forget what you planted every spring, this simple visual system helps you track your garden year by year - without notes or guesswork.