Gazing out over the tapestry of a Yosemite meadow a couple years back, I had an epiphany which gave me even more confidence as a landscape designer. It occurred to me that one of the biggest foundations of flora in nature is the amazing array of grasses! From the delicate tufts of grass, adding texture to that high mountain meadow to the grassy native sedges holding our coastal sand dunes in place, almost every major biome (anywhere in the world!) prominently features grasses in their many forms.

As a designer I was always attempting to tie into nature and it was my genuine attempts to replicate nature that created the best designs.  Yet in the industry, where the client’s priorities come first, my designs were mostly determined by the opinions of the clients and what appealed most to them, not necessarily what looked most natural.

Once in a while, I would meet with some resistance from clients when including grasses in a landscape design. Often, they assume grasses will just look dead in the winter, or not provide the same visual impact of a blooming plant. The truth is, most people would be amazed by the variety of color, texture, size, shapes, and all season interest available in the grass community. Some varieties produce long lasting, blooms that are almost surreal with their uniqueness and unbelievable beauty. Actually, if grasses are missing from your garden or landscape, you are missing a basic component that makes up the best of nature’s planting plans. Nothing really softens and transitions between plant groups like the movement and flow of grass, especially if planted in groups that create soft drifts of earthy colors and flicker with movement in every breeze.

In my next posting I will begin going over some favorite grasses used in landscaping and gardens. How about you and your space? Have you been a long time fan of ornamental grasses? Have you always wanted some in your garden, but are not sure how they would look or work?

New variety alert!  Check out ‘Blonde Ambition’ a fantastic new cultivar of the native prairie grass Bouteloua gracillis .

Testing…1..2…3… Is this thing on?

Hello!  I’m Ian, one of the plant people here at PlantSense, and I’m excited to be sharing my ideas, whims, and unlimited well of knowledge (accuracy of that statement shall remain to be seen!) in the world of plants and horticulture! Here’s a picture of me: 

My hope is that this will be a place for all kinds of plant questions to be asked (by you and me both!) and answered.

“So what gives?” you may ask….why have I been chosen as the voice, and to some degree, the face of our company as we try to make your visions of grandeur become true within your garden space, windowsill, corner of your office, or anywhere you want to light up your space and life with healthy and thriving plants?  Well as far as I can tell it’s because I’m the only one here who lacks the ability to enter code, talk algorithms, and Skype you while tweeting with my left hand!  I am here to talk to our customers in real terms about real situations, and help everyone get the most they can out of their landscape and homes from me and how to use our special product to help you make that happen.

My love for plants has been a lifelong passion that was strongly nurtured early on by my mother.  I remember my first garden at age 5 when I happily planted a carrot patch under the heavy canopy of the Redwood forest we lived in.  Unfortunately it was a total failure, for reasons you will read about in the future–I do seem to have deep seeded (pun totally intended) issues with the carrot!

I have been a professional landscape designer since 2003 specializing in residential designs. I have also been the only designer that has been returned to be featured in multiple ‘Yard Crashers’ episodes on the DIY Network, and I have also been featured in Viking Pools’ 2009 Calendar as one of the 12 top designed pools of the year. I have had a nursery license; and with my chef friend Martin Ignatowski run a market garden called Vichy Farm for the Napa Farmers Market; as well as a growing list of local food establishments. In other words, I won’t be running out of material to talk about!  I trust you won’t be running out questions either, so please ask me anything!  I’ve been answering Plant Doctor emails for awhile now, so I have some knowledge of the challenges you are facing.

You are all invited to give your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge to help enrich and give depth to what I hope will be a fun and helpful resource for years to come. Rest assured that even your most irreverent and lighthearted thoughts may rest here as they float through the blogosphere for us all to ponder.

Thank you so much, and I look forward to meeting you in the comments!

~Ian

PS: If you are on Twitter you can also find me here.

Inside of PlantSense, we’ve known for a long time about the partnership we just announced with Black and Decker. We’ve been working getting our combined product ready since December of last year. We’re excited, because Black and Decker is both an iconic brand and a great team to work with.

Our partnership doesn’t mean that “EasyBloom” is going away – we will continue to operate the EasyBloom website, develop new features, and support our customers, just as we always have.

We believe that our partnership will bring our product to more households. My ultimate goal in starting PlantSense was to transform my idea into a household tool, something that everyone simply has. Our partnership brings this goal one step closer to reality.

Now that we have the perfect partner for the US market, we’re going to be looking at ways to bring our solution to other countries. Stay tuned!