Garden Design & Consultation

My ecological garden design and consultation services are available on Salt Spring Island and Lower Vancouver Island. My aim is to create beautiful wildlife friendly gardens that are easy to use and maintain, gardens which bring you ongoing pleasure as the seasons pass.

I bring my experience as a biologist to my client’s garden design projects, specializing in creating biodiversity in gardens by introducing a wide range of beautiful native plants, carefully selected to create thriving habitats for local birds and pollinators. The gardens I create are designed not only to be sustainable habitats that attract beneficial wildlife, but also feature all of your favourite herbs, vegetables, fruits, and conventional nursery plants!

See Gardening Services

Garden Consultation

Consultations are a great way to get feedback and personalized suggestions about your garden. I can help you find solutions and answer any gardening questions you may have, such as “The spring runoff is causing erosion, which plants will reduce the damage?” or “I have a new garden bed and I’m having trouble keeping things alive, what do I do?”

With a consultation package, I prepare my clients with a personalized plant list for projects such as a pollinator garden, pre-European contact Garry oak meadow restoration, a drought tolerant garden, productive hedgerows or a delicious kitchen herb garden!

Garden Consultation Services Include:

An initial on-site discussion gives me a feel for the existing garden and lets me explore and understand your needs, goals and preferences.
Information and comments about the garden site.
A customized list of plants, based on your preferences.
A price guide for sourcing key items such as greenhouses, irrigation systems, plants, etc.

On-site garden consultation is only available on southern Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island.

Please contact me at info@ecologicalgardening.ca for pricing.

Garden Design

When you choose a garden design package, I will create a beautiful garden based on your location, preferences, and budget. A garden design includes plant choices for beds and pots, composting arrangements, watering systems, gardening equipment plans and more!

I will design a garden that works for you, whether that is a practical layout for accessing herbs and greens in edible gardens, or choosing beautiful blooms and trees that will provide peaceful summer shade for years to come. Once we have created a plan together, I will begin to create the garden of your dreams!

Garden Design Services Include:

An initial on-site discussion gives me a feel for the existing garden and lets me explore and understand your needs, goals and preferences.
Information and comments about the garden site.
A customized list of plants, based on your preferences.
A price guide for sourcing key items such as greenhouses, irrigation systems, plants, etc.
A to-scale drawing of the garden design plan.
A customized list for other considerations such as compost, water, and equipment.
Installation of the garden.
A second on-site meeting with you and the completed garden.

Example Garden Design Plans:

Woodland Garden Plan

Pollinator Garden Plan

Garden design services are only available on southern Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island.

Please contact me at info@ecologicalgardening.ca for pricing.

My clients say…

“We were very happy with all aspects of Emony’s work. We found her thorough, reliable, creative and responsive to all our questions and concerns as we moved through what was very new territory for us. She had extensive native plant knowledge and used this to come up with beautiful designs that worked for a variety of spaces. In addition she was a pleasure to work with. We have no hesitation in recommending Emony’s ecological gardens consult and design services.”

– Nona A.

“Emony is a delight and an inspiration in her native plant garden design consultation. She fully observes both the site conditions and the gardener’s capabilities before making recommendations. She supplies a well researched and sourced list of plants and possibilities. While enthusiastic about the potential of native plant gardening, she does not disallow the homeowner’s preferences and peccadilloes. I heartily recommend entering into a garden design relationship with Emony.”

– Anne M.

“Emony did a garden consultation for me and gave me a wide range of great plant options that were perfectly suited to my very large property. As someone who knows very little about plants, I really appreciated being able to rely on her expertise and guidance. She was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to create or refine their garden, she’s well worth the investment. It saved me hours of trying to research things online and guessing which sources to trust.”

– Naomi M.

“When I contacted Emony for help to set up a perennial vegetable and native plant garden I didn’t even know if we could actually have one as our open space faces north and the south yard is surrounded by trees, so we get very little sun. But Emony took her time walking around our place, with her suggesting plants for here and there as we went. For the veggies she found a spot I hadn’t even considered that got the required amount of sun. Within a few days I received a list of plant suggestions from her not just for the garden but the whole area around the house. Her knowledge of native plants is quite extensive but she’s also open to planting non-natives as well. We’re very happy with our new garden area and are looking forward to enjoying our perennial vegetables for years to come!”

– Cathie P.