So far this has been an awesome Summer. I've been blessed with design clients, the school garden at Tualatin Elementary is thriving, my wife and I celebrated our 35th anniversary and I am looking forward to Farwest Show judging next week.
Most of my updates occur on my Facebook business page for Paul Taylor, OCNP Garden Design and Consultation. It is very quick and easy to post and I can just shoot a couple of photos of a project and be done.
​We just picked our first ripe tomato from our home garden. Looking forward to many more. Have Fun in the Garden! 

At Tualatin Elementary School we have just completed garden orientations for all of the separate classes. This entails meeting out in our garden and going over the basic rules of how students are expected to behave and access the garden. The rules are the same for Kindergarten through 5th grade. This meeting begins the process for the year and gets students and teachers on the same page.

During the visit each class also toured the garden and looked over some of the achievements of the past growing season. Some classes harvested vegetables to go to the cafeteria lunch program, others made bouquets for their classroom and others harvested annual flower seeds to create a future scatter garden mix. Simple gestures that allow some time in the garden and create some positive moments.

I just completed a new design for a client couple who wanted me to remove their front lawn and create a simple and classy garden that would provide interest throughout the year and be maintained by the neighborhood HOA landscapers. Wish me luck getting across to the landscapers how to care for the plants and to not dome prune everything into squares and round balls.

I have some designs to turn in next week for the neighborhood of Aaronmore, a planned neighborhood that wants to update some of their island plantings. I met with the landscape committee to get their input and will present finished designs for them to implement this fall.

Last week Bu-Kai Design LLC installed a front and back garden for a client in Murrayhill, a planned community in Beaverton. It required large boulders, berms, interesting french themed plants in front and native themed plants in back.  A boulder retaining wall that created gentle steps with juniper treads will allow the clients to access parts of their back garden that they have only looked at before.

​All in all a busy and productive fall is under way. Have Fun in the Garden!

School Garden
We are celebrating our fifth year of having a school garden at Tualatin Elementary. During the summer when students and staff are not there we have families take care of the garden. Each week there are two families that signup to water, weed and harvest from the garden. I have taken it upon my self to lead the families . I contact them and create a weekly to do list. I also check on how things are going and help problem solve along the way. This summer has been very hot and dry so far. crops are growing by leaps and bounds. We have harvested our first beans and tomatoes already.It is almost half way through the summer break. Sunflowers are reaching 8' tall already.

Client Designs
I have completed a design for an front yard at a family homestead . The owner grew up in the house and recently retired. The couple will renovate the garden along with upgrading the house. This has been a dear project to get to be a part of.
I was asked to update a french style front yard. They had some formal hedges of boxwood, but were missing flowers. The plan calls for flower carpet roses, rudbeckia, crocosmia 'Lucifer' and some shrubs with year round interest.
My most recently completed project took out the front lawn and upgraded the home owner experience of going to the mailbox. Instead of cutting through the lawn the client will have a pathway that divide the garden and allows for planting to develop privacy from the street. There will be beautiful textures and seasonal change and a reason to enjoy strolling through the garden.

Client Installs
There is a new garden in Lake Oswego that was completed. It was the garden for a couple that had raised their family and are looking forward to slowing down with retirement. A much smaller lawn and plantings that allow for views outside from the  inside. Year round interest  from texture as well as flowers scattered over the entire year were important to the client. They now have a screen that buffers the garbage and yard debris cans as well as a useful shelf for potting up containers.
This week we broke ground on a large back garden. It has a beautiful new deck and staircase down to the garden from the home. Berms and boulders  and a large entertaining terrace are features of this garden. There will be lighting and irrigation and deer resistant plantings . the garden is between the house and a large green space that is forested. We saw deer this week checking out the new areas. So beautiful.

Personal Goals
I've been training to run a half marathon. I've run two full marathons, but thought it would be fun to try a shorter distance and miss all that pain at mile 18. Riding my bike some and running whenever I can. It's good to have a goal to work towards. 
Have Fun in the Garden!

It was a year in planning. Visits to vendors, tasting food and enjoying family time. The actual weekend celebration was so much fun we tried to savor every single part. A blending of two people made it possible to have such a wonderful time. We are blessed to have such caring family and friends. Have Fun in the Garden!

I was invited to decorate a sculpted plant to inspire green industry professionals visiting this year's Farwest Show. My theme was Gardening Through Your Ages. Showing family photos of me and our children as they were growing up. We have always been gardeners and been amazed by what plants can do. Gardening is something that you can do at any age and should be encouraged. Have Fun in the Garden!