ROCKY MOUNTAIN GARDENS - ENTRANCES AND A-Z PERENNIAL TEST GARDEN

Rocky Mountain Gardens is a community education garden in Missoula, MT showcasing the diversity of plants and gardening styles suitable for Missoula's climate. With a focus on soil health and wildlife habitat, the gardens demonstration practices that can be transferred to gardens, farms, and other landscapes. Each plot in the garden has been donated by a local landscape company or volunteer group, and in the summer of 2024, Molly Sutton and I had the honor of designing two of the main entrances and an A-Z Perennial Test Garden.

Each section of the A-Z Test Garden contains a selection of perennials grouped by genus which are deer resistant and thrive in drought tolerant conditions. The A-Z Test Garden will serve as a living encylopedia of plant diversity, and will be updated and added to over time. Each genus will be divided and delineated by ornamental grasses, landscape boulders, and salvaged wood wildlife logs.

The West Entrance to the Rocky Mountain Gardens will feature a vibrant and inviting planting of deer resistant and drought tolerant species. The primary color palette will be chartreuse and deep purples, with a balance of feathery and more structured textures. The Southwest Entrance to the Rocky Mountain Gardens will feature a cool and calming planting of deer resistant and drought tolerant species. The primary color palette will be silvery blues and greens, with a balance of feathery and more structured textures.

In collaboration with Molly Sutton for Sutton Garden & Design Services, Missoula, MT, 2024