Seattle-based garden designer Stacie Crooks creates beautiful, ecologically friendly, low-maintenance gardens throughout the Pacific Northwest. Her most recent article in the December 2024 issue of Fine Gardening magazine tackles the challenges of integrating a vibrant, plant-focused garden into a cookie-cutter neighborhood developed during the post-World War II building boom. To coincide with the publication of the article, we’re revisiting this engaging interview where Stacie covers some of the most valuable insights she has gained through years of experience. Anyone can use Stacie’s rules of thumb to make their own outdoor spaces more welcoming and easier to maintain.

Stacie’s Garden Design Rules of Thumb

1. Identify your project. Ask yourself “What do I want to achieve?” and “Why do I want to do this?” Having a clear goal in mind- be it lower maintenance, better curb appeal, or more wildlife in the garden- will help you make the right design, style, and plant choices.
2. Know your site. Before you can make any changes, you need to know your limitations. Determine the garden’s light exposure and angles, soil types, drainage, topography, and size. Consider irrigation (if you need water, where will it come from?) and access (how will you get into the garden and move through it?) Bearing all this in mind, set a budget.
3. Get inspired. With your goals and guidelines clear, it’s time for a solid plan. People always ask, “Where do I start?” Engage in activities that foster learning and friendships. Read books and magazines and go to lectures. Join a garden club. Volunteer at a public garden. Look in the newspapers and on the internet for opportunities. Take notes, make lists and make sketches. Take photos of gardens you visit and copy them.
4. No zone denial. When you go to buy your plants at your local nursery, read the tags carefully. Choose only that which is suited for your site and to your lifestyle. If it is not clear, ask a nursery person. Be sure that the amount of care that plant needs match the time and energy you can afford.
5. Finish one garden before you start another. Resist buying plants that are not for your current project- they’ll just die waiting for you to plant them. Stick to the list.
6. Be responsible environmentally. Always aim to use less water, less fertilizer, and no chemicals. The better you know your site, the easier it is to achieve success naturally. There’s an importance to NOT gardening, using fewer resources and less labor and just enjoying your space more.

05 Agave planted in gravel 

More from Stacie Crooks:

• For a few more design rules of thumb from Stacie, check out this article: Expert Design Advice: Think Long-Term When Planning Your Garden
• The article about the back border in Stacie’s home garden is here: A Gorgeous Garden Design to Border a Fence
• You can find plant IDs for that beautiful back border here: Designing a Beautiful Back Border—Planting Plan
• To read Stacie’s tips on caring for heaths and heathers, check out this article: How Do You Care for Heaths and Heathers?