We design custom spaces for you. We work with clients of diverse backgrounds, income levels, gardening ambitions, and locales. For clients within 1.5h of Richmond, we come to you. For our clients who are further afield, we are available to design remotely (it’s surprisingly simple!) or travel to meet you. We don’t believe projects can be ‘too big’ or ‘too small.’ We love em all. Mel has done container planting for fire escape railings and worked as a fine gardener on a 200-acre private estate.

We also don’t believe in hard and fast garden rules — except for the old plantsman principle: “Right plant, right place.” (Yep, that’s how PLACE got its name!) All design work starts with a consult and includes soil testing, detailed measurements, thoughtful design drawings, plant lists, implementation planning, and care guidance.

We do design plans spanning from one season (1S) to five years (5Y). We work with DIY clients, who take our designs and bring them to life; clients who want us to manage the material sourcing and installation, but will handle ongoing care; and full-service clients, for whom we handle every detail of design, sourcing, install, and care.

Each design is carefully tailored to the way you live, what you love, and how you spend your time. In every project, our goal is to create a space of ease, peace, delight, and surprise for you to enjoy.

If your garden stresses you out, you are in fulsome company. We can’t tell you how many times we are greeted with an apology for invasive overgrowth or unwieldy plantings or half-started yard projects. Please know that we are absolutely non-judgmental, warm, and caring company on the journey to zhuzh up your places. There is nothing to be sorry about! Life is hard, busy, and brief; we’d love to take something off your plate.

If you have garden experience but are struggling with a particular area, plant problem, or vision, we offer consulting services to help you move forward.

We also provide garden care services within 1.5h of Richmond. Our team has a deep well of experience from precision pruning to invasive removal, as well as our care bread-and-butter: weeding. This is a sick confession, but Mel loves to weed. Lives for it.

For those outside this radius, we can conduct a site analysis via video and create a custom care plan for your place.

And yes, we do consulting & care for indoor plants!

Don’t know where to find the most verdant plants, chicest hardscape materials, or outdoor furniture that doesn’t suck? (We are sick and tired of torturous garden seating that nobody actually wants to sit on! We do not believe in putting outside cushions away every night!) Feel so overwhelmed you want to pass out when you step into a nursery? We have gotten this down to a science through years of trial-and-error and would love to make recommendations or accompany you on a buy. We can also source, gather, and install material for projects we design. (See “Trade Partnerships” below for more info.) This is a super fun part of the job for us!

Maybe you want a custom water feature, but don’t know who to use and don’t want to coordinate the whole rigmarole; you just wanna wake up with a freshwater pond in your backyard. Love it. Or you want hardscaping and irrigation and maybe grading and possibly tree work done, but you can’t take the headache. Put those tired feet up! We will solicit quotes, bring in trusted & vetted specialists, meet them on site, and ensure all work is done to our standard.

Want a focal point for your backyard or a one-of-a-kind iron arbor or an intricately carved pergola? Obsessed, yes. We have relationships with myriad local artists, material specialists, and craftspeople who we will work hand-in-glove with to create the showstopper you’re dreaming about.

We are available to handle plant and material installation and removal for all projects we design. Our team takes care to make the process seamless, with an eye to maintaining (and building!) soil quality, leaving every space better than we found it. You’re never gonna see gravel smashed into your lawn, construction dust in your perennial beds, or a pile of tree limbs after we pull out. Not our style.

PLACE’s whole deal is quality at every price point. To that end, we have established design and trade partnerships with a wide range of brands we love. PLACE works with:

Outdoor furniture, decor, and supply stores, including Design Within Reach, Restoration Hardware, House of Léon, Munder Skiles, Outer, Neighbor, Business & Pleasure Co, ORCA, Goodee, Room & Board, Crate & Barrel, CB2, Anthropologie (Terrain), Article, IKEA, and Gardeners Supply Co.

Local and specialist online nurseries, including Colesville Nursery, Sandy’s Plants, The Gardener Nursery, Cross Creek Nursery, and Farmer Bailey.

Through our partners’ trade programs, PLACE has access to wholesale, discount, and special pricing; a more expansive product selection; expedited delivery; and custom services that are not available to the public.

We welcome the opportunity to work with commercial, municipal, non-profit, and institutional clients. If your office park, coffee shop, or concert venue needs design or care work, give us a shout.

We also love to collaborate on planting design projects with real estate brokers, interior designers, architects, landscape architects, and other professionals.

For everything else that’s related to the world of gardening / landscaping / plants but not mentioned here, ask us!

If we can’t do it, we’ll tell you who can. We adore Richmond’s generous horticulture community and are happy to spread the work around.