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Stonewall Garden provides on-site consultations and design services within 25 miles (driving distance) from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. This includes most of the greater Akron area, parts of Cleveland's eastern suburbs, and surrounding communities.

To check if you're in my service area, enter your address when you request a consultation; the form shows whether you're inside it.

Outside my service area? I don't offer remote design services, but I'm happy to refer you to other native plant professionals in your region.

Note: Properties within my core area (18 miles) receive standard pricing. Properties 18–25 miles away add a $30 travel surcharge to consultations.

Absolutely! Here are resources for finding native plant landscapers:

A couple of Cleveland-area native landscapers I've crossed paths with:

• Genius Loci (Elyria, OH) — Specializes in 100% native landscapes, serving throughout the region. 24+ years in business. www.indigination.com | 440-324-3465
• Paradise Natives (Cleveland, OH) — Ecological consulting specializing in lawn conversions, rain gardens, and large acreage properties. paradisenatives@gmail.com | 216-618-8409

Directories:

• Meadow City Native Landscaper Directory — comprehensive Ohio listing
• Homegrown National Park Directory — national directory of native plant professionals
• Avonlea Gardens & Inn — Native Plant Landscapers of Northeast Ohio

Summit Metro Parks' Native Plant Festival is also a good place to connect with nurseries and native plant professionals who may serve your area.

All listings and linked directories are shared as starting points for your own research — not formal endorsements. Do your due diligence and find someone whose approach is the right fit for your project.

When I'm taking consultations, they're normally Monday and Tuesday afternoons, 11am–4pm. I can't say yet when in 2027 that will start; the request form adds you to the queue, which doesn't schedule a visit.

Consultation slots are limited — I keep the schedule intentionally small to make sure each client gets my full attention.

Not typically. Consultations require good natural light to assess sun/shade patterns and site conditions, and I reserve weekends for family time. My weekday availability works well for most clients, including those who work from home or can take time during the week.

Not on new projects. I'm no longer taking on installation work, so the practice now focuses on consultations, design, species lists, and teaching.

If you'd like help getting a design in the ground, I can point you toward installers in the area and work with whoever you choose. Installation oversight is quoted with your design.

If you already have an installation project under contract with me, it's going ahead as agreed.

During your 60-minute on-site consultation, I'll:

• Walk your property and assess site conditions (sun, soil, drainage, etc.)
• Discuss your goals, preferences, and challenges
• Provide initial plant recommendations
• Answer your questions about native gardening
• Talk through next steps, whether you're planting it yourself or considering a design
• Give you my comprehensive 40-page Native Landscape Companion guide

It's a complete service on its own — expert guidance you can act on yourself, whether or not you ever commission a design.

The $325 Consultation + Recommended Species List includes everything in the standard Ecological Garden Consultation, plus a written list of native plants matched to your specific site conditions — organized by planting area, with notes on light, moisture, bloom time, and wildlife value.

It's built for DIYers who want a curated, site-specific plant list that goes beyond what fits in the Companion guide — without committing to a full design plan. You'll come away with a list of the exact plants to source, grouped by where they'll thrive on your property.

Already had a standard consultation? You can add the species list for $100 within 30 days of your visit — email me to arrange it.

The species list tells you what to plant and where it fits your site's light, moisture, and soil — but it's not a design drawing. You won't get scaled layouts, plant spacing diagrams, or hardscape recommendations.

Design packages (starting at $1,400) include everything in the species list plus scaled drawings, detailed plant placement, installation guidelines, and implementation recommendations. Roughly: if you want a visual plan you or a contractor can follow exactly, go with a design package. If you're comfortable translating plant recommendations into your own layout, the species list is the right fit.

No. The consultation is its own piece of work, with a written site analysis you keep, and a design is quoted separately. The consultation isn't a down payment on something bigger. It's a complete service on its own, and plenty of people take the site analysis and run with it themselves.

Yes. The digital edition is available for $45 and is built as a standalone resource for DIY planners — it doesn't include or reserve a consultation slot.

Because I run Stonewall Garden as a one-person practice, my on-site work comes and goes seasonally and I sometimes pause new bookings to stay caught up with existing clients. If a consultation is the goal, check current availability before purchasing the guide.

Yes — that's what design is built for. Some clients plant it themselves; others hand the plan to an installer of their choice. I offer design services for projects of all sizes — pricing is based on your garden's scope and square footage, starting at $1,400 for a single area and scaling for larger or more complex properties.

Every design package includes professional site analysis, scaled design drawings, a detailed plant list, and installation guidelines so you (or your contractor) have everything needed to bring the plan to life.

See the Services page for full pricing details.

Yes. If you have a design from another source, I can review it during a consultation — plant choices, spacing, and how well it fits your site's conditions — and talk through putting it in the ground yourself or with an installer.

Yes. Past clients can book continuing consultations at $65/hour with a one-hour minimum, by phone, video, or on-site, for questions, troubleshooting, and suggestions on what to add. On-site visits 18–25 miles away add $30.

A mid-summer check-in in Year 2 or Year 3 is a good time for one: the garden is at full growth, so gaps and struggling plants are easy to spot, and anything I suggest is ready for fall planting. Check-ins have a two-hour minimum ($130, or $160 on-site 18–25 miles away), and they're a good time to talk about designing a new area; any design work is quoted separately.

I'm not scheduling new work right now, including continuing consultations.

Native plants are an excellent choice for almost any landscape! They're adapted to our local climate and soil, which means:

• Less maintenance once established (no fertilizers, less watering)
• Better for wildlife (support local pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects)
• Stronger and healthier (naturally resistant to local pests and diseases)
• Beautiful year-round (I design for seasonal interest in all four seasons)

The Ecological Garden Consultation is a great fit for first-time native gardeners — I'll answer all your questions and create a plan that fits your comfort level.

Not when designed well! Native plant gardens can range from formal and structured to naturalistic meadows — whatever suits your aesthetic. During the consultation and design process, I'll discuss your preferences and create a plan that looks beautiful while supporting local ecosystems.

First year: Moderate maintenance (regular watering, weeding every couple of weeks during establishment).

After establishment: Low maintenance — occasional weeding, seasonal cleanup, and generally no watering. Native plants are adapted to our regional climate and rainfall patterns, so once rooted they're largely self-sufficient. That said, climate change is shifting what "normal" looks like in Northeast Ohio. In years with prolonged drought or unusual rainfall deficits, even well-established natives may benefit from supplemental watering. I'll help you recognize the signs and know when to step in.

I provide detailed care guides with every project.

Due to severe allergies to urushiol (the oil in poison ivy, oak, and sumac), I may not be able to enter parts of a property where these plants are present.

That can limit what I'm able to walk, measure, and assess in those areas during a consultation or site assessment. What I can do depends on what I can safely reach; sometimes that means working from the edges, from your photos, and from your own measurements.

If poison ivy, oak, or sumac is in your project area, say so on the request form. I can still design from the information I'm able to gather.

It depends on the scope! Here are general ranges:

• Ecological Garden Consultation: $225
• Consultation + Recommended Species List: $325
• Design: from $1,400 (priced by the area being designed and its complexity)
• Installation oversight: quoted with your design
• Continuing consultations (past clients): $65/hour with a one-hour minimum, plus $30 for on-site visits 18–25 miles away; mid-summer check-ins have a two-hour minimum ($130)

During your consultation, I'll provide a detailed estimate based on your specific project. See the full Services & Pricing page for more detail.

For larger design projects, yes. I'll set a payment structure that works for your budget when I quote your design.

Not right now. I'm not scheduling new work, including consultations. You can ask to join my 2027 queue; it doesn't schedule a visit or guarantee one, and I can't say yet when in 2027 I'll start taking new consultations.

Request a place in my 2027 queue using the form on this website. It doesn't schedule a visit or guarantee one, and I can't promise when I'll be in touch.

It varies by season, and by design. Spring and fall are the busiest stretches, and because Stonewall is a one-person practice, I take on a limited number of projects at a time so each one gets the attention it needs. As a general shape:

• Consultations: not scheduled right now — the request form adds you to a 2027 queue, and I can't say when in 2027 I'll start
• Design & planning: I give each project the better part of a season — often 2.5–3 months from consultation to a finished plan. Good design isn't something I rush; that time is what lets me read your site through changing conditions and choose every plant with intention.
• Planting: on your own timeline, in spring or fall — yourself, or with an installer you choose.

If you need a landscape dropped in next week, I'm honestly not your person. But if you want one that's right — and built to get better every year — it's worth the season it takes.

Spring and fall are ideal planting times in Ohio. Many clients plan in fall or winter so their design is ready for spring planting.