I seem to have been wired for picking wild berries, fishing, and hunting. That has been the impetus for me to view what is around me as natural sustainable resources, and pushed me towards using native plants in our landscaping. People spend all kinds of money and time traveling the world to find wild places, and then return home to unnatural manicured lawns. With our little place in the Idaho forest we can create a natural environment that is an extension of what has existed for thousands of years and work with it to enjoy its spirit.

To be honest I was inspired by watching a movie about a landscape designer from Ireland, Mary Reynolds, who talks about creating a harmony with nature rather than disrupting it. It gave me into seing the beauty of what is around us and initially drew us to the area. Our Idaho property is in a recharge area above the Kootenai river at the end of the Cabinet mountains. We are in a forest that includes trees of red cedar, larch, birch Douglas fir, grand fir, hemlock, and pine. We also have a range of large bushes like saskatoon, ocean spray, ninebark, and wild roses. We are also blessed with a procession of wild flowers throughout the year with wild orchids, shooting star, mariposa lily, and lupines to mention a few. There are also a number of noxious weeds which are just as beautiful as many of the wildflowers.

Our landscaping design is going to honor this, and while not every plant will be native, our goal will be to keep the essence of north Idaho as our guide. Our fire pit area is an example. On our visits to South Africa we enjoyed our evenings in the boma around the fire. I am trying to interpret the idea of the boma into a version that utilizes what is around us. In addition to the forest we also have a great deal of stone, and our plan is to build out the fire pit area with stone and timber from our property. Fire pits have been the center of warmth and social activity for centuries and we hope ours will do the same.