Suzette White
Landscape Designer, Nature By Design
LaGrange, 222-4501
"While I do every style, I prefer a more wild and wooly, natural look for my landscapes, because it’s much more forgiving. Organized landscapes that require lots of pruning and weeding t/files/storyimages/to show problems immediately."
Business: White started Nature By Design 13 years ago and remains one of a handful of women who own landscape-design contracting businesses in the area. Her full-time crew of five provides design and maintenance services for both residential and commercial customers.
Education: B.A., Horticulture (Floral Design minor), University of Kentucky, 1976
Experience: 30 years
Project: Backyard Shade Garden
"Terracing the yard was essential to make it usable. To create the natural-looking rock ledges, I used stones with moss, lichens and other plants already growing on them."
"Hidden beneath the walkways and plantings are corrugated drain tiles that direct water away from the house and down the slope, so the paths don’t become waterfalls when it rains."
"Periwinkle and English ivy are great for erosion control on slopes and keep their green color all year-round, although they do have to be trimmed to keep them from taking over."
"The fire pit was originally down by the creek on the property’s edge. We wanted it closer and moved it to the new lawn area. The rock ledges around it serve as a natural seating area and create an amphitheater-type effect."
"Decorative tree faces have been popping up all over Louisville. I took it a step further by turning the face into a fountain. The chimney that holds the bowl will be hidden entirely by ivy within a few weeks."
"Instead of planting large numbers of the same shade-loving perennials and bushes en masse, I used several different varieties of the same plant for a more natural woodland effect."
