Design Wild NY

10/15/2026

THE SANCTUARY of FALLING WATER | A land conservancy trail system full of peace and community at its heart. We had the great honor to help a big team working to transform the Columbia County Land Conservancy’s property at High Falls in Philmont, NY. We love this property for so many reason, for all its wonderful woodland magic with native ephemerals including Trout Lily, Wild Ginger, Bloodroot, May Apple in abundance. We also love how high use this property is and the deep love the communities has for it. On an average day you’ll pass locals walking their dogs, lots of children and families out for a walk, a few groups of teenagers wondering through and many weekend visitors out for a small hike. And of course we love the healing, restorative wonder of falling water!
The land conservancy embarked on a big multi faceted project at High Falls. The project included a new more ADA friendly trail, a forestry project, a big invasive species management project, a new welcome kiosk and a new overlook at the crown jewel of the property, the waterfall. Design Wild was tasked with re-designing the waterfall viewing area. Read all about our process, community involvement and check out tons of photos: https://designwild.substack.com/p/the-sanctuary-of-falling-water?r=2o1r18&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

10/13/2026

This month Metro Hort Group is hosting an exciting Design Showcase on Thursday Oct 15th at the Central Park Arsenal. The evening will featuring three super talented members; Marissa Angell of Angell Landscape Architecture, Lauren Clark from North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, and Chris Freimuth at chris freimuth. All three will share a design projects they are excited. This is a Metro Hort member event but if you’re a NYC plant person and you’re not a member DM us for access to join! 🌱🌸

10/12/2026

This is a dream. Anyone looking for an amazing opportunity? Julia and Shanti both had the honor to worked with this all star team as interns back in horticulture school days. Forever life changing place ✨💜🌸

We’re hiring!

Are you passionate about horticulture and interested in growing your career in a public garden?

Chanticleer, a Pleasure Garden, is seeking a full-time Horticulturist and a full-time Assistant Horticulturist to join our team. Both positions offer hands-on experience in a world-class public garden, competitive benefits, and opportunities for professional growth and development.

Explore the opportunities and apply:
https://buff.ly/LOrLjHS

Please share with someone who might be a great fit!

10/06/2026

ASTER SEASON | Autumn has arrived and it comes our friend the aster stealing the show in the garden and the landscape!

09/30/2026

OUR COALITION | If you’re feeling despair for our current would right now just know our coalition includes EVERYONE who wants a future on EARTH 🌎🌱 👊🏽 quote from Naomi Klein 💜

09/30/2026

BIODIVERSITY IN PUBLIC | A New York City Co-op embraces ecological design and finds a deeper sense of place. At this large nearly 200 unit co-op, sitting along the western edge of Central Park, a new updated form of horticulture is blooming. In the past, like most of the neighborhood, the building had the typical plantings of boxwood, liriope and begonias. A mostly static, generic horticulture that can be found anywhere. No habitat, no movement, no seasonality, it created a harsh exit from the sanctuary of Central Park and a return to anonymous, urban life.

Our Design Intent: The goal of our design was to bring the vibrant ecosystem of our natural world right up to the doorstep of the building, defining the sense of place and creating an oasis for tenants, wildlife, and the thousands of people who pass by this busy intersection each day. 📷by Lesley Unruh Read more on our substack. Link in bio 🌱

09/16/2026

REVOLUTION IN A PUBLIC PLANTER | We are pretty obsessed with revolutionizing how civic neighborhoods utilize their public planters. This may seem small to your but stick with me for a minute... Most often these are planted with 100% annuals and topicals. Plants from a very different part of the world. This material is brought in every season, has no relationship to this place and often gets changed out 3-5 times a year (spring, summer, fall, and sometimes winter). Although you may still find this pretty, they often have no movement, no habitat and no ecological value while also carrying a relatively heavy environmental footprint. We are so jazzed to play a critical role in changing the aesthetic and the functionality of these often overlooked civic horticultural moments. For a while now we have been working with several neighborhood organizations and BIDs, designing containers with 90% perennial trees, shrubs and flowers with a deep dedication to year-round interest, good urban design and local ecology. Over the past decade, with the help of some very talented horticulture staff, we’ve honed in on a list of plants— most often US natives —that perform and look amazing in the MOST extreme of urban environments (we’re looking at you Broadway at 41st Street, 10th Ave and 38th Street, iykyk). We have also found HOW we care for these spaces needs to shift becoming stewards rather then overseers. We have found this approach wildly successful. Pollinators, monarch butterflies and songbirds all agree. These plantings move in the breeze and with traffic, change over the seasons and attract life. You see, our work has always been about creating moments of natural, wild beauty. We feel so strongly that these moments bring life back to us, reminding our human spirit that we are HOME, that we belong here on THIS planet. This conviction has never been more urgent. Who knew that being on the side of LIFE would be a revolutionary act these days. I for one am all in on this PLACE, on this EARTH and am ready, by all means necessary, to protect our perfect and exquisite HOME.🌸🌱

09/15/2026

URBAN MEADOW ish | We love challenging urban spaces, pairing native and ecologically rich plantings with structure and four season interest for dynamic tough year round public plantings. Balancing ecology and public space is our jam! 🌱

09/02/2026

Some BEFORE & AFTERS from our project at Hudson Valley, NY | Tannery Place in Rhinebeck. This project has a terrific design, ex*****on AND care team. It’s when all three work together that the real magic happens. Featured projects include: 1. The production garden went from turf and a formal rose garden to a lush ecologically rich landscape with medicinal herbs and cut flowers mixed in with the production greenhouse and vegetable garden all loving cared for by the incredible Leyla and Nicole Lopane (of course with the tiny Folcore as puppy overlord). Heavy lifting, structural changes, hardscape and general support by the miracle worker at Dominick Lopane and company. 2. The back hillside, the main view from the home’s patio was transformed from 90% spirea to a wildflower native meadow garden. In its very first season it’s still growing in with dozens of native flower species, 4+ native grasses, native shrubs and a few small flowering trees for structure and winter drama. We can’t wait to see this garden progress over the next few seasons adding bulbs and drifts for blooms and interest in all four seasons. 3. The stable and workshop got a new stone patio, working kiln, and flower beds to soften the architecture and create a strong sense of place and functionality. 4. Back stone patio got a full container make over with stone pots filled with long lasting and blooming shrubs and perennials, including flowering Hydrangeas, fruiting Aronias and cascading tiarella. Just a few of the highlights developing. This property is being transformed from a turf monoculture to a breathing, habitat rich landscape full of pollinators, song birds and beauty. We couldn’t be more proud of the property owners vision and dedication to stewarding this historic land 💜🌸🌱

06/29/2026

If you haven’t been by to see all the new signage and blooms get over to SoBro Conservancy of Saratoga for the stunning mid summer native, public ecological garden in all its glory!