The Improvisational Garden
Responsive. Naturalistic. Sustainable. Beauty.
What is an Improvisational Garden? The 3 Pillars
Naturalistic
Naturalistic
Naturalistic
Using Nature as the ideal, the improvisational garden works with nature, not against it. Botanical diversity and plants living in community are the essence of a naturalistic garden, with native plants and durable perennials as its foundation.
Sustainable
Naturalistic
Naturalistic
The improvisational garden is created with the understanding that, at its essence, sustainability is the pledge to be conscious stewards of the world we inhabit, to embrace natural processes and work with pollinators and other living creatures in our gardens.
Responsive
Naturalistic
Responsive
Never static, the improvisational garden is in constant dialog with its environment- accepting the realities of its location, the responsibilities of stewardship and accepting change as part of the life story of any garden.
About C. Patrick Smith
My Passion for Gardening
I believe the future is a place we are making.
My objective is to create gardens that are filled with plants living in community and joyful abundance in the conditions specific to their place. As a master gardener volunteer, I believe that gardening is both an art and a science. I am dedicated to cultivating beautiful outdoor spaces that welcome nature in, enhance the land and bring joy to life. I work to create responsible beauty using nature driven decision making.
My Improvisational Journey
My gardening journey has not been a straight line of progress. It has been a circuitous path filled with successes, challenges, disappointments, and happy accidents. Mine has been a garden in search of a style. Words like naturalistic, aspirational, sustainable, among others, never quite hit the mark. I've combined those ideas, my background in fashion and my love of improv, into my own style. Thus...
The Improvisational Garden.
My Life at Buckthorn Acres
My home, Buckthorn Acres (yes, THAT buckthorn!), is located in Southeast Wisconsin in zone 5b/6a.
It is home to 2 humans, 2 dogs, countless chipmunks and squirrels, turkeys, raccoons, opossums, deer, coyote, the occasional snapping turtle, at least 21 species of birds and counting, not to mention all the creepies and crawlies, winged wonders and flying pollinators.
All are welcome.
Welcome to my World: Buckthorn Acres
Contact ME
Book a speaking engagement today!
C. Patrick Smith
River Hills, Wisconsin, United States
Better yet, meet me in the garden!
by Appointment.
Perhaps...
“Perhaps the gardener is not someone who makes forms last over time,
but over time, if possible,
ensures that enchantment survives.”
-Gilles Clement