We hired Gil in Fall 2024 primarily to help us transform our backyard, which had been stripped nearly bare after an extensive land slump mitigation project, into a healthy naturescape. We needed a landscaper who understood our particular challenges, which included finding native plants that could survive on a partially shaded and clay-packed slope. And we had a deadline to restore the yard in time to pass the City of Portland’s final inspection to close out the permit for our land slump project. 

Gil was more than up to the task. He created a plan to remove invasives, rehabilitate the soil, and install native plants that would survive and thrive, with a goal of getting the backyard into maintenance mode in three years. It’s been less than two years since we hired Gil and we’ve since passed the City’s inspection to close out our project. Our once-barren backyard now is flourishing with established natives like Western red cedar, sword ferns, red-flowering currant, large-leaf lupine and raspberry. We’re already seeing a big uptick in visits from pollinators and other critters. The transformation in the backyard, coupled with improvements Gil made to our front yard, recently earned us a Gold certification from Backyard Habitat.

We are thrilled with Gil’s work and can’t recommend him enough. In addition to his knowledge, problem-solving skills and work ethic, it’s a joy to work with Gil. He is a good communicator, always upfront about cost estimates and responsive when we’ve had questions. His passion for nature and native plants is clear. And contagious! Thanks to Gil, we’re more driven than ever to become better stewards to our local ecosystem.   —Tamara and Charlie

I struggled to maintain my yard, trimming, clearing overgrown invasive plants. Gil cleared the debris while encouraging desirable plants. He provided suggestions for plants and design beyond my knowledge.

Now I walk around my revitalized yard looking to see what new surprise awaits. The best way I can describe Gil’s technique is that he did not strip the yard and replace everything but saw what was desirable and enhanced it, with some unusual choices. Working with Gil has been an education in northwest gardening.