featuring Sarah Cowles, ASLA, founder of Ruderal, LLC, in discussion about her and her team’s “garden-first” approach to designing large-scale landscapes. In an inversion of the typical coarse-to-detailed site design process, they first seek “strange pockets” within the territory: the remnant patches of trees, wild thickets, damp depressions, and crumbling concrete slabs. They create gardens by editing and amplifying the qualities and materials of these singular places. Imagining and building the gardens draws them into dialog with their surroundings, offers opportunities for testing new methods and materials, and gathers sensory and material cues that ultimately guide a grounded and novel approach to the design of the larger territory.

About the Presenter

Sarah Cowles, ASLA is founder of Ruderal, LLC. Her inventive approach comes from 20 years of international experience and a localized understanding of place. Her projects address geopolitical realities to forge new relationships between ecology and culture. Notable works include the Betania Forest Garden, Arsenal Oasis, and the Mtatsminda Afforestation Plan. Her critical writing appears in many publications, including Landscape Architecture Magazine and Art Papers. Cowles received a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard GSD. She’s taught at The Ohio State University, University of Southern California, and Sam Fox School of Art and Design.

About the Series

Planting Forward: Conversations on New Naturalism features designers and creatives presenting work at the intersections of horticulture, ecology, design, and curation. Guests will be chosen from around the globe, spanning diverse geography, communities, and cultural identities. Each conversation will showcase working professionals and their methods and practices with the hopes of inspiring other professionals or gardeners to approach design and management differently.