About

Hi there! I'm Trish and I'm the face behind Allium Landscape Design. I offer services in Ottawa and the surrounding areas (Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven, Stittsville, Riverside South, etc.) I offer both on-site and virtual design services to help you bring your outdoor vision to life. 

I specialize in plant design with a special focus on naturalistic plant design that incorporates native plants into beautiful gardens. These spaces support pollinators, wildlife habitat, and bring beauty to your outdoor spaces year round. I believe anyone can have a beautiful, intentional garden that fits their needs and lifestyle. 

Allium was born out of a long-held desire to return to my roots (pun intended) and work with plants. I first encountered my love of plants in an agricultural context. I grew up on my parent's farm until I was 10 and was surrounded by fields, fruit trees, and a large home garden. Some of my earliest memories are hoeing the weeds in the garden and tasting the amazing produce we grew in our backyard. By the time the farm was sold and we moved away, the garden was my domain. At our new house we still had space for a large home garden and I took charge of planning, layout, planting, weeding, and harvesting the garden from spring through fall. 

In high school I took more of an interest in perennials and ornamental gardens and, like most budding designers, used my mother's front lawn as a testing ground for my perennial garden design. Then came post-secondary education where I went to university for... electrical engineering and headed into a career in high tech.

Fast forward 20 years and as I made my way through various roles and companies I always held onto a love a plants. There is something so compelling about nurturing a plant and watching it grow, about seeing a composition of perennials and grasses bloom in succession, and catch the waning light of the day. There is magic in the soil, in the plants, and in the pollinators and ecosystems that have evolved together over millions of years. 

In my role now I value the ability to be creative and artistic and also combine it with an intensely practical and analytical mindset that brings these designs into a reality. There is something deeply satisfying to me when I can find the right plant that will fit all of the criteria that I consider as part of a plant layout. Whether it is sun, soil, moisture, exposure, salt- or deer- or rabbit-tolerant, bloom time, foliage texture, colour, height, width, winter interest, or something else - finding the piece that fits that puzzle is what drives me.

Allium Landscape was launched in August 2022 and it has been an incredible journey so far. Maybe you'll join me.