Garden
Riot
Wild by Nature
Wild by Design
Naturalistic garden design rooted in the Columbia River Gorge.
Full design and consultation — serving both sides of the river.
WHAT WE DO
Designed for Here.
The Columbia River Gorge is one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. The light changes every hour. The basalt cliffs loom. The wind comes down the river and moves through the grasses like something alive. Your garden should be part of all of that.
Garden Riot works with clients who appreciate this landscape and want something just as dynamic at home. Outdoor spaces that are layered, colorful, rooted in their place, and genuinely alive. From the first site visit to the last plant in the ground, we design gardens that belong exactly where they are.
SEASONAL BEAUTY
A Garden That Changes With You.
One of the great pleasures of naturalistic design is that the garden is never quite the same twice. Spring brings the first bulbs pushing through last year's seedheads, then the camas and the penstemons open and the bees arrive.
Summer is warmth and humming with life. Fall is arguably the most spectacular season of all: late asters still blazing, seedheads catching the low light, grasses going gold. And even in winter, a well-designed garden has presence. The skeleton of a grass, the silhouette of a shrub, a goldfinch working quietly through the stems. I design for all four seasons. Your garden should give you something to love every single month of the year.
NATIVE PLANTS
Plants That Know How to Live Here.
Native plants are not a compromise. In the Columbia River Gorge, they are a smart, beautiful choice.
They have spent hundreds of years adapting to exactly this climate — the heat, the wind, the dry summers, the cold snaps. Once established, they thrive with far less water and maintenance than conventional plantings. They support pollinators, birds, and soil life that a typical landscape never would. And they look like they belong, because they do.
Every Garden Riot design starts with the plants that belong here — native species rooted in the ecology of the Gorge and the broader Pacific Northwest. Ecology and beauty, working together.
"Beautiful because it belongs. Hardy because it has to be."
Services
What We Do
Garden Riot offers two core services: full-service design and build from concept through construction, and consultation packages for clients who want expert guidance and a clear roadmap to take into their own hands.
Full Service — Design & Build
Full Service Garden Design & Build
Garden Riot takes projects from initial concept all the way through construction — coordinating landscape contractors, irrigation, lighting, stonework, hardscape, carpentry, and metalwork. Zoe oversees the full build to ensure the design comes out exactly as intended. A service charge applies for trade coordination.
Consultation
Garden Consultation
A focused 90-minute site visit with Zoë, followed by a written summary with plant recommendations, site observations, and a clear roadmap for your project. Perfect for the hands-on client who wants expert direction and the confidence to move forward.
Process Preview
How it works.
Three clear phases. No handoffs, no surprises. Just a thoughtful process from first visit to finished garden.
Phase 1
01 — Site Visit
We come to you. We walk the land together and listen before we draw a line.
Phase 2
02 — Design
Your brief becomes the garden. A design shaped entirely around your site and your conditions.
Phase 3
03 — Build
We bring the design to life and stay involved through construction to make sure it lands exactly right.
Recent Work
Every garden is different. Every one belongs exactly where it is.
Kind Words
“Zoe is a world-class garden visionary with exceptional listening skills and a joyful personality, which makes her a sheer pleasure to work with. Zoë transformed our drab front yard into a year-round and colorful feast for all of our senses. We gleefully check the changes in Zoë‘s masterpiece daily as we emerge from winter into spring. Thanks to her creative artistry, we revel in our glorious views. You can’t stop looking. Hire her!”
—Mary H.