Holly Rodes Smithey’s journey of inspiration with garden design first took flight while living in Jackson, WY, the place she moved to after her studies in art history at Colorado College.  Along with working in an art gallery she took a position as a gardener for a private residence just south of the park. It was this experience that opened her eyes to how a planting scheme can be created as a stylized interpretation of nature, based on richly layered naturalistic plantings. While interest in art and architecture were a big part of her childhood, it was seeing how good design could be integrated with architectural and natural elements that really sparked her imagination.

After years living in WY and Southwest MT, her next landing was Central Oregon and the start of her artistic/garden design life. While studying and practicing landscape design, Holly and her husband Rand experimented in fabricating garden features with wood and metal, which morphed into sculpture and other fine art mediums.  Over the last 20 years she has blended these creative endeavors and for the ‘love of flowers’ threw in several years as a farmer growing specialty-cut flowers on the their property.

Now having transitioned some years ago to life in Idaho she finds inspiration for her creative pursuits in the soft skies and abundant textures, shapes and folds of the surrounding landscape. Holly loves being able to use her layers of life experiences as a maker, designer and plant enthusiast to help her clients discover the individual narrative attached to each site while working in harmony with nature and the seasons.