Outside
Rhubarb is a landscaping design company based on Salt Spring Island, B.C. We make gardens. Big, small, joyful, plant-filled, scented, site-specific, edible, thoughtful, textural. Our priority is creating spaces that are adaptive, resilient and beautiful.
What to expect when working with us
+Soil health comes first. We will build your soil which will give you a more resilient garden that is less water intensive. Be prepared, this can look messy at times. We are doing our best to mimic nature. That means leaves left, stems to stay over winter and grasses to be left with their tops on. This is valuable food for your soil and beneficial insects you want in your garden.
+Incredible plant selection. We have been working with the same growers for over 30 years. This relationship gives us access to plants that you wont find anywhere else. We love plants!
+We live and breathe design. We look at every aspect of your home and property including scale, location, lifestyle needs, and how people move through the spaces.
+A happy garden means plants touching, ground cover where necessary, scent, a mix of shrubs, trees, grasses and perennials. We don't leave room for bark mulch!
+We work with the seasons. With our warming summers this means planting is typically finished mid june and starts back up mid september. Pots can be done at anytime.
We offer
Consultations
This can be a one time visit to your home to offer ideas of how to evolve your space or the beginning of a relationship to grow your space.
Design/Build
We do it all. We have 40+ years experience in both hard and soft scape installations and have wonderful local collab partners. We play well with others, architects, builders, sub trades. Our incredible nursery partners ensure that we get the best plants. Plants are our thing! We love them deeply and do all we can to ensure their success.
We take on projects large and small. We love planting from full expansive spaces to containers on your deck.
We regularly do installations + containers for weddings, birthday parties etc. We're happy to accommodate special events and these happy occasions require more prep time. Reach out as soon as you have dates so we have the time together to plan.
Ongoing Care
We care about the gardens we create. We love being a part of their evolution. We can be there once a week or once a year. We feel strongly that the after care is as important as the installation. We require each new client to commit to working with us for a full year after the install. We are happy to be there in a maintenance capacity or simply to consult. It takes at least a full year for a garden to develop and by working with us for that time we can edit, adapt and shift as needed.
If you would like to connect to the rhubarb designs team to work on a future project, please send us a note to rhubarbdesigns@shaw.ca. We're accepting new clients but please be aware we are busy. It may take us a moment to get in touch or set up a time to meet.
We love working with people who love gardens.