Slow Down for Garden Design: Fall is about Craftsmanship
Fall is a refreshing time in Nashville, isn’t it? I start each day with a sweatshirt and a puffy vest, and I am happily working in a t-shirt by noon. The sun is still bright, our green hills are turning golden, and everyone enjoys being in their backyards again, you know?
This fall, I’ve been fielding a rush of calls for new gardens, and I’m excited to make several major designs come to life. It’s a wonderful time of year for big changes to the backyard. Since rain storms are few and far between, the machines can turn dirt and the installation crew can craft an outdoor masterpiece in just a few uninterrupted days.
This is a great time to dream about the details of each garden design. We are not inundated with the spring rush, and it’s natural to slow down, consider the particulars of a outdoor space, and include thoughtful, well-crafted components into each backyard.
When a family reaches out about a new garden, we always begin with the dream. What do you want this space to be? Do you picture something formal and structured, with straight paths and symmetrical beds? Or playful and free-flowing, with winding gravel paths, wildflowers, and maybe a teepee covered in pole beans? Some clients want a space to gather — a dinner table under string lights or a spot for future chickens. Others want a practical place to grow lots of food for their family, a “farmden” with herbs, greens, fruit trees and berry canes.
Once we’ve clarified the vision, we move into the design. This is where materials and layout begin to shape the dream. We start by talking through the shapes of the raised beds — will they be rectangular and efficient, gracefully curved, or maybe L-shaped to hug a corner? Then we take cues from the home’s architecture and the surrounding landscape to choose materials that blend form and function.
Cedar, steel, stone, and brick each have their own personality. Cedar brings warmth and texture; steel offers a sleek, modern edge; stone and brick add permanence and a sense of history. The base of most of our gardens is gravel, and even that choice changes the mood. We love the soft, silvery tones of tiny gray river rock, the sparkle of crushed granite, and the dusty “oyster blend” native to Tennessee — a mix of ground river rock that glows warm in the afternoon sun.
For vertical accents, we’ve built arches from square-tubed steel for a clean, modern profile and others from weathered wrought iron for that old-world romance. And yes, we even love a simple bamboo teepee — humble, playful, and somehow always photogenic.
We also consider fencing, which frames a garden and gives it a sense of place. Our signature 6-foot cattle panel fence, framed in cedar panels, is both durable and elegant — perfect for keeping deer at bay without feeling heavy. We’ve designed contemporary horizontal-slat fences that echo modern architecture, and cottage-style picket fencing for gardens where wildlife isn’t a concern.
Finally, as the garden takes shape and the installation team gets serious, we hone in on the details. This is where craftsmanship meets care. Pathways are wide enough for a wheelbarrow to roll through with ease. We carefully check water run off and add drains where pooling occurs. Stone retaining walls are capped with limestone or veneered in local fieldstone, blending structure and artistry. Bed corners are mitered for clean lines, irrigation runs invisibly beneath the gravel, and the soil blend — rich, alive, and dark — is tucked in like a blanket waiting for spring. The details are what make a garden feel immediately loved and lived in.
There’s a quiet beauty in building a garden when the air turns crisp and the leaves start to fall. This is the season for dreaming — for sketching ideas over morning coffee, choosing materials that will last a lifetime, and watching craftsmanship unfold in real time. When we build gardens in the fall, there’s no rush, just rhythm. The smell of fresh cedar, the scrape of gravel being leveled into perfect paths, and the first soft rains settling the soil — it all feels intentional, grounded, and full of promise.
And when spring comes, you’ll already have a garden that’s ready to grow — a space shaped by your dreams, designed with care, and built to last. If you’ve been thinking about creating your own kitchen garden, fall is the time to begin. Let’s dream it together.
