Reading Your Site
Sun, slope, soil, water — a four-page primer.
Before a single plant goes in, walk your property at three times of day for three different days. The Willamette Valley sun is not the Willamette Valley sun — it is a hundred microclimates, and every garden lives inside one.
Reading a site begins with patience. Most owners arrive at a landscape designer with a pinterest board and a wish list; the better question is what the land is already telling you it wants to be. There is almost always a quiet preference written into a property — in the way water drains after a winter rain, in which corners hold frost the longest, in which fenceline the deer have already decided is theirs.
Start with sun. Walk your property at 9 AM, at noon, and at 4 PM on the same day if possible, in two different seasons. Note where shadows fall and how long they last. A spot that reads as 'full sun' in July may get less than two hours of direct light in December. The difference matters more than most plant tags admit.
Then slope. Even a five-degree grade changes drainage, exposure, and frost behavior. South-facing slopes warm fastest and dry first; north-facing slopes hold moisture and stay cool. East slopes get gentle morning light; west slopes take the brunt of afternoon heat. Each one wants a different palette.
Soil is the hardest read and the most rewarding. Dig three test holes at different points on the property, each 12 inches deep. Note the color, the texture, the smell, and how easily the shovel goes in. Heavy clay smells faintly mineral and resists the spade; healthy loam crumbles in your hand and smells like a forest floor.
Finally, water. Where does it pool after a heavy rain? Where does it run off? Is there a downspout dumping forty gallons in one corner every storm? These are not problems to solve so much as facts to design with. The best gardens make peace with their water — they direct it, slow it down, let it feed the planting rather than fight it.