Kathy Veterane, owner of Tapestry Garden Design

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and have lived in Bellingham since 1980.  As a student of Fairhaven College, I learned how to create my own curriculum and used those skills to teach myself an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, their use, and garden design.  In 1993 I began performing maintenance on a newly installed public garden featuring a mix of edible and ornamental plants designed by Cloud Mountain Nursery, and did that for almost 10 years.  During this time, I did an in-depth study of the ornamental and fruit trees, shrubs, grasses, groundcovers, and perennials I was maintaining.

In 2003, I started Tapestry Garden Design to transition from maintenance work into designing and creating new gardens.  I discovered my passion was for re-working established gardens, a process I call renovation, which involves choosing what to keep, what to prune into shape, and what to edit.  I became fascinated with correct pruning and transplanting techniques, studying the science-based techniques of Cass Turnbull, founder of Plant Amnesty, and her mentor, Dr. Alex Shigo. For pruning fruit trees, Tom Thornton of Cloud Mountain Farm offered invaluable methods.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of all life contributes to my value of developing relationships with my clients, the plants I use, and the garden itself.  I love the process of collaborating with other passionate gardeners.

For the last twenty five years, I have gardened on ten acres in the county with my husband, two dogs, and two cats.