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SERVICES
 

consultation

instruction and coaching

expert garden maintenance

design & installation

custom maintenance calendars

year-round interest gardens

plant care and division

problem diagnosis

skilled pruning & hedging

hand weeding

perennials

native plants

wildlife/pollinator habitat gardens

deer resistant gardens

vegetables, fruits & herbs

planters/container gardens

easy care/low maintenance

xeriscaping (low water use)

FireWise advice and design

winter greenery planters

We take pride in our work: garden maintenance, horticultural consulting, coaching, design and installation for residential and commercial clients. We establish relationships with our clients and ensure we meet their needs, whether that is specialized design, meticulous weekly/biweekly/monthly maintenance, or occasional consultation.
 

NW St Helens Design-Install
Design + Labor + Consulting

We specialize in perennials, native plants, pollinator and bird gardens, deer-resistant landscapes, cut flower gardens, specific color combinations, low maintenance, xeriscaping (low water use), edibles (veggies and herbs), and year-round interest gardens. 

 

We offer FINE GARDENING services: educated, skilled labor that is horticulturally-based with attention to detail. We practice the Art & Science of Gardening: offering personalized service, implementing Best Practice techniques for plant health, maximizing bloom season, skilled plant choice, placement and design, installation, maintenance, pruning, and more.


We are not a typical "mow & blow" maintenance company. In fact, we avoid lawn work! Our work is suited for more complex, high-density plant settings.  We are the detail-oriented folks who pay attention and do it right. Yes, we cost more. That's because we KNOW MORE and DO MORE.


Let us help your garden GROW and THRIVE!

Design + Labor + Consulting

​​

​Our company offers FINE GARDENING: services: educated, skilled labor that is horticulturally-based. We practice the ART + SCIENCE of gardening: offering personalized service, attention to details, long-range planning, implementing Best Practice techniques for plant health, maximizing bloom season, skilled plant choice, placement and design, installation, maintenance, pruning, and more.


We are not a typical "mow, blow & go" maintenance company. In fact, we avoid lawn work! Our work is suited for more complex, high-density plant settings. We are the detail-oriented folks who pay attention and do it right. Yes, we cost more. That's because we KNOW MORE and DO MORE.

We specialize in perennials, native plants, pollinator and bird gardens, deer-resistant landscapes, cut flower gardens, specific color combinations, low maintenance, xeriscaping (low water use), edibles (veggies and herbs), and year-round interest gardens. 


Let us help your garden GROW and THRIVE!

The Owner
Claire Hafer, The Garden Specialist

I come from a long line of gardeners, including my father, grandfather, and great uncles! I started taking an interest in and caring for the extensive landscape around my childhood home, and later taught at internationally- known museums and science centers. My master's degree in Horticulture from Penn State included college-level coursework in landscape maintenance, annual and perennial plants, taxonomy, soils, ecology, plant pathology, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), greenhouse operation and management, ethnobotany, and more. My thesis included authoring a chapter about gardening with native plants for the Penn State Cooperative Extension Master Gardner training manual. I have presented to Master Gardeners and garden clubs in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Oregon, and have taught college courses on botany at COCC and gardening with native plants. I continue my education by attending classes and workshops to maintain my CECs and subscribe to numerous magazines and newsletters to stay current on horticultural topics.
Colorful garden in spring
What interests YOU?

Do you need deer-resistant plants? More flowers from existing plantings? Plants that thrive without additional irrigation? Plants that provide food and habitat to birds, bees, or butterflies? Native plants that celebrate Central Oregon's high desert? A lush garden oasis? A perennial garden that flowers from spring until fall? Interesting foliage? Fragrant plants? A dog-safe landscape? FireWise advice or  modifications? Wondering what is growing in your yard or how to care for it? Have you always wanted to grow your own food and need some advice? I know "the right plant for the right place."

 

Maybe you need help to identify existing plants or problems, renovating some overgrown specimens, learning how to prune your own roses, wonder why that plant doesn't bloom like it used to, or you want to learn about fertilizing. I provide ongoing or one-time maintenance or garden coaching visits to teach you the art of deadheading for prolonged bloom, plant division, pruning, and other garden tasks. Learn to do it right! Or leave the heavy work to us!

I love collaborating with clients and other professionals. Want to work together? Click the button below:

The Garden Specialists LLC is a bonded, licensed and insured Landscape Contractor with the Oregon Landscape Contractor's Board (LCB #9646).
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