12 Houzz Awards
4 Houzz Badges
Contact Info:
Amy Whitworth
Portland, OR 97214
Portland, OR 97214
Typical Job Costs:
$8,000 - 100,000
This would be for the total cost of project, my part being the design and consultations during installation of the project by a licensed professional.
This would be for the total cost of project, my part being the design and consultations during installation of the project by a licensed professional.
Category:
https://www.houzz.com/pro/gardenmaker copied to clipboard
Landscape Layouts for Living while Protecting the Planet.
Specializing in rain gardens, soil life and water efficient & native plantings that are diverse and texturally interesting through the year, while providing an inviting space for entertaining your friends and family. Welcoming to people, pollinators, pets and wildlife.
We offer garden coaching to master plans, from concept through completion. Do it yourself or get a referral for a licensed landscape contractor to install your garden for you.
Collaborate with us to create your own garden sanctuary today! Expand your vision - Improve your view.
Home of Design-on-the-Fly for the Homeowner on a Budget.
Services Provided
Drafting, Drought Tolerant Landscaping, Garden Design, Site Planning, Rain Garden Design
Areas Served
Beaverton, Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill, Clackamas, Damascus, Durham, Fairview, Garden Home-Whitford, Gladstone, Gresham, Jennings Lodge, Johnson City, Lake Oswego, Lents, Maywood Park, Metzger, Mill Plain, Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Oak Hills, Oatfield, Portland, Raleigh Hills, Rivergrove, Sunnyside, Tigard, Vancouver, West Haven, West Haven-Sylvan, West Slope
14 Projects for Plan-it Earth Design

Portland, OR
Portfolio
20 photos

Portland, OR
Modern Garden
10 photos

Portland, OR
Kids Garden
13 photos

Portland, OR
English Garden
7 photos

Portland, OR
Reflexology Path
4 photos

Portland, OR
Art in the Garden
11 photos

Portland, OR
Abundant Nature - An Enchanted Food Forest
19 photos

Portland, OR
Edible Garden
12 photos

New Construction
12 photos

Zen Garden Spaces
19 photos

Portland, OR
Urban Courtyards
13 photos

Portland, OR
Garden Retreats
10 photos
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15 Reviews for Plan-it Earth Design
5.0|15 reviews
Work Quality5.0
Communication5.0
Value5.0

HU-960005338
Relationship
Client
Amy is wonderful to work with - she listens to our wants and needs, helps us visualize what can be done and works to make it all happen. She works well with the landscaper to place each plant and rock perfectly! This is our second project by Amy and would enthusiastically recommend her.
November 26, 2020

Ann Garvin
Relationship
Client
We moved to another part of town last summer and were thrilled with the backyard and mature trees and landscape. We had several problem areas in the front yard that needed plantings and a makeover after an oil tank removal. I turned to Amy Whitworth who had helped me years ago at another residence. After an initial consult, Amy easily comprehended my needs and made thoughtful suggestions for a cohesive design. She advised me on soil improvement after assessing the spaces. I hired her to design 3 areas with varying light and drainage needs. Amy came back to me promptly with beautiful designs, a comprehensive plant list with alternatives and a generous offer for a remote consultation as needed. We were so impressed with her plant knowledge, professional, warm demeanor and willingness to advise us on the DIY installation. I hardily recommend Amy Whitworth for as a responsive, friendly and competent garden designer.
June 25, 2020

Comment from Plan-it Earth Design:
Ann, You did a fabulous job working the soil and interpreting the design.



Vickie S
Relationship
Client
Previously I have designed my own gardens and they were more of the Cottage Garden designs that evolved over years. I hired Amy Whitworth of Plan-it Earth Design because my husband and I bought a new (to us) house on that had almost no landscaping. We will be retiring soon and we did not want to spend years designing and in the future, weeks doing trimming and more. I learned about Naturescaping from Amy’s classes that she does for the community. I also took one of her Raingarden classes to learn about that technique too.
In our front and back yards, Amy designed hardscaping, planting beds, a water feature and raingardens all around our requirements. All incorporated her Naturescaping techniques with an abundance of native plants, along with a few of my requested favorite non-natives. All of our house rain runoff now feeds into raingardens which are beautiful! Both my neighbors also hired Amy and we talk about her plant knowledge and speed at identifying the right plant for the land and your needs.
She is a delight to work with. She is extremely conscientious and cares about what she does and making sure it will work for you. While Amy oversaw the installation of our garden, she worked as a go between the workers and us to make sure we all understood the goals, any issues and resolution.
The cost came right in what I expected.
My husband and I so enjoy our yard now, both front and back. Best is that it is installed and we can enjoy it right now. We have already had someone come by and ask if they could take a picture of our front yard.


April 22, 2020

Jane Brunswig
Relationship
Client
My husband & I have two small areas on our residential property that we want to complete with a mixed meadow & a rain garden with all natives for a Backyard Habitat certification. Amy was the only designer willing to help us with her "design-on-the-fly" for both areas. She has excellent knowledge of the plants from the Native Plants of the Willamette Valley list. She listened and consulted with me through both drawings and we got everything we wanted. We will be doing most of the work ourselves and are comfortable about accomplishing our goals. I highly recommend Amy for any project.
March 3, 2020

Claire Viarengo
Relationship
Client
A year ago I was the new owner of a large yard, one with significant deficits: layout, plants, fencing, privacy and view. After contacting a few designers I was fortunate to find Amy Whitworth. I was impressed by her resume and her multifaceted approach to working with clients on projects large or small at any level of granularity the client desires.
Amy Whitworth’s Plan-it Earth Design website is very comprehensive. It provided me with an overview of the steps required to create a harmonious sustainable low maintenance outdoor living space. Amy is willing to work with clients in whatever design capacity they choose. She will work with you from initial conceptual layout and create a detailed plan ready for installation. I preferred a gradual approach, and Amy’s Design-on-the-Fly concept led to a project based garden-making process. Together we have made great strides in addressing many of the structural challenges I faced: beautiful new custom gates and fencing, an arbor for privacy, and plans for new hardscape access to the yard. I installed several new trees and many native shrubs. We have a layout of plans for future garden paths, layering shrubs, perennial beds and a rain garden. I have been very happy with Amy’s collaborative approach. She relishes her role as coach and is very encouraging to learners.
Working with Amy has afforded me the benefit of her network of professionals. These individuals have been uncommonly responsive, gracious and skilled. That can be hard to find under any circumstance, but even more so when the scope of the job is relatively small and the approach is gradual.
I look forward to continuing to work with Amy for many years as current projects come to fruition and new ones evolve. We are both proud of the Gold certification we achieved through the Backyard Habitat Certification Program. I am happy to know that pollinators, hummingbirds, ladybugs and other species have new territory to claim. I am excited to see the bare root shrubs that went into the ground last February beginning to show their character.
January 9, 2020

Eunice Letzing
Relationship
Client
We moved from a sun-filled garden in another city to a shady, tree-filled yard in Portland. Amy helped to re-design both our front and back yards. She taught us to appreciate shade-loving plants and where to re-locate some of the existing plants. She also helped these newcomers with ideas for nurseries and contractors. Amy was great to work with, and people who walk by our house often say that our garden is their favorite.
October 29, 2019

Maryann Bond
Relationship
Client
We worked with Amy to design our backyard garden. She transformed a rectangle with grass into a beautiful space with flowers, a fountain and a rain garden. Amy was a pleasure to work with and her design and knowledge skills turned our lawn into this beautiful garden.
July 25, 2017
Comment from Plan-it Earth Design:
Looking forward to working with you again soon on the other side of your backyard.
Update: December 2018, Your garden won an Award from the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association for Best Landscape Renovation from $35k-$75K. It's only getting better as it grows in! Thanks for being a great client.
Update: December 2018, Your garden won an Award from the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association for Best Landscape Renovation from $35k-$75K. It's only getting better as it grows in! Thanks for being a great client.


Lorraine Tobeck
Relationship
Client
We are very grateful to have met Amy at her Naturescape and Rain Garden workshops
and she designed our small yard for us and picked out and placed the plants. She
transformed our formerly plain and ugly yard into a lush rain garden with a boardwalk
deck and flowering plants specially chosen to attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflys.
Our yard feels like we're at a vacation resort. Every day I silently thank Amy for her vast
knowledge and creativity. She works magic!




July 22, 2017

tednel
Relationship
Client
Watching my yard transform from uninteresting patches of grass to an array of beautiful plants, was the most enjoyable experience I have had in years. Of course, it began by sitting with Amy Whitworth and, under her guidance, choosing plant-by-plant what I liked and where it would be placed within the creative pathways she had suggested.
I am sure that Amy could have measured my yard, drawn up a plan and had it implemented. However, by guiding me through the process (design) it made me feel that the result was a joint venture and I was invested in the outcome.
I have a very small urban yard so plant placement and arbor design, for privacy, were important. Even as the hardscape was being prepared, Amy would be on site to suggest, “tweaks” to optimize the design.
I interviewed more than one designer before beginning and know I made the correct choice with Amy
July 17, 2016
Comment from Plan-it Earth Design:
Thanks Ted, it was indeed a great collaboration - the best way to work with the most successful result. I look forward to seeing it grow and thrive! Here are some pics at of the fantastic installation by J. Walter Landscape & Irrigation. Unfortunately too sunny for good hardscape shots.




hollyjpruett
Relationship
Client
We first met Amy Whitworth of Plan-It Earth Design at a home and garden show where she was offering complimentary 15 minute consultations. What she came up with in response to the design challenges opened up possibilities we'd never considered. We hired her to design a new backyard for us, and subsequently to do design work in our front and side yards; we've now worked together for more than 10 years and we wouldn't consider doing something to the exterior of our house without consulting Amy. We've recommended Amy to many friends and they've all been similarly pleased. Amy came up with brilliant hardscaping and landscaping solutions and supervised installation. She's creative and resourceful, offering ideas at many price points; reliable and professional; easy to work with, and fun!
December 14, 2015

dlwdestes
Relationship
Client
Found Amy Whitworth and Plan-it Earth Design online when considering some critical adjustments to the back yard of our new-to-us King City home. Spoke with Amy, met for an initial consultation and later created a "design on the fly."
"Design on the fly" was fun and full of remarkable details satisfying our stated needs, including reuse of many hardscape materials. The quick design generated a drawing fully suitable for bid and execution. We ended up hiring a well known landscape company to implement the project; it is complete with a stunning result. Amy was available and responsive when we wanted to quickly explore complementary changes to our yard, outside of the design area.
I was truly impressed by Amy's skills, experience and earth friendly design style. She was patient, focused, and listened effectively to our wants and needs. We had an interactive working style, which was most appreciated.
I would use her again without hesitation and recommend her to others.


March 10, 2015

Karen Garmire
Relationship
Client
Amy created a native plant landscape plan for our backyard. She was fun and easy to work with. Almost all of the plants are in the ground and it is truly amazing......it reminds us of the deep forest where we love to spend our free time.
May 4, 2014
Comment from Plan-it Earth Design:
You did a tremendous job harvesting and planting your native plant collection. It was fantastic at planting and will only get better by the year. I'm sure it's looking even more lush now than this photo from early 2016 portrays. Thanks for the opportunity of working with you both.




Commented: Landscape and curb appeal.....HELP PLEASE!!!!!!I agree with enmarene9 that a small shrub in the ground would be nicer than the planter box - maybe that could be used elsewhere like the edge of a patio? I'm not in your area, so I can't really comm...
September 8, 2020 in Landscape Design
Commented: How do you access the beds?There are gravel paths around the beds - you can access from the sidewalk or closest to us is a retaining wall. The best access is on the other 2 sides. Thanks for asking!
September 6, 2020
Commented: Lovely LandscapingThanks for your kind words. The flowering plant in the foreground is an Oregon native Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor' - birch leaf spirea
August 5, 2020
Commented: What perennials are included here?The light yellow is Coreopsis 'Moonbeam', the dark purple on the right I believe is a lavender. Other things not in bloom are heather, liatris, daylily and echinacea and a coral bells in the lower ri...
June 16, 2020
Commented: What is the tall columnar conifer in the corner?That conifer is a type of Colorado Blue Spruce. It was already in place when I designed the rest of the border to blend with it, so I'm not sure of variety. Sorry. Slender varieties of Picea pungen...
May 26, 2020
Commented: what is the name of the shrub in the foreground of this photo? thanksThe shrub in the foreground is Leucothoe 'Rainbow'. It's not usually this red, but the plant is getting a bit more sun than is optimal.
June 30, 2019
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