Alex LaVilla’s small urban garden features a wide selection of both common and unusual plants. Established in 1997, the garden has undergone numerous iterations since its inception, serving as an experimental testing ground for how plants perform in varying garden conditions in the PNW. Plants were selected and arranged primarily for their design value when planted together and secondarily as an interesting collection of cool plants.

The layout features several small spaces designed to provide intimate vignettes that can be enjoyed up close, while also integrating to form a cohesive whole. The textural foliage and seasonal flowers of structural shrubs provide a year-round backdrop for the rotating show of blooming perennials and Clematis.

Alex LaVilla has been providing horticultural design and consultation services in the Seattle area since 2000. As the Perennial Plant Selection Committee Chair of the Great Plant Picks Program of the Elizabeth Miller Botanical Garden, he has been instrumental in selecting the best perennial garden plants for Pacific Northwest gardeners since 2001.

As a practicing visual artist, he brings a painterly eye to plant combinations and spatial design along with his expertise in plant selection. Alex is a long time member of the national Perennial Plant Association, the Northwest Perennial Alliance and the Northwest Horticultural Society. He retired from his position as the Perennial Plant Buyer at Swanson’s Nursery in Seattle in 2019 which he held since 1990 to focus on garden design and his art.

Examples of his design work are available at Design portfolio

His visual art is viewable at www.alexlavilla.com

Please note: To maintain the privacy of the host, we will notify attendees of the address closer to the date in a separate email. This site is unfortunately not ADA accessible.