Balsamroot Design

Empowering the community
to live in partnership with the natural world.

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About Balsamroot Design

Balsamroot design, in partnership with Chesed Farms, is based in the Walla Walla Valley. We are bringing together diverse knowledge on landscaping and environmental restoration to help our community intentionally design the landscape and the way we live. We do this through onsite consultation, design renderings and hands on education. We strongly believe that everyone should be involved in stewarding the land. We encourage this through events, consultation and the conversations we engage in everyday.

Our Name

The name Balsamroot Design comes from the native name: Pášxa, meaning Balsamroot Sunflower. According to the book Čáw Pawá Láakni – They Are Not Forgotten this is the Sahaptin name for what is modern day Walla Walla. The local band of the Cayuse tribe was called Pášxapu or the “Sunflower People '' in reference to the Balsamroot Sunflower which was an important food and medicine plant to the native peoples. It powerfully symbolizes this land, beauty and survival.

This name is a reminder that we reside on Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla land. A reminder that to create a culture that can last we must honor native traditions and knowledge. We look to the grasslands, the rivers and the non-human beings as our greatest teachers. We recognize that we must learn to thrive within the constraints of our environment, stewarding our resources carefully and wisely.

Services

We Provide

On-site consultation addressing:
- Permaculture landscape design
- Tree health and planting
- Gardens and home orchards
- Implementation and project planning
- Farm Design
High quality master planning, 2D and 3D landscape renderings/blueprints
Landscaping and environmental knowledge relevant to our native ecosystem/climate
Educational events and workshops that generously share knowledge

What good is a Permaculture Landscape Design?

Permaculture design takes into account every environmental and social factor that effects your landscape. We believe in the “measure twice, cut once” principle. By hiring a professional landscape designer we collaborate with you to make long term decisions that save you time, money and head ache. We start by listening to your needs then combine that with our experience, research and on-site observations. The result? The confidence to create an abundant beautiful landscape that can last generations
Extreme weather, degraded soils and declining water resources necessitate landscapes that are not only resilient but regenerative. Resilience in our landscape means drought and heat tolerant, cold hardiness, and pest resistance. We achieve this through species selection using natives and hardy exotic plants and management strategies such as mulching and deep watering. But how do we create a landscape that is regenerative? Regenerative means self-fertile, self-propagating, self-maintaining. Our designs use nitrogen fixing and bio mass producing plants to build soil fertility. By increasing soil organic matter and small scale earthworks we can collect rainwater, regenerating dwindling water resources. We include wildlife habitat through our designs to increase biodiversity. Birds help by spreading seeds assisting in plant propagation. Hawks and Owls quell keep rodent populations in check. Bees pollinate and earth worms cycle nutrients. Now that’s what I call regenerative.
What is there to say? A functioning ecosystem it just… Beautiful. We design landscapes that are beautiful, use natural lines and shapes and are a pleasure to spend time in. Your landscape should be a space of rejuvenation and vitality full of life and laughter.
Growing and foraging food is my personal passion. It teaches us patience, gratitude and generosity not to mention keeping active and healthy! Permaculture design can bring this abundant food and medicine into our backyards. Your backyard can potentially provide your whole family, and even the whole neighborhood, with fresh nutritious food year round. Imagine kids running around snacking on raspberries in the summer, or you sipping tea by the fireplace from flowers dried in the spring, or making crisp salads from cold hardy greens in the fall. With our experience in gardening, farming and permaculture our designs can integrate food production into any landscape from your raised garden bed to a full scale farm.
Our ultimate goal at Balsamroot Design is to help create meaningful relationships with the natural world. We engage you and the land in a collaborative design process that recognizes that we as humans are not separate from the natural world. Our consultations and designs will encourage you to broaden your understanding of the environment. This allows you to see the patterns in the world around you and empower you to live in partnership with natural world.