@alder-enviro.bsky.social
Building forests and restoring nature in the Pacific Northwest, Canada. Design . Build . Steward . Restore Alder Environmental Landscapes Inc.
Plant density matters 🌱🌲🌱
Want a low maintenance garden in the PNW? Dense planting is a must! If you don’t fill the space, nature will (often with weeds initially).
Select appropriate species that grow to create layers mimicking nature, and you’ll create a self-sustaining landscape quickly 🌱
There’s nothing more fun than taking a property from the design to the installation phase. It’s the best part of our job 🌱
#habitatgarden #nativeplants
Close up of vibrant green leaves from vanilla leaf plant carpeting the forest floor of a PNW forest.
Vanilla leaf carpet 🌱
They say if you dry the leaves, they give off a vanilla scent. I’ve tried a few times over the years and haven’t had any success. But nonetheless one of the prettiest PNW forest understory plants.
#nativeplants #rainforest #vanillaleaf
Thank you! I dragging around the old window frames for years before finding the perfect project for them. And the driftwood piece fit perfectly thank goodness (it was heavy!)
16.02.2025 04:03 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Yes a major perk! Yumm!
15.02.2025 04:42 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A flat yard with hundreds of plant pots filled with lush green native plants placed densely across the dirt. In the background the ocean and tall fir trees.
A PNW lawn alternative - salal, sword fern, dull Oregon grape.
Densely planted native shoreline plants for an extremely low maintenance west coast landscape.
A rustic wood gate with driftwood frame surrounding a veggie garden. Magenta blooms from a clematis pour over the gate. Lush ferns fill in along the ground.
Ready for blooms and greens 🌱
It looks like the snow will wash away this weekend just in time for our 2025 field season to start!
#pnwnativeplants #vancouverisland #naturalgardening #gardenarbor
We were hired by the RDN to create a plan and coordinate the work - VIU horticulture students will help with some field work, and there’s some funding for plants from Tree Canada. Happy to chat more about it if you’d like.
14.02.2025 05:39 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A close up of a vibrant green tree trunk coveted in moss. The fronds of sword ferns reach up from the ground into view. Clumps of snow are piled on the moss and tip of the fern frond
Winter in the rainforest 🌲
#swordfern #dougasfir #rainforest
Dried self heal flower heads poke out of the snow, each with a cap of fluffy snow on top.
Winter has arrived on Vancouver Island! I love how a different side of nature appears in the snow ❄️
05.02.2025 03:12 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A background photo of a concrete patio with lounge chairs surrounded by dense blooms of native flowers. In the foreground the text reads ‘102 native species installed’ in 2024
In 2024 we focused on biodiversity in our planting and were able to include 102 different PNW species in restoration and landscaping projects!
#ecosystemrestoration #restorativelandscapes #nativeplants #nanaimo
Thank you for taking the time to say that! Cheers! 🌱
04.02.2025 21:59 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Hi! I’m Lindsey Haist and I’ve spent the last 8 years building Alder to restore Vancouver Island’s ecosystems and create beautiful landscapes for all to enjoy.
I’m a Restoration Ecologist, Landscape Designer, Entrepreneur and Mom of 2 living in Nanaimo BC.
Old growth temple.
The energy in the old growth forests is different. It can’t be recreated. It’s healing, grounding and comforting. It’s home.
#cathedralgrove #vancouverisland #restorenature
A split screen showing 5 photos of Pacific Northwest plants with text labels overtop to identify each species - yarrow, wooly sunflower, Douglas fir, salal and roemers fescue. A heading at the top reads ‘top 5 species’
The TOP 5 native plants we used in gardens and restoration projects in 2024.
#pnwplants #nativeplants #yarrow #woolysunflower #douglasfir #salal #fescue
Close up image of false lily of the valley flower in garden infront of new modern house. Text overlaid reads ‘What is our Property Stewardship Program?
Stewardship starts at home.
Our Property Stewardship Program allows for regular visits from our team to bring your property into its full, ecological potential.
Together we’ll create a landscape that thrives with the natural ecology of your property and embraces the beauty of the West Coast.
Rock bluff ecology 🐸
#lichen #vancouverisland #ecology
Future forest!
Exciting partnership with local government to restore this broom covered field into a diverse forest ecosystem. 🌱🌱
This is a huge problem on our shorelines on Vancouver Island - English Ivy.
Smothering well adapted coastal native species, and eventually suffocating the mature trees who are holding the bank together.
This is awesome! We build Miyawaki style mini-forests on the west coast.
This style of planting is very low maintenance, and extremely low water usage vs. other landscaping. One of the more efficient options for parks to reduce maintenance costs over time (plus all the other benefits of forests)
