Rutheo Designs

We're proud that our home was an "original canvas" for Rutheo Designs. Our side yard gives us wonderful fruits and vegetables, to say nothing of the joy it brings pollinators, our front is a glorious display of native plants tall and low, wide and skinny, and guests enter our walkway from the street under a trellis that in a few more seasons will be covered with grape vines. And our backyard is our oasis, a stunning variety of spots to eat, read, chill, and let the dogs run around. We love entertaining friends in the back, for nearly half the year it effectively doubles the size of our cozy urban home.

Last June, I hired Ted and Rutheo Designs to water my garden in Seattle while I spent most of the summer away from home. I'm used to doing everything myself (except when I hire a contractor for hardscape construction), so this was kind of an experiment for me. I'm also pretty particular about the health of my plants.

Ted, and his employee Reid, were excellent and responsive communicators. That is probably the most important quality in my book. They let me know when they were watering and gave valuable feedback after watering. For example, during a heat wave in mid-summer, they suggested increasing the watering (one more time per week) to keep the plants healthy. When it rained later in the summer and September, they suggested cutting back.

I plan on re-hiring Rutheo Designs this summer when I am again away from the garden for long stretches.

Happy holidays to the team at Rutheo! They make every month feel like Christmas with their outstanding service month after month.