For any plant to flourish, it needs just the right conditions. And for landscape designer Ashley Ingraham, Boulder is the best place to bloom.
Growing up in Minnesota with a mother who was an avid gardener, Ingraham was surrounded by perennial gardens and pollinators. Naturally, she developed a love for the outdoors and an appreciation for the changing seasons. Since she also loved art, Ingraham decided to study painting and contemporary art history when she went to college at the University of Colorado Boulder.
One fateful summer back in Minneapolis, Ingraham took a job with a garden designer and suddenly her interests started to align. “We worked at these amazing properties on the lakes, and that’s when I saw these incredible landscapes,” she says. “It was this ‘aha’ moment. That’s what I wanted to do.”
Back in Boulder, Ingraham graduated with an art history degree and then went on to add an associate degree in landscape design. She worked at several Boulder firms before founding her own, Evoke. Today, her award-winning team creates modern gardens designed to delight. Here, Ingraham shares her thoughts on elevated outdoor living.
What does a landscape designer do?
It’s the best job ever. Our firm works with local architects and homeowners. On most of our projects we are brought in early, with clients who want to create a really unique vision that’s celebrating the land and their lifestyle.
We’ll develop plans, we’ll go to the site and do field observations of the drainage patterns, and light and shadow, and also how the house and the landscape are going to meld into the surrounding site. Then we create amazing renderings to show our vision and plans for construction, and we work with what we think are the best vendors and builders and artisans in town. We have this team that puts together the installation, and the landscape continues to grow and change when we’re done.
Where does the name Evoke come from?
Evoke is what we’re all about. It’s creating spaces that make you feel—feel connected to the land, feel at home, feel cozy or feel expansive. They evoke feelings of reverence for the land, for their home, for their neighborhood. We’re trying to move beyond just decorative landscaping. We’re designing spaces with moments. So, you walk in and you pause, and you hear the sound of water, and then there’s a tree positioned to frame something, or create shadow on the path, or sitting in an aspen grove—creating spaces that evoke feeling.
What makes Boulder special?
Here, we have seasons—it’s cold and then warm again, and we have the mountains—it’s a complex area to design, because it can be really challenging with the harsh climate. So, we have to be creative with the plants we select, and we really study the site and make sure that we’re creating a plan that’s going to stand the test of time and evolve and grow.
What questions do you ask clients to understand what kind of landscape they’re looking for?
I like to get into how they want to use the space, what’s important from a practical standpoint. And then from there, you start to bring up how that would make them feel.
And oftentimes people will talk about a willow tree from their childhood that they loved playing under. And then start to unpack their past experience with landscape and memories of experiencing different spaces.
Or travel—we had a client recently who was in Portugal, and there was this arbor at a vineyard that they fell in love with, so we tried to incorporate that in the design. So, just pulling from a lot of different facets of people’s lives and things that have resonated with them, and then creating an outdoor space that is unique to them, and both functional and emotional.
Do you have any favorite plants that are native to this area?
We like to use Plant Select. Colorado State has this Plant Select program, where they’re testing out plants and making recommendations for our unique region on what plants are really adaptable and low-water. And we also love using ornamental grasses. They provide a ton of interest, and they really feel at home here.
Since you began gardening with your mom, do you have any advice for creating a kid-friendly garden?
Edible gardens are really fun for kids, so having a few raised planters growing strawberries and tomatoes, and only one zucchini plant because they get out of control. And flowers that you can cut and make little bouquets. It’s fun to get outside and have your kids get dirty.
Finding Inspiration in Our Own Backyard
Ashley Ingraham shares some favorite destinations in and around Boulder.
Goat Trail to Dakota Ridge Trail: In mid-June, Pine Brook Hill is covered in wildflowers—campanula, helianthus, penstemon, lupine and Indian paintbrush.
South Boulder Creek Kayak Run: A gorgeous place to cool off next to the creek. “I love the big rock formations that you can sit on,” she says.
Pearl Street: Strolling the mall in the spring and enjoying the incredible tulips.
Corrida: The rooftop deck is so fun. For incredible views of the Flatirons on a summer evening sipping gin and tonics.
