Landscape Design Philosophy

Landscape design is a way of adding order and beauty to the places that we use in our everyday lives. Thoughtful design can create spaces that are useful, beautiful and easy to take care of. The landscapes around our homes and businesses are like rooms of a home, they can either be ignored, or made into beautiful and useful places for living.

Landscapes are the containers for our lives, and it is well worth taking time to think about how we can use them best. Landscapes give us places to play with our children, spend time with friends, watch the world around us, chat with neighbors, watch birds fly by, or sit by a fire.

Many landscapes are the result of a series of unrelated decisions, plant purchases, construction projects, etc. Hiring a landscape architect to design your property can help you create a beautiful and cohesive space that fits your lifestyle and your home or business. Good design creates places where we can share our lives with family, friends and neighbors. Good design also allows us to build places that are sustainable and long lasting.

About the designer

Ethan McGory is a landscape architect and educator working in central Ohio.  He works with clients to build beautiful, long lasting landscapes for enjoying life.  He values his relationships with clients and believe that the best designs come from strong collaboration between clients, designers and contractors.

His work has been featured in the book Private Gardens - Design Secrets to Creating Beautiful Outdoor Living Spaces. He has had homes featured on the German Village House and Garden Tour and the ONLA Tour of Homes. He’s worked on historic homes and properties in Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Bexley, Marysville, German Village, Dublin, Westerville, and Wicker Park, Chicago, including homes on the National Register of Historic Places. He’s received design awards from the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association and National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

Ethan was trained at the Ohio State University in the Master's of Landscape Architecture program and has worked in construction and landscape design since 2007.  Before attending OSU, he received a bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Music. He currently teaches courses in landscape architecture at The Ohio State University, helping students to better understand plants, construction, drawing and design. He is a registered landscape architect in the state of Ohio and a passionate gardener. He has also worked as a carpenter and organic farmer, and draws on these experiences frequently in his design work.

Ethan has designed native gardens and rain gardens as well as edible gardens of fruits and vegetables. He works on small properties and large estates, with budgets large and small.

If you are interested in discussing a design project please feel free to Schedule a Consultation.