Meet Eryn Murphy | Native Plant Landscape Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eryn Murphy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eryn, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I love helping people feel more connected to “nature” – to ecologies, to plants, to birds and bees and the other nonhumans who live around us. I used to organize retreats in the wilderness that gave people time to sink into the land. But there was always a missing link when it came to my own front yard, to my relationship with the land right outside my door. I have a background in permaculture design and landscaping, but I was never really jazzed by either, because both are about designing outdoor spaces for human uses. I didn’t know how to steward landscapes for the good of the ecosystem. I did not know how to bridge the mountains and the cities. When the pandemic hit, I had to close my old business, and it forced me to think about what kind of a job I really wanted. I wanted to dig, and get dirty, and be a good partner for the earth. What I REALLY I wanted was to do habitat restoration in an urban setting. But I didn’t have a degree in habitat restoration, and I didn’t know what ecological landscaping would look like.
One day, I stumbled across a post on NextDoor that was talking about how birds and insects need native plants, and our cities are basically food deserts for them. My whole being lit up. This was the missing link I was searching for.
Through the work of Doug Tallamy and other resources, I learned that insects have evolved for eons to be interdependent with plants that are native to their areas, and the lack of native plants in our human spaces is driving the apocalyptic decline in insect populations that we have seen in recent decades. It’s also driving the decline of bird populations and other wildlife, because birds and other animals rely on insects for food. For example, a bird might have to bring its babies 6000 caterpillars in a six-week period, and only nearby native plants will provide that kind of caterpillar habitat. The key fact here is that there is no reason not to use native plants in our human landscapes, because they are just as beautiful and functional as the non-native plants that have come to dominate our spaces.
So, Restorative Landscape Design was born. My mission was to design native plant landscapes in Denver that were beautiful, low-water, low-maintenance, affordable, and also supported masses of pollinators and birds. To learn what I needed to learn, I apprenticed myself to the library, to the prairie, and to knowledgeable organizations and mentors. Two years later, my life now is about building native plant gardens and native grass lawns, and being a resource for people to DIY the work on a budget. I am very grateful and happy to have found his work.

What should our readers know about your business?
One big challenge was how to provide a financial foundation for myself while also making pollinator gardens financially accessible. Most landscapers have a lot of overhead, so an average lawn-to-xeriscape conversion in Denver costs 10-40k. As a relatively poor millenial, I felt sensitive to that when I started this business; If someone wants to create a pollinator garden, I want it to be financially inaccessible. At the same time, I wanted to stop being a relatively poor millenial.
What I figured out is an option that I offer to clients called “DIY with help.” “DIY with help” means that I co-organize the planting project with the client, and I bring them a small army of people to help with the planting and other installation tasks. The people aren’t my employees – the clients pay them directly and sign a waiver with them – so that keeps my overhead low, and allows me to organize gig work for people who are passionate about ecological landscaping. In essence, the installation army is made up of paid volunteers. I charge for my hours, but I don’t up-charge for materials or plants, and I involve the clients in the landscaping process as much as I can. By co-leading projects with clients in this way, I’m able to help people do lawn-to-meadow conversions for under $5k. I feel good about that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love the places where healthy natural ecosystems still thrive. My favorite parts of the Denver area are Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Red Rocks, Cherry Creek State Park, Roxborough Park, etc.. It’s even more excited to me now that I understand the connections between the native plants and wildlife of the area. I see the rainbow red of little bluestem grass rippling in the winter, for example, and I know that it is a friend to our local ecosystem while also being a visual knockout.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am very grateful for the member organizations of the Colorado Native Landscaping Coalition: Wild Ones Front Range, the People and Pollinators Action Network, Rocky Mountain Audubon, the CO Native Plant Society, and the CO Wildlife Federation. Even though they aren’t members, I’ll also add the High Plains Environmental Center and CSU extension to this list. They are have done a tremendous amount of work to gather data and resources to help people successfully plant beautiful native plant landscapes for birds and pollinators. They have been so helpful to me.

Website: www.restorativelandscapedesign.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restorativelandscapedesign/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RestorativeLandscapeDesign

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/restorative-landscape-design-denver

Image Credits
Photos of the pink flowers credited to Jonathan Sciarcon