Meet Rhianna Kirk and Caroline Lucernoni | Owners, Avant Garden Design

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rhianna Kirk and Caroline Lucernoni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rhianna Kirk and Caroline Lucernoni, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Avant garde refers to artistic ideas that are unusual, experimentally progressive and spark change. Avant Garden Design introduces that spirit to the way we view our outdoor spaces. The heart of our business is to create gorgeous and environmentally responsible gardens as a way to redefine your family’s relationship with local nature. Rethinking the traditional garden has great benefits for you and for the native flora and fauna.

Every home has the opportunity to be a complementary part of its surroundings. Choosing to replace your traditional lawn with a garden of diverse locally adapted plants creates a native ecosystem and habitat for a plethora of beneficial wildlife and insects. Turfless design helps prevent the spread of harmful invasive species like the Japanese beetle.

Natural prairie gardens don’t require any additional watering or fertilizers and are less maintenance than traditional lawns. All of which give you a chance to reduce the footprint your home leaves behind.

Prairie gardens don’t only benefit our environment, they promote a greater sense of exploration and discovery for children and adults alike. We strive to create designs that look beautiful and that you can feel good about.

What should our readers know about your business?
As two young women, breaking into a historically male-dominated landscape industry hasn’t come without challenges. We have had to learn to navigate situations in which our ideas were met with skepticism or written off as “naive”. Not being taken seriously and hearing “that’s impossible” is not something new to us, but it has certainly never stopped us either.

We never know what new challenges a project will bring. We believe that every design should tell a story as unique as our clients and their hopes and dreams for their outdoor spaces. This “super customized” approach means that we are always looking at new and exciting mediums to use in our projects- taking a fallen tree from a property and turning it into a resin-inlayed hand railing, designing a series of metal privacy screens inspired by the veins of an aspen leaf, working with a willow-weaving artist to create custom sculptures- we are constantly learning and growing as creative professionals. Taking time to find industry partners and contractors who are excited about working with us to create something a little different has been so rewarding. We can’t wait to see where Avant Garden Design will lead us to next.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Our itinerary for a week in Colorado would highlight some of the amazing food, music, craft beer, and outdoor activities that our state has to offer. These are a few of our favorites:

Music Venues:
Denver: Denver Botanic Gardens (pack a picnic), Mission Ballroom, Bluebird Theater, Gothic Theater, Meow Wolf, Levitt Pavilion (free concerts)
Boulder: Chautauqua Auditorium
Ft. Collins: The Mishawaka
Morrison: Red Rocks Amphitheater
Telluride: Telluride Town Park
Lyons: Planet Bluegrass

Breakfast/Brunch:
Denver: Onefold
Golden: Bonfire Burritos
Boulder: Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

Lunch/Dinner:
Denver: Comida@Stanley Marketplace, Tacos Tequila & Whiskey, Avanti, Tocabe, Roaming Buffalo BBQ, Hop Alley, Blue Pan Pizza
Golden: Golden Mill, Sherpa House
Boulder: Half Fast Subs
Lakewood: Abruscis Fire & Vine

Bars & Breweries:
Denver: Baere, Cerebral, Comrade, TRVE, Grandma’s House, Adrift Tiki Bar
Arvada: New Image
Golden: New Terrain
Lafayette: Odd 13
Broomfield: 4 Noses

Outdoor Activities:
Denver: Denver Botanic Gardens, City Park (bike, ride the swan boats)
Golden: Hike/Tube/Bike Clear Creek Trail, Bike North Table Mountain
Boulder: Hike/Climb Flatirons
Palisade: Bike Palisade Fruit & Wine Byway, tour local vineyards, then float down Colorado River to Grand Junction

Hot Springs:
Steamboat Springs: Strawberry Park Hot Springs
Moffat: Valley View Hot Springs
Durango: Durango Hot Springs

(*Feel free to edit if this is too much!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Caroline: A shout-out to my mom and grandmother, both avid and experimental gardeners who continue to foster a great sense of wonder with the outdoors and botany.
Thanks to my partner Brian for being so supportive and helpful in our growing business venture.

Rhianna:
Shout out to my children, who keep my sense of playfulness alive, and who remind me that wonder, mystery, and beauty exist in the everyday world all around. To my parents who raised me on camping and backpacking trips, ensuring I grew into an adult with a deep appreciation for nature. And to my husband Vince, who’s support, advice, and encouragement has given me the confidence to pursue my passions.

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Website: https://www.avantgarden.design/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avantgarden.design/