Sweet Fern Landscapes, is a landscaping business owned and operated by Garden District resident Jess Cole. Jess started her business in 2015, and most of her clients are in the Garden District/Mid City area. Jess describes herself as an organic/sustainable gardener and and loves the area as she feels her neighbors are like-minded and are open to her practice of sustainable gardening methods.
Jess earned her degree in fine arts from LSU and included various horticulture courses in her studies. She worked in the landscape horticulture industry for ten years before opening her own business. She currently employees one person besides herself.
Jess will redo old garden beds and install new gardens to include perennial beds, pollinator beds, vegetables/edibles. She also performs sustainable/organic gardening consultation and design work.
Jess’ business is unique in that she installs and maintains gardens without the use of any man made chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. In her words, ”We believe in the fact that our local ecosystems are intrinsically connected and that it is incredibly important to look at the whole picture for both the clients personal yard and our local urban environment as a whole. We believe gardens can be sustainable when approached through bio mimicry. Plants and soil are alive and need tending and understanding like humans and other live creatures. Plants have important symbiotic relationships with the soil, bugs, etc.. What we do is build gardens that work with these organic agricultural processes that have been happening naturally (and very successfully) on their own for millions of years”. She states that,” a key aspect of my company is our relationship with pollinators in our urban environment.”
Jess is hoping to work with local schools and city government to get more pollinator/perennials beds in the city. She has her own greenhouse in which she grows perennials and annuals to include in her plantings.
Though most of her referrals come by word-of-mouth, Jess can be reached at her website Sweet Fern Landscapes:
You can see Jess’ work first hand at the entrance to the Garden District located at Park Blvd. and Government Street. She is in the process of filling the bed with perennials and annual flowers, mulching and irrigating the bed.
Jess would like for folks to “consider ditching chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides! Its one of the best things you could do for your own health, our local environment and our ground water. There are great alternative/organic products to use as well as a wealth of information out there about how to make the switch. I think anyone who gives it a go may find it rather fulfilling.”
