A Conversation with Marion McNew: Garden Design, Inspiration, and the Art of Outdoor Spaces (2026 Annual Meeting Speaker)

Ahead of HPSO’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 1st, we caught up with featured speaker Marion McNew, founder of Hood River-based Mount Hood Gardens Inc., to learn more about her gardening journey, the gardens and designers that inspire her, and her approach to landscape design.

Marion will present Experiencing the Garden: Design Principles for Outdoor Living Spaces, exploring how thoughtful design, spatial structure, and naturalistic planting can transform gardens into inviting spaces to experience and enjoy.

From childhood memories of gardening with her grandmother in Germany to her appreciation for the artistry of plants, Marion shares the experiences and inspirations that have shaped her perspective as a professional garden designer.

HPSO: Let’s start at the beginning—what’s your very first gardening memory?

Marion: Helping my grandmother in Göttingen, Germany, tend to my grandfather’s cemetery plot as a child. She went there every week, and it was beautiful. My grandmother lived in an apartment, and I think it was her way of getting out and gardening. She was also an excellent cook, crafter, and dispenser of life wisdom. She had houseplants everywhere and shared cuttings with me.

HPSO: How did your interest in gardening develop, and what led you to become a professional garden designer?

Marion: Plants have always “talked” to me, and I am blessed with a green thumb. I grew up in Germany, and we traveled extensively throughout Europe. I remember a vacation on Ibiza, one of the Spanish Balearic Islands, where my sister and I nurtured some dried-up Pelargoniums planted around our cottage back to life during the two weeks we spent there.

I have also always been interested in Art in all its forms. Having been able to blend my love of plants and art as a professional garden designer has been immensely gratifying.

HPSO: If you could give your younger gardening self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Marion: To sum it up: “Perfection is an illusion!”

Gardens evolve and only stay impeccably groomed for a short period, such as during a garden tour. I still have a hard time ignoring obvious weeds or looking past a poorly pruned tree. However, I have learned to focus on the moment and enjoy gardens and plantings for their amazing beauty and uniqueness. Plants are something to marvel at. It is incredible what nature, evolution, and the skills of breeders have created.

HPSO: What gardens and garden designers have inspired you the most?

Marion: My all-time favorite garden is Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, England. I love how Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson collaborated to create magnificent gardens referencing the ancient site, essentially starting from scratch. Divided into garden rooms, Sissinghurst possesses much structure, yet also horticultural abundance, with rich, color-coordinated plantings and thriving roses.

Regarding garden designers, I admire Piet Oudolf and Julie Moir Messervy. Both gave lectures at the 2000 Perennial Plant Association (PPA) conference in Toronto, when I first learned about them.

Julie’s Music Garden in Toronto, created in collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, is a wonder. Her interpretation of the Seven Forms of Space archetypes, referring to landscape design and how different spaces affect you, was eye-opening to me.

HPSO: As a landscape designer in the Pacific Northwest, what changes are you seeing in gardening trends and priorities?

Marion: With drier years and recent low snowpacks, water is becoming an increasing consideration.

Also, in Hood River, the danger of wildfires is ever-present during the summer. They used to occur occasionally in September, up on Mt. Hood or Mt. Adams. Now they can start as early as June, close to towns. Since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire and last year’s Rowena and Boudin fires, fire sensitivity has been a prominent concern to me as a landscape designer.

Please join us in welcoming Marion to HPSO’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 1, at Portland State University’s Hoffmann Hall. We look forward to hearing more from Marion and connecting with fellow members of our gardening community!