Do you want to help conserve Maine’s wildlife for a thriving, resilient future in the face of climate change and habitat loss?

Do you want to create an outdoor sanctuary where you and your guests can observe bumble bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds, and other wildlife?

Do you want to be part of an innovative ecological vision that connects wildlife and human communities in our neighborhoods and beyond?

The Service - step by step:

1. Begin with an On-Site Consultation to identify habitat gaps and to shape your own unique vision for a habitat garden(s).

2. Next, we’ll create a customized Habitat Design just for you – an ecological landscape design that provides high-value wildlife habitat for birds, pollinators (and much more), boosts biodiversity, and beautifies your yard and/or garden.

3. When your habitat design is complete we will partner with trusted subcontractors to ensure that your habitat design is installed with the highest quality and care (Garden Installation). 

• Pollinator Gardens

• Bird Gardens

• Lawn Conversions

• Habitat Hedges

hab · i · tat   gar ·den: 

noun an intentional, cultivated space designed to benefit wildlife; can be an area of your yard, a lawn alternative, or a group of plantings.

DEBORAH PERKINS

Deb is your first point of contact in your Wild By Design (WBD) experience and has deep roots in Maine. She relishes the opportunity to serve habitat heroes who dream big, and start small. You will learn a lot when you walk through your landscape with The Personal Ecologist by your side. You will see things you never noticed before. No matter what size, shape, or condition your property is in, you will discover its greater potential as an intentionally biodiverse, living landscape that will bring you pride and deep solace in today’s complicated world. Your wishes, concerns, and questions will be meaningfully addressed. You will feel hopeful and inspired, and come away with a clear view of how we can transform your space together - into a thriving sanctuary for birds, pollinators, and other species of conservation concern. After Deb’s visit you will be well on your way to making a little space for wildlife. The broader vision and goals that you defined with Deb will be captured in a colorful, hand-drawn habitat design by Larkspur (in continued collaboration with First Light).

SEANA CULLINAN

Seana leads the team of women at Larkspur Design and is passionate about designing with native New England plants and about reintroducing them into urban and built landscapes. Creating habitat and pollinator gardens combines all of her favorite things - making beautiful gardens while providing essential food and cover for insects, pollinators, amphibians, birds and more. Teaming up with Deb and Shana to make gardens for wildlife is her dream project. She’s excited to continue to help people understand how to make their landscapes more beautiful and ecologically balanced. She imagines that each habitat garden we design will become part of a growing network that will weave its way through Portland and beyond, providing food, cover, and connectivity for the insects, birds, and animals that live here.

SHANA HOSTETTER

Shana has been integral to Larkspur’s success since its inception and has worked closely with Deb on large, innovative habitat designs. Her exceptional artistic skills, stunning landscape designs, and heart-centered passion for ecological landscapes are evident in every design she works on. You will benefit from Shana’s extensive experience in permaculture and landscape planning because she instinctively knows how to plan habitat gardens that are in harmony with human patterns, practical needs, and an individual’s unique aesthetic tastes. Your landscape drawing will not only be a highly functional blueprint for your habitat garden – it will be a work of art that you may want to proudly display in your home!