Our mission
Dear Avant Gardener aims to bring joy, bolster biodiversity, and mitigate climate change through our courses, consulting, and newsletter on the art and science of ecological landscaping.
Why ecological gardening and why now?
Green lawns are anything but green.
Traditional yard care — whether based on traditional horticulture or organic agriculture — contributes to climate change and the biodiversity crisis.
Lawn mowers and other gas-powered yard equipment generates more than 5% of all air pollution in the U.S.
Yard trimming account for more than 7% of waste sent to landfill, where it produces methane, trapping heat 30x more effectively than CO2.
Turf grass is the country’s largest irrigated crop — three times larger than any other — covering an area bigger than the state of New York and soaking up 30 to 60% of the fresh water used in urban areas.
The biodiversity crisis.
In addition, homeowner plant choices and pesticide use are contributing to large scale biodiversity loss, a threat to all life on earth.
On average, homeowners use 10x the amount of pesticides and fertilizers per acre on their lawns as farmers do on crops.
Insect populations are crashing — 40% of insect species globally are declining and one third are endangered. And insects are, as Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson said “the little things that run the world.”
Runoff from over-fertilized lawns causes offshore dead zones, decimating seagrass meadows, the second most efficient ecosystem for carbon storage.
Sadly, our destructive landscaping practices do not even create enticing landscapes. On average, Americans spend only 7% of our time outdoors — and most of that is moving between a car and a building.
New research is modernizing landscaping practices; we make it accessible to the backyard gardener.
While awareness of the detrimental effect of traditional yard care has grown over the past decade, research-based advice and resources to transform a yard into a biodiverse haven remain scarce. We aim to change that.
Dear Avant Gardener closes the gap by sharing the latest research on the design, installation, and maintenance of yards that support wildlife and mitigate climate change.
Join us — and delight in your yard.
Native plants and ecological landscaping are impactful.
The good news is that replacing exotic turf and plants with locally native ones transforms a yard from the environmental hazard into a beautiful space that supports biodiversity and stores carbon — all while being lower maintenance in the longterm.
Native plants are adapted to the soil and weather where they evolved, so they don’t need irrigation or chemicals to thrive.
Natural landscapes of deep-rooted native plants sequester much more carbon than do turf grasses, which are shallow-rooted exotics.
Native plants are often the only usable food by native insects that evolved with them — just as milkweed is necessary to monarch caterpillars.
We can each make a difference.
This transformation works on a small scale, as well as a large scale. In our own yards, the natives we have planted are attracting hummingbirds and goldfinches and even salamanders, as well as monarchs, that weren’t here a year ago. On a large scale, thanks to a decades-long program of planting natives on city-owned land, New York City has become the most biodiverse large city in the world.
Inspiring others
Research shows that people are more likely to change their behavior to mitigate climate change when they see others doing something than when they learn about the harmful effects of their actions. And yards are very visible. When each of us transforms a yard, we inspire many others to do so — multiplying our individual impacts.
Since launching in 2022, Dear Avant Gardener now has more than 10,000 newsletter subscribers. We offer a course to transform your yard, as well as consulting for those not into DIY. Through our own yards and those of our subscribers, students, and clients, we are helping accelerate a broader transformation of the American landscape to mitigate climate change and promote biodiversity.
Our story
Dear Avant Gardener is run by Heather and Zoe Evans, a mother-daughter duo with a shared passion for ecological landscaping and thoughtful design.
Our professional backgrounds span science, research, analytics, consulting, and coaching. Together we are a powerhouse team that inspires folks to create outdoor living spaces they adore. We empower people to feel comfortable getting their hands dirty, confident they’re applying the latest research-based methods.
Homeschooling in New York City
Heather raised and homeschooled Zoe and her three younger sisters in New York City, where she was also born and grew up. She designed her homeschooling curriculum to develop her daughters’ skills as naturalists: curiosity and the ability to observe closely; willingness to experiment and — equally important — risk getting things wrong; and appreciation of healthy sensory pleasures — sun on skin, moving through water, the scent and taste of wild strawberries. Through tending planter boxes on our East Village rooftop garden together, making regular trips to local botanic and community gardens, and hands-on science experiments using natural materials, Heather successfully nurtured an enjoyment of nature in all her children.
Digging in with native plants
Later on, Heather and Zoe both became interested in gardening with native plants, driven by our shared anxieties about the climate and biodiversity crises, unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and love of creating spaces where we enjoy spending time. Initially, we both hired landscape designers, architects, contractors, etc. to create ecological gardens at our homes. We had some successes and many frustrations hiring others.
Transforming our yards, ourselves
Heather decided she could do better and embarked on becoming a pro herself, becoming a master gardener, experimenting at her own properties, and applying her background in analytics and design management to in-depth research into ecological garden design.
In 2022, she launched the Dear Avant Gardener newsletter to make research-based yardening advice available to others. At the same time, Zoe was starting to transform her new yard in Hudson Valley, NY. Heather coached Zoe and documented the process in her newsletter. The transformation was so successful — and fun — that we decided to create an online course to help others transform their yards.
Empowering you to do it yourself
As we’ve worked in our own yards, we’ve both made gardening missteps. Some mistakes, like neglecting to water recent plantings, epitomize "rookie error." Others stem from the preponderance of outdated information from nurseries, garden writers, and landscape professionals. We’ve also been confused by conflicting advice from those experimenting with garden ecology — it’s an evolving practice, after all. Through Dear Avant Gardener’s newsletter, courses, and consulting services, we share what we’ve learned and empower others to make their own yards more eco, joyful, and easy-care.
We have both discovered the joy of bringing landscapes alive and are spending more time in our yards than we could ever have imagined. We want to bring you that joy.
Meet the team
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Heather Evans
WRITER & COACH
Heather (she/her) is a master gardener and former chief marketing officer who's passionate about design and the environment. She gardens in Florida and Rhode Island.
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Zoe Evans
COACH & DESIGNER
Zoe (she/they) is an avid dirt digger. A former neuroscientist, she loves art and horseback riding and cares deeply about social and environmental justice. She gardens in California and New York.
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Peter Tirrell
CARTOON EDITOR
Pete (he/him) has a degree in wildlife ecology and previously worked in environmental resources and information technology. An avid birder, he serves on the friends board of a national wildlife refuge.