medford Native Plant and landscape design Projects
August 2026
Landscape design was a field in my periphery up until this past year. I enjoyed attending public lectures hosted by GSD’s Landscape Architecture department, and MassAudubon nature programs throughout the years, but hadn’t personally considered applying my artistic training to projects outside of fashion, textiles, and product design.
Since I started renting a studio at Arts Collaborative Medford (ACM) earlier this year however, I’ve started freelance projects with a host of local organizations and people affiliated with ACM.
Being enlisted into a delightful community of botanists, landscape designers, gardeners, Medford’s Forestry and Parks divisions, city council, and neighbors that push these projects forward has been unexpected, and incredibly rewarding. I’m excited to share my current progress, and see this effort develop further in the coming months!
Plant tag design project
September 2026
One of the organizations that ACM partners with is Wilderscaping, founded by landscape designer and native plant authority Dan Bender. Last spring, ACM hired Dan to establish a native plant garden in the front of their property.
The garden is divided into five beds and about two dozen native species are planted. ACM currently enlists the help of volunteers to maintain the site. However, Dan wanted to ensure the plants would not be mistaken for weeds and accidentally removed by volunteers.
To assist with this effort, Dan hired me to design plant ID tags that will be placed next to each plant. The photos below detail the process of designing and producing 21 unique tag designs.
The planting site in front of ACM
ACM’s species chart. Dan requested the bolded names to receive a tag design.
Initial pen and ink drawings based on internet images and on-site field visits
All the tags, scanned, digitally cleaned, and vectorized.
Material Prototyping
Engraving test on stainless steel - four hours were spent calibrating and testing the material until the settings were optimized. Finally, a clear result! I used a MOPA laser, a machine that engraves dense materials like stainless steel using 60 watt power. However, the metal engraving ended up taking about 3 hours per tag, so unfortunately not feasible for production…
Some alternate material options - pin oak, black walnut, poplar, and acrylic. These engraved much faster and will be easier to produce in large quantities. The wood isn’t as weather/uv resistant as stainless steel, so will have to put a coat of sealant down after. Acrylic was just for funsies because there were scrap pieces available, but doesn’t exactly convey the project’s environmental ethos haha.
Next step: get feedback from the ACM community!
Barry Park Redesign Project
More photos and project info soon!