Forb & Finch Native Landscaping LLC is small, full-service, woman-owned, ecological landscaping company based in Southwest Detroit. Practicing ancient gardening traditions while attending to the most current botanical science, we specialize in transforming conventional sterile lawns into beautifully-designed habitats of flora and fauna.
The Designer
A decade ago, Jen Gilchrist had a rude introduction to gardening when she returned to suburban Detroit from apartment living in NYC. In the 1990s, her mom had transformed her suburban yard into a native garden and now, due to her health issues, it was in desperate need of a revamp. This undertaking gave Jen a crash course in native plants and plantings. Since then, she has enticed hundreds of thousands of birds, butterflies, bumble bees, and dragonflies to gardens in Metro Detroit. Certified in permaculture from Oregon State University, she is an Adapt Community-Supported Ecology community leader and member of Wild Ones Wayne County, Detroit Bird Alliance, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and the Hubbard Farms Community Garden.
The Crew
Each member of the team follows best ecological practices and also brings their own expertise to their work. Aran Ruth, among her many creative talents, is a knowledgable ecogardener of perennials and vegetables. Adriana Villasusu discovered she has a genius for removing root balls by hand, but her passion is fostering beneficial insects and other pest management at her company, EWW (https://www.ewwllc.org). James Brook is formally trained by Six Rivers Land Conservatory in identifying and managing invasive plants and plans to pursue a career in environmental law. Tim Spaulding is available for beautiful hardscaping, carpentry, and eco water features. Everyone loves working outside as a team to improve local ecology. Together, the crew is hardworking, detail-oriented, and effective.
Sifting lily of the valley roots out of dirt for an in-progress French drain installation.
Another impressive rootball extraction.
The Mission
Forb & Finch Native Landscaping is committed to helping homeowners and local businesses transform their land into enjoyable, beautiful, and ecologically-beneficial landscapes. We are part of a movement to sever reliance on chemical companies and their Big Landscaping subsidiaries. We can help you catch and use your rainwater, make your own compost, raise your own vegetables, grow fruit, build attractive branch fences that promote good insects and wildlife, reduce or eliminate your lawn, and support the pollinators we rely on with gorgeous native blooms. Our clients desire different levels of self-sufficiency, but we always look for ways to make landscapes easier to maintain, more productive, and most pleasurable.
Native landscapes are a part of grass roots social justice, as we clean the air, soil, and groundwater with filtering plant roots, eschew pesticides and algae-creating fertilizer, learn to recognize naturally-occurring native plants, and exchange native plants outside of the market. We empower clients to learn about, connect to, and benefit from their land.
We want to keep money in communities. To that end, we support local and small business native nurseries, landscaping supply stores, and hardware stores in Detroit and areas local to clients. Our logo was designed by Ann Arbor artist Maia Hausler (https://maiahausler.com/wander-gather/), and our website was problem-shot by U of M MSI graduate Sabrina Yu. We are women, immigrants, queer, and trans, and we believe in human rights for everyone.