Hello Lisa.

Welcome back to another edition of THE PENCIL CASE! Each issue explores a fresh theme to inspire new ways of thinking about garden design and graphics.

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This week, we’re turning our attention to WHY WE CRAVE SPACE...the universal urge to create rooms, enclosures, and places of our own. From childhood forts to our current gardens, we’ll explore what drives this need and how it shapes the way we design.

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Why am I talking about creating space? Because it’s the basic building block of landscape design. We aren’t just arranging plants—we’re shaping garden rooms for ourselves and for our clients. If you’re new to landscape design, this is a foundational idea I’d love for you to explore as you start your own design journey. 

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And if this sparks your curiosity—please join me for a free masterclass this month: Structure + Soul: Understanding Spatial Design vs. Planting Design. More information later in this newsletter. ♥︎

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The garden above right is a Children's play house in Boston, Massachusetts. Both garden spaces below are located in Des Moines, Iowa.

FORTS, GARDENS + THE SPACES WE CLAIM

When I was a kid, I built forts everywhere...blankets draped over chairs in the living room, branches leaned together in the woods, even Lego block rooms for my tiny plastic figures. There was something magical about stepping inside a little world that I had shaped myself. It wasn’t just about privacy; it was about belonging to a place where I could create my own world. Sound familiar?

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That craving runs deeper than childhood play. In fact, researchers like Jay Appleton have shown that humans are drawn to landscapes that balance prospect (the ability to look out) and refuge (the feeling of being sheltered). It’s a survival instinct baked into us: we want to see without being seen. In a way, every fort, nook, or garden enclosure is an echo of that ancient need.

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Developmental psychologists note that this drive begins early...children naturally seek to define, claim, and control space as part of understanding themselves in the world. Creating a “secret place” is as much about identity as it is about play. And as adults, we don’t lose that impulse; we just channel it differently.

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The garden below is located in Charleston, South Carolina.

In the garden, design gives us a language to answer that need for enclosure. Walls of plants, patterned ground planes, a tree canopy overhead—all translate instinct into experience. They remind us that space isn’t empty; it’s something we shape to feel safe, connected, and fully alive.

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So the next time you step outside, notice what spaces make you pause. Where do you feel sheltered, connected, or free? Our craving for space isn’t just a design challenge—it’s a timeless human need.

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Think back to your childhood forts. What made them special—seclusion, openness, comfort, play? How might you echo that quality in a garden today?

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Below is a cozy garden room in Des Moines, Iowa.

FREE MASTERCLASS: STRUCTURE + SOUL. Curious about how to actually shape space in your designs? In this class, I’ll show you the difference between spatial design (the structure of garden rooms) and planting design (the soul you add within them). You’ll leave with an understanding of why starting with space changes everything. Click here to join me.

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If you know someone that needs a bit of garden inspiration, please feel free to share this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe right here. I also keep a VAULT of past issues in this secret location.

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Keep exploring, sketching, and discovering the spaces that bring you joy.

From the studio + garden,

Lisa 

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PAPER GARDEN WORKSHOP

Thank you to Mandy Orgler for designing the lovely graphics in all these newsletters.