Reviews

February 2025
”I wanted beautiful landscaping for a 2 bedroom WWII era bungalow in North Portland. My hope: Make it one of the two most beautiful landscapes in the neighborhood, something to brighten the look and feel of the entire double-long block. 

First, my gardener wife and I drove all the blocks in North Portland, looking for the most beautiful yard. When we found one that stood out from ALL the others, we knocked on the front door and asked the owner who designed it. Answer: Holly Stickley of The White Pear. 

I called Holly immediately and set an appointment to meet us at the property. She listened well to our wants and don’t wants, then gave us several new-to-us ideas. Next she created a great design. Because there were so many different plants of different sizes in the design, I can't imagine going to a commercial nursery, finding the particular plants and then transporting all of them to the house. And then, the amount of work to plant them.  Holly arranged for all of that, including a contractor to prepare the ground and install highly efficient drip irrigation to lower the water bills while feeding the plants more appropriately. Finally, she oversaw the plantings so everything went precisely according to design. Even better than I’d hoped for!

Thanks to Holly, we now have a splendid assortment of attractive plants and trees. Holly’s designer eye gave us the landscaping that definitely improves the look and value of the property.  A 10 on a 10-scale for sure!” ~ Ray R.

“Holly and the White Pear team are fantastic to work with!  We are first time homeowners, so it was really helpful to have someone who was very experienced and easy to work with.  Holly had great vision for our project, yet remained very open to feedback and hearing about our goals and was very accommodating to making a couple revisions to our plans along the way. Holly incorporated many unique spaces for us into one comprehensive design - a "view garden" with fountain, a cozy fireplace hangout space on a modern paver patio and an extended deck for dining.  Holly is a great communicator who isn't afraid to email, text or pick up the phone to connect depending on what is most efficient.  She even went above and beyond on two occasions - accommodating a surprise gift card request of our parents who wanted to contribute to the project and becoming a preferred seller of a fireplace we wanted so she could pass along a discount to us.  We cannot recommend Holly and The White Pear enough!” ~ Kristy Q.

“I first found Holly on the Houzz website after looking for someone who could bring beauty and aesthetics to the sorely-neglected back yard of our 1910 Craftsman home. I was impressed and inspired by pictures of other jobs she had completed and was hopeful she could perform the same magic for us. From the moment we first met Holly, she was warm and engaging, listening carefully to what our ideas were and very intuitively crafting a plan to suit our preferences, our lifestyle, and our home. Her designs included both landscape and hardscape materials, and she included plants of our request, as well as new plants we had not considered. 

We are beyond happy with the results and hope to spend a lot more time outside, especially with family and friends. In addition to Holly's natural eye for beauty, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise. She is extremely detail-oriented, thorough and efficient, with a get-it-done mentality. 

My texts, emails and phone calls are always promptly returned and I am confident she will follow through on things we've talked about. I already have a growing list of future projects as well as finishing touches to be added to our back yard and look forward to the pleasure of an ongoing relationship with Holly and The White Pear.” ~ Robyn W.

“After years of trying to landscape our yard ourselves, we finally sought the help of a professional, and found that in Holly. She was fun, responsive, had a lot of great ideas, and turned our yard into a garden. We love it and we can't wait to watch it grow in the coming years. Do yourself a favor, and call her! You won't be disappointed!” ~ Celeste L.

“I totally loved working with Holly! She's very thorough and professional but also was very accommodating to my needs. She's really easy to work with, and we found a flow that worked great. I am so happy with my yard! Every day it puts a smile on my face. I would for sure recommend.” ~ Ashley M.

"I have lived in my house for 15 years. Last year, I hired Holly Stickley of The White Pear to design my backyard. I had never worked with a designer before, so I had a lot of questions. Holly answered all of them as she walked me through the process. In addition to utilizing plants and materials that I already had, she introduced me to exciting new plants. I love the serene Northwest/Asian atmosphere the The White Pear created."
~ Peg R.

"Holly is extremely easy to work with.  She listens to your input and is not afraid to tap into her extensive knowledge of plant material to make excellent suggestions. For us, Holly was able to create a sophisticated but relaxed backyard environment. Best of all, Holly makes the whole experience fun."  ~ Max & Ron

“Holly, I want to take this moment to let you know how grateful I am for your talents... I went from room to room on this bright and brisk December morning to look out the window at my backyard gardens.  From every window I saw nature's beauty and the results of your artistic eye with your minute detail for color and texture selection, plant placement, bent for tidiness, and plant variety. No one can take this talent from you nor measure up to your unique love for bringing to the forefront outdoor loveliness. What a gift - thank you for sharing your gift with our family. Thank you, again, my sister and best friend" ~ Lani

“We moved into a three year old house last spring. The landscape wasn't what we wanted and it didn't have much cohesiveness so we looked on line and saw some work that Holly had done. We hired her to give us a design that we'd construct ourselves. Holly communicated with us frequently through email and sent us links to ideas of plants and hardscape she wanted our feedback on. She provided some unique ideas such as pleached trees that provide a visual barrier but aren't too deep. We gave her some tough criteria with making room for a green house, raised garden beds, a fire pit, and extended patio with built-in barbecue. She seemed to hit it all. We've just started moving some of the shrubs and trees in the yard per the design she provided and the initial impression is very positive. Along the back we wanted some height for screening, and she recommended transplanting an evergreen magnolia which we had in the front yard. After we moved it to the back, it was a nice improvement. We look forward to installing the rest of the landscaping over the next several months.” ~ Stuart M.