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ALISON PECK
While not born with a green thumb, enchantment with the Earth and delight in design emerged early in
Alison Peck’s life. By the first Earth Day (1970) she was designing ‘eco-homes’ to help us live lightly.
In her teens she started designing and creating clothing, jewelry, furniture and graphics. Through several
twists of fate Alison emerged from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Physics and Chemistry and a passion for
organic farming and Permaculture. After moving to Boulder in 1980, she was an Energy Agent for the CU
Extension Service in Denver, teaching energy conservation and solar energy. In 1984 she started Matrix Gardens
with the desire to create landscapes which benefit the Earth; producing food and habitat instead of consuming
water and chemicals. This early pragmatism has been enriched over time. She has awakened to the beauty of plants
and the joys of working with a delightful variety of customers and employees. Alison continues to enjoy creating
landscapes which are a unique fit for each person(s) and place, and which invite people into outdoor living.
Alison is a leader in sustainable landscaping—landscaping that works with green building to create homes
and communities
which reduce resource consumption and work towards environmental restoration. A talk in early 2005 catalyzed
the formation of a sustainable landscaping study group comprised of contractors and designers. In 2007, this
became the Front Range Sustainable Landscaping Coalition (FRSLC).
Alison has been featured in articles in the New York Times and Landscape Architecture. Her designs have
won several ‘Excellence in Landscape’ awards from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, and have
been written up in Sunset magazine and numerous regional magazines and newspapers. She writes for the Colorado
Gardener and teaches Xeriscape, Landscape Design and Irrigation classes in the Front Range.
CHRIS WOODS
Chris has been gardening in Colorado since she moved here from Pennsylvania in 1984. She started her career
as a graphic designer and now uses those skills to design landscapes. Chris joined Matrix Gardens full-time
in 2008, and has a degree in Horticulture and a certificate in Landscape Design. She has a strong commitment
to client-driven and Earth-friendly landscape design, and enjoys collaborating with her clients to create a
landscape that satisfies her clients’ needs and goals.
Chris is a founding member of the Front Range Sustainable Landscaping Coalition, a group which was formed in
2007 to research, educate and promote sustainable landscaping. She is certified by
PACE (Partners for a Clean Environment) and in GreenCO’s Best Management Practices, both geared toward using
environmentally conscious approaches to landscape design and installation.
When Chris is not designing she enjoys gardening on her property in Lafayette, hiking, traveling, singing
and playing various instruments. |
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