Ravenna · Northeast Seattle
A gardener who actually lives down the street.
I'm Petra. I plant, prune, weed, and keep gardens in Ravenna and the blocks around it looking like someone loves them — one visit or all year round.
- Free
- 20-minute walkthrough
- Half day
- smallest booking
- No
- synthetic pesticides
“Gardens here are patient. Wet winters, dry Augusts, and clay that rewards anyone willing to wait a season.”
Services
Everything a city garden needs, done by hand
No crews, no leaf blowers at 7am. Just steady, careful work on the garden you already have.
Seasonal cleanups
Spring wake-ups and fall tidy-ups — cutting back, weeding, and clearing leaves, with the clippings loaded into your yard debris bin or extra green waste bags.
Pruning & shaping
Well-timed cuts for shrubs, hedges, roses, and small fruit trees, made to keep light and airflow where the plant wants them.
Planting & bed design
Right plant, right place for our wet winters and dry Augusts — borders, shade beds, and pollinator patches that fill in over time.
Weeding & soil care
Mulching, edging, and compost top-ups that make beds look cared for now and cut down the weeding next season.
Containers & small spaces
Porch pots, balconies, and parking strips planted for year-round interest in a very small footprint.
Ongoing maintenance
A standing visit — weekly, every other week, or monthly — so the garden never gets far enough ahead to feel like a project.
Yard clippings go into your yard debris bin, or into extra green waste bags left out for collection. When neither will do — no bin, or far more than a collection day can take — I can haul the debris away for an extra fee, quoted before I load anything.
About Petra
Hello from a few blocks away
I garden in Northeast Seattle, mostly within walking distance of Ravenna Park. I take on a small number of gardens on purpose — it means I know which hydrangea sulks in August and which corner floods every November, and I can plan around both.
I work without synthetic pesticides, put what I cut into your yard debris bin so it goes to the city's compost, and choose plants that suit Puget Sound rather than fighting it. If something in your garden is struggling, I'd rather tell you why than sell you a replacement.
Most of my work comes from neighbors talking to neighbors, which is the way I like it.
- One gardener, start to finish — you always know who's coming
- Clippings loaded into your yard debris bin, or bagged for pickup
- Photos and a short note after every visit
- Quotes in writing before any work starts
How it works
Three steps, no pressure
- 1
Say hello
Send a note with your address and a couple of photos. I'll come by for a free 20-minute walkthrough, usually within a week.
- 2
A plain quote
You get it in writing: what gets done, how long it takes, what it costs. Extras like debris hauling are priced on their own line. No packages, no subscriptions, nothing automatic.
- 3
Steady care
One visit or a standing schedule, your call. After each visit I leave a short note on what I did and what's coming next.
Where I work
Ravenna first, then the neighbors
I keep the service area small enough to reach every garden without getting in the car more than I have to.
- Ravenna
- Bryant
- Wedgwood
- Roosevelt
- Maple Leaf
- Laurelhurst
- View Ridge
- Hawthorne Hills
- University District
- Windermere
Somewhere close by but not on the list? Ask anyway — if I can walk or bike to it, the answer is usually yes.
Questions
The things people ask first
- Do I need to be home?
- No. As long as I can reach the garden and a water spigot, you can be at work — I'll send photos afterwards.
- What happens to the clippings?
- They go into your yard debris bin. If the job makes more than the bin holds, I bring extra green waste bags and leave them out for collection — anything diseased is bagged separately so it doesn't spread.
- Can you take the debris away?
- Only when there's no other option — no bin, or far more than a collection day can take. Hauling it off is an extra fee on top of the visit, quoted before I load anything, so it's never a surprise on the invoice.
- Do you work in the rain?
- This is Seattle, so yes. Only hard freezes, high wind, or a real downpour move a visit, and I'll always tell you the day before.
- What's the smallest job you take?
- A half day, about three hours. That's usually enough for a small city garden to feel completely different.
Tell me about your garden
Send a note with your address and a photo or two. I'll reply within a couple of days with a time to come look — no charge, no obligation.
Monday–Saturday, 8am–5pm · Ravenna, Seattle, WA