For Paula Bass, the best gardens are thoughtfully designed spaces that are rich with seasonal beauty, alive with birds, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife, and deeply connected to the place they call home. Through Meadow Pockets, she helps homeowners transform pieces of traditional lawn into beautiful pockets of native meadow that are both ecologically vibrant and intentionally designed. 

That perspective has been shaped by many years of observation and interaction with plants and habitat. Paula earned her Design Certification in Horticulture and Sustainable Gardens from the New York Botanical Garden. She then spent over a decade  nurturing relationships with more than two dozen clients at Halsted Welles Associates in New York City, designing plantings, creating estimates, and managing work performed on their sites. 

Over the years, Paula has become increasingly drawn to native plants for their beauty and resilience, their role in supporting pollinators and birds, and ability to nurture diverse habitat. Relocating to Columbia County, NY, this long-term commitment led her to enroll in courses at Native Plant Trust and Berkshire Botanical Garden for further study. She also completed a Permaculture Design Course in NY and earned a Pollinator Stewardship Certificate with UMass Amherst. She is also ocurrently enrolled in the new Certificate program: Ecology-based Professional Landscape Practioner at New Directions in American Landscape (NDAL) 

Paula’s goal is simple: Replace portions of lawn with beautifully designed native meadows.