Our Story

We both grew up in a small town in Missouri and, after college and some traveling, found our way to Portland in 2007. We intended to stay for a couple of years but became strongly attached to this special city and the natural surroundings. We couldn’t imagine ever leaving.

We bought a little house in 2009 and went to work removing the lawn and planting edible and native plants. With only a little bit of gardening experience at that time, we made a lot of mistakes—selected plants that were much too large for the space, planted fruit trees that were more work than we could manage, let the wrong weeds get too comfortable. We read books, took free classes wherever we could find them, volunteered on some plant-related projects, took some herbalism courses, and kept experimenting in our garden.

Shawna worked as a teacher for the visually impaired and Tim worked for a non-profit and then a few construction contractors. Needing a change of pace professionally, Tim got a job at Garden Fever in 2017. He felt immediately at home and knew that working with plants was what he wanted to stick with into the future.

In 2019, Shawna decided she needed a new career direction, and around that time we learned that Livingscape, a nursery a few blocks from our home, was for sale. We had been shopping there since we moved to Portland so were very familiar with it. After a long process that was further delayed by the pandemic, we got ownership in October of 2020.

Two years into operating Livingscape, we learned that Garden Fever was for sale, and it seemed like a natural progression for us. We inquired, things fell into place as they needed to, and we started work here in mid-February of 2023, just before the twenty-year anniversary of the opening of the store.

We’re so grateful and excited to be here. The original owners of Garden Fever, Richard and Lori, have been so supportive throughout this process, as have the amazing staff, customers, and surrounding community. Our hope is to continue the great things the store has provided gardeners and plant enthusiasts for the past twenty years, while also making some changes along the way to reflect our own interests and creativity.