“Mr. Norris sees the new botanical garden as the place to demonstrate that horticulture is culture.”
—The New York Times
About Kelly
Kelly D. Norris is one of the leading horticulturists of his generation. In his practice, he explores the intersections of people, plants, and place through ecological, site-specific design and art. An award-winning author and plantsman, Kelly’s work in gardens has been featured in The New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Fine Gardening, Garden Design, and numerous television, radio, and digital media appearances. His latest book Your Natural Garden from Cool Springs Press launches in late 2024.
Kelly’s interdisciplinary studio investigates the intersections of landscape ecology and dynamic horticulture in public and private places across North America. He’s the founder and curator of The Public Horticulture Company, an emerging ecological landscape startup based in Des Moines, Iowa. The studio annually produces the New Naturalism Academy, a virtual school for enthusiastic designers, as a commitment to continuing education and lifelong learning.
He is the former director of horticulture and education at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, where for eight years, he directed efforts in design, curation, programming, garden, and facility management after serving as the owner’s representative to nearly $20 million in capital projects.
Learn more about my planting practice at Three Oaks Garden.
Three Oaks Garden: Studio, Home and Creative Refuge
Three Oaks Garden in Des Moines, Iowa is the creation of plantsman Kelly Norris. It’s a repository of ideas, canvas for personal expression and planting field in a clearing atop an oak-covered hill above the Des Moines River.
Three Oaks is admittedly literal, referring to the oldest of the oak trees on the property; two bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa), affectionately nicknamed Big Bur and Little Bur; and a black oak (Quercus velutina). Big Bur and the black oak were likely planted around the time the house was finished in 1941. Little Bur was purportedly planted by the previous owners when they acquired the property in the 1980s. I think of that tree as a cohort given our shared decade. I’ll contribute an oak or three to the canopy along with others. My neighborhood isn’t called Oak Park for nothing.