Behind-the-Scenes Garden Tour: Waterfront Park
with Richard Hartlage, CEO, Land Morphology and Camille Paulsen, AHS board member
Sunday, August 2, 2026 from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. PT
Seattle, WA
$40 AHS members/$50 non-members
Join Richard Hartlage of Land Morphology for a guided walking tour of Seattle’s reimagined Waterfront Park, a sweeping 1.5-mile, 26-block landscape that reconnects the city to Elliott Bay. Designed in collaboration with Field Operations, the park stretches from Pioneer Square to Belltown, blending urban energy, ecological function, and cultural character into a cohesive public space. Each segment reflects the identity of its surrounding neighborhood—from historic districts to the vibrant Overlook Walk near Pike Place Market—creating a varied yet seamless waterfront experience. Featuring over 500 plant species and nearly 800 trees, the planting design highlights a mix of native and ornamental varieties that provide seasonal interest, habitat value, and visual richness. Thoughtfully integrated street trees, planters, and lush beds enhance the promenade, offering places to gather, explore, and connect with nature. This tour showcases how strategic landscape design can transform infrastructure into a resilient, engaging, and community-centered urban environment.
Richard Hartlage is the CEO and founding partner of Land Morphology, a Seattle-based landscape architecture practice known for its richly planted, horticulturally driven designs. His work blends deep knowledge of plants and landscape history to create immersive environments that strengthen the relationship between people and the natural world. Hartlage’s passion for horticulture was shaped through early experience in public gardens, estates, and academic studios, and continues to inform a design philosophy centered on using plants to support ecological function, spatial purpose, and sensory experience. His portfolio includes projects such as Leach Botanical Garden, the Herb and Vegetable Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Chihuly Garden and Glass, along with numerous residential and commercial landscapes across the United States. A contributor to six books, including The Authentic Garden: Naturalistic and Contemporary Planting Design in Landscape Architecture, Hartlage was honored with the Great American Gardeners Award from the American Horticultural Society for his leadership in advancing horticultural practice within landscape architecture.