GARDEN DESIGNS BY KRISTEN

Garden Designs by Kristen, run by Kristen Blais out of Ipswich, is part garden designer and part florist — the same eye for plants and color shows up in both her landscape work and the wedding and event florals she's been photographed and written up for since at least 2012. Houzz shows her at 4.9 stars from 27 reviews, with two Houzz Awards and two badges, serving Ipswich and more than twenty surrounding North Shore towns. Landscape reviews from 2015 through 2018 describe foundation gardens, full backyard installs, front-yard redesigns and container plantings, done on time and within budget. In a 2017 review, a customer described weeded, overgrown grasses split and a backyard transformed after Kristen listened to what they wanted and suggested alternatives that made more sense; a 2015 review described concept drawings and several large planters completed on schedule. More than one reviewer mentions neighbors asking whether the finished garden could go on a tour. The floral side runs alongside it: a 2016 review described flower arrangements made for a wedding, crediting the creativity behind the design more than the mechanics of it; Boston magazine and several wedding blogs and photographers have featured her bridal bouquets and event florals between 2012 and 2024, and she's also hired for seasonal holiday decorating, lighting included. One account breaks from the rest: in a 2016 review, a customer described plant spacing and arrangement that didn't look professionally done, work that felt rushed, and a hydrangea variety substituted for the one they'd asked for. The written history here runs through 2018, so it's worth confirming current availability — but between the design awards, the wedding-industry attention, and years of detailed landscape reviews, this is someone with a genuine, demonstrated eye for both gardens and florals.