Season 1
EPISODE 3
In this conversation, hosts Brit Sastrawidjaya and Bethany Rydmark sit down with acclaimed New Zealand landscape designer and author Xanthe White to explore what it truly means to design with the land, not over it. From the forests of the North Island to her formative years in the Pacific Northwest, Xanthe shares how her practice has evolved through observation, restraint, and deep relationship with soil, water, and people.
“We design better when we remember we’re part of the ecology too.”
—Xanthe White
This episode is a meditation on process: how landscape designers and builders can foster living systems through thoughtful decision-making, mindful construction, and continuous questioning. Xanthe offers wisdom on the poetry of design, the power of saying enough, and how regenerative practice starts with how we teach others to see and interact with land.
We discuss:
Human ecology as the foundation of regenerative landscape design
Soil and water as breathing, seasonal systems
Teaching teams and clients the “why” behind sustainable choices
Working with local materials and the challenge of scarcity
Designing with restraint and honoring the power of one exquisite gesture
This episode is a masterclass in slowing down, building less but better, and creating landscapes that breathe beauty and belonging.
Xanthe White is an award-winning landscape designer, author, and studio principal based in Auckland, New Zealand. Known for her poetic and ecological approach to garden-making, she has shaped some of New Zealand’s most celebrated private and public landscapes. Through her books The Natural Garden and The Good Dirt, Xanthe explores the intersection of art, ecology, and everyday life in the garden.
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