Garden Moxie
For those who believe gardens deserve serious attention. Learn the design principles behind extraordinary gardens and apply them to create spaces that are intentional, immersive, and timeless.
The Work
I’m Sue Libertiny, a mechanical engineer who stepped away from a career to build a garden. I’m building a garden from the ground up on 20 acres in Kentucky—applying and refining the design principles behind enduring gardens in real conditions.
Before Kentucky, I gardened for years on an established property in Michigan — a place with mature beds, fertile soil, and the kind of history that only time can build. When my husband and I made the decision to move and build from the ground up, that familiar garden was left behind. Rabbit Run is where we landed in the meantime: a working base, a testing ground, and a temporary home while our permanent home, Sugar Hill, takes shape.
Rabbit Run is, in every sense, an experimental garden — I’m applying and demonstrating principles in real conditions. Learning what works and what doesn’t. These lessons will shape Sugar Hill.
The Perspective
Great gardens are not accidents. They are built from a series of design decisions — about enclosure, movement, perspective, and time. Here, you’ll learn how to make those decisions in your own space.
Garden Moxie draws from both lived experience and the work of historic gardeners to explore what makes a garden not just beautiful, but meaningful. I’m focused on the design principles that help make spaces extraordinary.
Garden Moxie Field Notes
Garden Moxie Field Notes is a letter that arrives every other week. A quiet record of the garden as it unfolds. Documenting the development of a garden—and the principles behind it. Each letter connects what is happening here in Kentucky with the ideas and traditions that have shaped gardens for generations.
Latest from the Garden
After a frustrating first attempt and a windstorm that had other plans, I found myself asking: why do some container displays feel pulled together while others just fall flat? The answer turned out to be hiding in interior design all along.
In this video, I’ll walk you through how I transformed my patio shelf display using the triangular rule — a simple technique that creates visual depth and draws the eye to what matters most. Along the way, you’ll see how small changes like pot color, plant grouping, and layering height can completely change the feel of a container garden.
Start with the foundations of great garden design
If you’re new to Garden Moxie, I suggest you begin with the design principles that help us create beautiful spaces.
Start with the Bones
Why structure matters more than plants
Timeless Design Principles
The elements that make a garden feel complete
What Great Gardens Teach Us
Lessons from the designers who built them
These aren’t quick tips. They are the design principles that help us build extraordinary spaces.