About Stephen
Stephen Coan creates plant-forward, ecological gardens and landscapes, guided by The Coan Method.
There are designers who work with plants, and then there is Stephen Coan, whose gardens feel less created than conjured. An award-winning independent garden and landscape design consultant, horticulturist, plantsman, artist, and endurance adventurer, Stephen’s work lives at the intersection of ecology, art, and quiet alchemy, with quietly integrated hardscaping that supports the planting rather than competing with it, throughout Southern and Middle New Jersey and the Philadelphia tri-state region with select destination projects by invitation.
Begin with a brief phone conversation to explore your goals and property. When we’re aligned, on-site consultations are scheduled and the most appropriate path forward is defined, whether that is consulting, design, or an integrated project.
Winter ascent. The same patience, precision, and respect for terrain that guides my work in gardens.
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About Stephen | Recognition & Credentials | Design Philosophy | Planting Philosophy | Availability & Openings | FAQs | Client Experiences
Training and Foundations
Born in Philadelphia and trained at Longwood Gardens, Stephen holds certifications in Landscape Design and Ornamental Horticulture (Levels 1, 2, and 3), with additional study in ecological and sustainable landscape practice. His education continued through fieldwork and direct study through classes, lectures, and in-person programs with leading voices in contemporary naturalistic and nature-inspired design, including Piet Oudolf, Noel Kingsbury, Nigel Dunnett, Cassian Schmidt, Larry Weaner, Claudia West, and others.
In Stephen’s work, that foundation shows up as gardens and landscapes composed with horticultural precision, ecological intelligence, and quietly integrated hardscaping that supports the planting rather than competing with it, designed to mature with clarity and beauty over time.
The Work
Stephen describes his work simply: “I sculpt living landscapes that breathe, evolve, and attract life. Gardens that begin in silence, then fill with wings.” His gardens are lush, layered, and biologically rich, drawing pollinators and birds quickly while remaining composed and intentional. Many projects meet criteria recognized as Certified Wildlife Habitat Gardens (NWF) and Certified Pollinator Habitat Gardens (Xerces Society), grounded in deep horticultural knowledge and an artist’s sensitivity to form, texture, color, and time.
Art, Craft, and the Landscape as Living Design
A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art (BFA), Stephen studied under revered visual thinkers, including Ben Lifson, Alida Fish, Peter Rose, Ron Walker, Gene Baguskas, and Al Ignari, and apprenticed with Seymour Mednick, a disciple of Alexey Brodovitch in the Bauhaus design lineage. This early immersion in conceptual art shaped the way he sees landscapes: not as static compositions, but as living works of temporal design, where time is a material and seasons are part of the architecture.
Fieldwork, Exploration, and Endurance
His path has never been linear. Stephen has carried still and motion cameras through the mountains of North America, the rainforests of Central America, Caribbean winds, and the carved stone landscapes of Europe. He is a retired semi-pro downhill mountain bike racer; an accomplished ice climber, rock climber, mountaineer, backpacker, sea kayaker; and occasional crewman aboard historic tall ships. Among his favorite climbing spots is The Bugaboos in British Columbia, “an impossibly beautiful fortress of stone and light.”
Stephen’s explorations in remote wild backcountry have even led to the discovery of a new hybridized plant species, soon to be formally named and introduced to the market, a quiet testament to his intimate, hands-on relationship with the botanical world.
Today, he trains on a handcrafted Italian Fausto Coppi Columbus Foco road bike, riding long-distance endurance routes before venturing into alpine conditions for extreme day climbs, winter ascents, and skiboarding sessions that feel more like flight.
He has quietly shaped the Philadelphia cycling and adventure community, co-founding the long-running Belmont Plateau Thursday Night mountain bike Race Series (est. 1989), still held today, and creating the legendary Crazy Cruiser Crawl, a 32-mile rolling city odyssey that has been imitated across the country.
Trained in Wilderness First Aid and CPR, Stephen has assisted strangers and fellow adventurers on mountainsides and city sidewalks alike, and advocates for Road iD bracelets for adventurers who understand the fine line between risk and revelation.
Teaching, Speaking, and Mentorship
Stephen has taught at the University of the Arts, lectured nationally, served on the Academic Advisory Board for the Philadelphia Art Institute, and mentored students from around the country.
His speaking engagements include APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers), The Native Plant Society of New Jersey, The Tri-County Sustainability Alliance, Audubon Sustainable Green Team, Oaklyn Green Team, Perkins Center for the Arts, The University of the Arts, Moore College of Art, and many others.
Fine Art and Conceptual Work
As a classically trained and conceptually driven artist, Stephen’s mediums have spanned clay, wood, furniture, jewelry, land art, photography, film, sound, and sculpture. One of his most celebrated landscape works, a conceptual labyrinth and wildlife habitat, was created for the Montessori Academy, aligned with the sunrises and sunsets of equinoxes and solstices.
His art has earned international recognition in Communication Arts, Graphis, and multiple Philly Gold Awards. As associate producer, he contributed to the award-winning independent feature film “My Best Friend’s Wife,” featuring John Stamos, Meredith Salenger, and Daniel London.
One patron writes: “Stephen Coan’s work carries the quiet force of something ancient, style, substance, and story bound together in a language only he speaks.”
His conceptual project, “QuantuM Chaos,” explores Chaos Theory, M-Theory, and Quantum Mechanics through allegorical imagery, clouds rendered as shifting expressions of thought, existence, and instability. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows across the United States and Europe, and is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
QuantuM Chaos is Stephen’s conceptual fine art photography book, now presented here with a dedicated portfolio.
Where Stephen Works
Rooted in the living ecologies of New Jersey and the Philadelphia tri-state region, Stephen accepts only a limited number of commissions each season, gardens conceived as intimate works of art shaped in deep collaboration with place.
Select destination projects are undertaken nationwide by invitation, when a site calls for the rare fusion of craftsmanship, horticultural mastery, and narrative-driven design that defines his work.
Travel and accommodations are provided by the client, allowing Stephen to bring the full expression of The Coan Method™ wherever the landscape requires it.
Fine Art Photography Projects
Commissioned Photography Projects
Further biographical material available upon request.
Fieldwork and Endurance
The landscapes I design are shaped by fieldwork. Years spent moving through mountains, winter terrain, and exposed environments trained how I read topography, weather, texture, and plant communities. That field practice is still ongoing through mountain climbs in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, often 10–20 mile days moving up and down multiple peaks, using the route as active field study of plant communities and their shifts across exposure, moisture, and elevation, the work that led to a new hybrid plant discovery. I circle back to many of these routes in different seasons and stages of the year, building a long view of how plant communities establish, compete, and evolve along the same terrain. That same “in the field” sensitivity shows up in my garden work: quiet structure, precise placement, and a deep respect for how living systems behave over time.
Mountaineering, Ice, and Rock Climbing
Where I’ve Climbed
I’ve climbed across the United States and Canada, in environments where conditions, exposure, and terrain demand attention and restraint.
Selected locations include:
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The Bugaboos, British Columbia (mountaineering and rock climbing)
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Canmore, Banff, and the Radium Highway corridor, Alberta/BC (ice climbing)
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Smith Rock, Oregon (rock climbing)
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Frenchman Coulee, Vantage, Washington (rock climbing)
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Ouray, Colorado (ice climbing)
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Vail and Breckenridge, Colorado (ice climbing)
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The Gunks, New York (rock climbing)
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Seneca Rocks, West Virginia (rock climbing)
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Adirondacks, New York (rock climbing and backcountry terrain)
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Mt. Rainier, Washington (mountaineering)
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Mt. St. Helens, Washington (Ape Cave lava tube)
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Stowe and Killington, Vermont (climbing and winter terrain)
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Various cliffs and crags around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (rock and ice climbing)
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Plus many others across the United States and Canada
Skiboarding
Skiboarding
Skiboards are short, wide, highly maneuverable skis. The feeling is closer to skating than traditional skiing, quick, playful, and precise, with terrain that becomes a moving line of decisions.
Favorite Skiboards
RVL8
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Playmaker 107: rockered, zero camber, stiff, all-terrain (including powder and groomers) with Tyrolia Attack release bindings. My favorites.
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Sticky Icky Icky 104: 5mm camber, strong on hardpack and icy conditions with Tyrolia Attack release bindings.
Summit
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Marauder 125 cm RS: wide-body platform with traditional camber, built for all-mountain riding, powder, and speed, with Atomic M10 release bindings.
Also
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Head Shape Skiblades (Tyrolia Sympro release bindings): light and compact, useful when I want something that can strap to a pack for climbing up and riding down.
Trusted Shops
My go-to skiboard tuner and backcountry gear shop is Mountain Ops in Stowe, Vermont, a premier outdoor gear shop specializing in skiing and mountain biking equipment, rentals, and expert services.
For backcountry activities in the Adirondacks, I also rely on The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, New York, another premier outdoor shop known for high-level guidance and mountain-ready equipment.
What This Means in the Garden
Fieldwork teaches you to respect conditions, read terrain honestly, and design for what will endure. In my landscapes, that translates into composed planting built on ecology, quietly integrated hardscaping that supports movement and water, and a garden that grows more coherent and meaningful over time.
Begin the Conversation
If you’d like to explore a landscape shaped by ecology, craft, and quietly integrated structure, begin with a brief application. If we’re aligned, we’ll schedule a complimentary phone conversation, then an on-site consultation as appropriate to define the best path forward.