Two coastlines, a lifetime of horticulture, and a design philosophy rooted in the wild, layered beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
"A garden's highest achievement is looking like it never needed us."
Paper Crane Gardens was founded by Taylor Real in 2025 — and the studio's design philosophy grew out of a collision between two coastlines. Taylor came to Portland from the Bay Area, California, shaped by the warm, unhurried quality of coastal beach towns where landscapes feel more discovered than designed. Moving to the Pacific Northwest didn't change that sensibility, it deepened it. The PNW handed her one of the richest plant palettes on the planet while Taylor brought a Californian's instinct for warmth, softness, and organic texture to the table. What resulted is an eye for designing gardens that feel naturalistic and alive — wispy grasses, layered plant communities, hardscapes built from wood and natural stone. Rewilded, not neglected. Intentionally designed to become what they were always destined to be.
Taylor brings together a lifetime of horticultural knowledge, an OSU Master Gardener certification, and a design sensibility shaped by years of study and practice in the Pacific Northwest. After a decade in the corporate tech industry, she returned to her roots: the soil, the seasons, and the meditative work of shaping living landscapes.
The Paper Crane name carries a deeply personal meaning for Taylor. In Japanese culture, the paper crane symbolizes hope, peace, longevity, and happiness. As a child, Taylor's father would meticulously fold paper cranes from chopstick wrappers whenever they dined out — a tradition he lovingly passed down to her. In 2005, they traveled together to the Children's Peace Monument in Hiroshima, Japan, where they placed an offering of one thousand paper cranes as a symbol of peace and remembrance. His unexpected passing just four years later led Taylor to gardening as a way to honor his memory and reconnect with their shared love for the land.
That love of the land runs deep in the family. Taylor's father and grandfather were landscape designers, contractors, and nursery owners in San Jose, California — a lineage that shaped her eye long before she could name it. After moving to Oregon in 2017, she fell in love with the Pacific Northwest's extraordinary plant diversity and earned her OSU Extension Service Master Gardener Certification in 2022 — a rigorous, science-based credential that distinguishes professional-level horticultural knowledge from casual gardening expertise. Taylor has also studied under Japanese master gardeners through the Waza to Kokoro Seminar, hosted by the Japanese Garden Training Center at the Portland Japanese Garden.
Taylor holds an MBA in Design Strategy from California College of the Arts. She is a proud member of the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and the Washington & Multnomah County Master Gardener Associations.
Her Backyard Habitat Certification — granted through the Portland Audubon Society and Columbia Land Trust — reflects a demonstrated commitment to designing and maintaining ecosystems that actively support native wildlife, pollinators, and biodiversity goals beyond standard landscaping practice.
When she's not designing and maintaining landscapes, teaching gardening classes, or leading tours at the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, Taylor enjoys spending time in her own garden and raising her growing family.
Every project begins with a conversation. Tell us about your space and your vision — we'll take it from there.