What Sparked it All
What the Front Yard Means to Me
My name is Wanjing Ji. I’m a landscape architect and the founder of Ping Design.
If the pandemic brought any silver lining, it was a renewed awareness of how vital outdoor spaces are to our daily lives. I was pregnant with my daughter when the world shut down. I stopped traveling to the Middle East for work and instead spent long days in front of a screen—leading design teams and coordinating with consultants across time zones, from early morning into the night. The most peaceful part of my day became the evening walks I took with my husband around our neighborhood.
Those walks changed how I saw front yards. We started noticing the little things—who had a tree in bloom, whose peonies were especially vibrant, who had a small fountain quietly bubbling in the corner. We didn’t know every neighbor by name, but we came to know their yards. Each one felt like a quiet conversation, a gesture of welcome. It wasn’t just about how a yard looked—it was how it made people feel. It became clear to me: a front yard is a social act. It draws people in, sparks connection, and creates community.
At the beginning of 2024, I left my demanding design job to start my own practice. I wanted to bring my years of experience—from high-end residential to large-scale international projects—into something more grounded and immediate. My own front yard became the first test ground.
Urban front yards are still largely dominated by manicured lawns. But we see tremendous potential in these small spaces—potential to hold a much bigger agenda.
What if a front yard could manage stormwater more responsibly? What if it could be a place for play, for learning, for biodiversity? What if it could showcase native plantings, reuse materials, and spark neighborhood connections?
We want all of that. In a space this small, we believe more is more—layered, rich, and full of possibility.
What We Hoped to Achieve in the Front Yard Design
We wanted a space that sparks joy—somewhere informal and inviting, where neighbors, especially families with children, feel welcome to stop, play, and connect with our daughter.
02. Wild.
We aimed to bring nature back into the heart of the city. By using native plants, we hoped to attract pollinators, birds, and other urban wildlife. Our goal was to show that native planting can be both ecologically rich and visually intentional—wild yet maintained, beautiful yet low-maintenance.
Through elements like rainwater harvesting, recycled materials, and native species, we wanted the space to serve as a hands-on learning environment—one that makes sustainable design feel tangible, approachable, and inspiring.
2 Understanding the Site
3 Revealing the Flow of Rain
4 Designing with Repurposed Materials
5 How It All Came Together
6 Tasty Natives We Love
7 Planting and Establishment Process
8 What It All Cost
9 Lessons Learned
Curious about Ping and what inspires our projects? Come explore more at ping-la.com
Saint Paul, MN