HI!
My name is Larissa Belcic. Jersey born-and-raised, I have a deep love for the landscapes and plants of North Jersey. After earning my Masters in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, I worked on landscape design projects in New England, Florida, New York City, and Germany before coming back to the landscape of my heart, New Jersey. Through my non-profit design studio Nocturnal Medicine, I've made gardens inside nightclubs, theaters, and museums in my quest to connect people to nature. I also share my passion through teaching landscape architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University.
I come from many generations of farmers and gardeners. Back in the old country of rural Croatia, my family were subsistence farmers, and my grandparents carried these practices with them to Hudson County when they immigrated. I have many memories of spending time with my Nona as she cultivated an abundant vegetable garden in our family home in West New York, and grew up gardening alongside my mother. I continue these practices into my own life, gardening wherever I make my home.
I believe that gardens are homes for our souls. Creating and tending to gardens is a life-affirming practice that connects us with the natural world and helps us thrive. Especially in a place like New Jersey, where we live amongst the impacts of urbanization and industrialization, creating nurturing green spaces is a way to celebrate ourselves as creatures of the Earth and help land, ecosystems, and people thrive together.
