Mariposa Gardening & Design - Newsletter

Origins of Our Traditional Stone Working Style

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 21:46:46 GMT

This past October, I was fortunate enough to go to the village of Deia in Mallorca to study the ancient local traditional dry stone building. I first came to Deia to study stone working in 2007, with The Stone Foundation for their annual Dry Stone Symposium . This was the first of several Symposiums and International training opportunities in the craft of dry stone work that I would have the privilege of attending over the next several years. Each of the workshops in Deia that I have attended (three total), were led by master stonemason, Lluc Mir, Founder of the Gremi de Margers .

International Education with Stone Masters

The Gremi de Margers, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the local stone craft. It is led by Lluc Mir, along with a group of other prominent stonemasons of the region, who tirelessly give their time and energy to preserve, educate and promote the historic tradition of building in stone without mortar. There is a lot to learn when it comes to creating stable and strong structures without mortar. It takes years of study and practice to achieve the skill levels of these masters who dedicate themselves to the work. The Gremi de Margers are up for the task to make sure that this incredible skill is not lost. It is through the Gremi de Margers that many historic sites have been preserved and new stonemasons have come up into this tradition. It has been my great opportunity and privilege to study and work with Lluc and the Gremi de Margers over these many years. Their dedication and respect for the way stone work connects to the land is incredibly inspirational.

The Master Mason’s Pledge

The Gremi de Margers’ effort to preserve and promote this ancient trade involves the following ideals:

1. To value the stonemasons trade; to promote quality and excellence in the exercise of this trade;

2. To fight against intrusion, or the weakening of the long held tradition;

3. To name and acknowledge the work of an almost always anonymous trade;

3. To promote and educate how to properly use the dry stone technique endemic to Mallorca;

4. And to study, disseminate and protect the stone heritage in Mallorca, throughout the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean and in the world.

Intuitive Knowledge and Practice

When I first started doing stonework in the gardens I was creating, before starting Mariposa, I used the lessons that I had learned as a college student apprentice on a small farm in England. It was on this farm that I learned how to build a simple stone path and patio, without mortar, from the head farmer. It was amazing to me that the path and patio we were building was designed and intended to last for many centuries. In fact, all of the stone work that I encountered on that farm was incredibly old and had served the farmers there for centuries. As was the stonework all over England that I had the opportunity to see during my apprenticeship (including Stonehenge!).

Learning the old way of building paths and patios with stone, opened up to me the way that this farmer was connected to the earth. He knew how to lay a stone that would stay put for centuries. This was a gift for me. As a young designer and builder, I was given permission to listen to nature, which in the US, is pushed back against very hard. He taught me to understand building materials and techniques in an intuitive way. He gave me my path as a future Garden Designer and Stonemason.

This inner understanding has guided the stone work we do at Mariposa for the past 20 years. Connection to the natural world, and the understanding of the way natural systems function, is also implicit in the way stone work is done by the Gremi de Margers of Mallorca. They use the stone from the island to build structures created by observing and understanding the best ways to shape and place stone that uses the natural formations of the stone to its best advantage. This type of building with natural materials can be seen all over the world, where builders understand how to work with nature, rather than against nature.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

On the island of Mallorca, a mountain range called the Tramuntana sits above the sea. This mountain range is filled with limestone. This locally accessible stone has been used as a stable building material on the island for centuries. In the Serra de Tramuntana alone, up to 12,000 miles of retaining walls exist. Many generations of stone wallers, farmers and property owners have built each wall. Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of hours of hard work and effort have created a tapestry of beauty and function. Stone walls, paths and buildings are an intrinsic part of the Mallorcan landscape. Though many parts of the landscape was shaped by human hands, it blends seamlessly into the mountains, giving it the feeling of a beautiful collaboration between humans and the earth. It is a living heritage that must be preserved. This craft and the work left by thousands of stonemasons in the past has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

“It is an amazing feat of endurance and resilience by the generations of stonemasons and farmers who have constructed them. The walls have been historically constructed in the mountains in order to create flat land for cultivation of olive, citrus, fig and other food crops to feed the communities. In addition, the retaining walls hold up areas for livestock as well as for building homes and villages. Indeed, the village of Deia, situated in a steep ravine that leads to the sea, is full of retaining walls that hold up the residences and farms of the community. They are the perfect blend of form and function, creating a beautiful and utilitarian landscape that is human constructed and blends seamlessly with the existing wild landscape.” Quoted from the website: margersmallorca.com.

What captures my imagination is the incredible lift that has been done by hundreds of thousands of stonemasons throughout the centuries who have created an infrastructure that is not only aligned with the natural systems of the place, but that are also completely practical to the lifestyle of the past several centuries of Mallorcans who inhabit the region. The work of building is very arduous. Fingers are banged, knees and backs get sore and after a day of building, all are tired. However, the joy of learning something so unique and special keeps all of the participants energized. And then, being surrounded by the beautiful work everywhere you look, keeps the imagination running.

INTERVIEW WITH LLUC MIR

The stonemasons of the Gremi de Margers have all been through a formal training process that is a cultural tradition of the island. In an interview with Lluc Mir, I was able to learn more about his personal history in working with stone. For me, and many other prominent stonemasons around the world who have had the opportunity to work with Lluc, I feel a little bit start struck by his knowledge and experience. But beyond that, what stands out is his dedication to the craft and his commitment to passing on his heritage as a stonemason with dignity and respect for those who came before him. Here is a bit of his story.

My first steps in working with stone was at the Margers School ( dry stone walling school ) in Mallorca. I was studying Fine Arts at the university but I quit after two years and started the dry stone school on 1998. Since that day I got stone mad and haven’t stopped loving it.

Our training was hundred per cent formal. Eight hours a day, five days a week for two years, working on heritage restoration in the heart of a UNESCO heritage site. Time enough to learn the basics of dry stone construction. After that I kept learning for two more years by working with my master. After that extensive training, I then started my own professional career.

My stepfather is a sculptor and he works mainly with iron but he’s very good also working with stone. I remember when I was six years old that he started carving stone and found a fossil inside it. I’ve seen him sculpting and carving over these years, and I’ve learned a lot from him. I teach him walling and he guides me on sculpting.

When I asked him why he chose to work in stone as a career, he said the following: The answer it’s very easy, because I felt in love with stone since the very first day. And I’m not the only one, you have to love it to keep on working with stone all your life. Personally, I love all the possibilities stone offers: walling, sculpting, vaults, land art, Japanese gardens.... an endless universe full of beauty.

For myself, I can relate to what he is saying. From early on in my career as a garden designer and builder, stone captured me in a way that no other medium has done. I also fell in love with the craft and continue to follow that passion.

I also asked Lluc to provide some words of advice for those who are just starting out in the profession of stone.

“I would encourage them because stone heritage needs new workers. If they love it then they will have fun and also earn good money once they get a good level. This works keeps you fit but you have to learn how to move weights unless you want to hurt your body. My advice: never stop learning.”

Some last words from Lluc: “ Workshops are stone tribe gatherings, a place to meet and share experiences with stone brothers and sisters, people who share a passion for stone. Mallorcan dry stone style it’s known among international stone workers because it’s a bit different comparing to other styles: stones are placed in many different positions except flat, creating a random pattern that is very attractive to the eyes. We love to share our knowledge and teach our style since we are keepers of a long tradition and want it to last as long as possible.”

It is a joy to work with a group of people who truly love and are as committed to the work they do, as the Gremi de Margers are. The comeraderie, the joy and the laughter that this group of humans creates is spectacular. The care in which they have taken to provide an experience for those who come to join them in their work is impressive. Each time I participate in a workshop here, I learn so much that I am able to take back to my team and teach to them. This training for me and for Mariposa has been a huge influence on how we work in stone. I am very proud to be a part of this tradition, and to send it on as a building technique that has a foundation in a deep connection to the natural world.

CELEBRATING THE NATURE OF TRANSFORMATION

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 23:44:47 GMT

Today, the Monarch butterfly migration that goes from Canada and the Northern Continental US, to their overwintering sites in Central Mexico is just about completed. November 1st also coincides with the annual Dia de los Muertos celebrations, observed in Mexico, the US, and other parts of the world. This annual return of the Monarch butterflies to their winter home is interpreted by the Purépecha of Michoacán and the Mazahua of Estado de México as the ancestors returning to visit their loved ones still on earth. The sheer number of butterflies, amounting to the millions, amassing in the Oyamil Fir trees of the region is reported to be stunning as well as magical. It is no wonder that in Mexico, people are inspired by the visually stunning return of the Monarchs as a connection between the butterflies and their ancestors returning home.

Monarch Butterflies return to Mexico at the same time that Dia de los Muertos is underway. As such, it is believed that the butterflies are the souls of the dead, gathering to be present for the celebrations. This beautiful, poetic, and incredibly artistic honoring of life teaches us not to be afraid of death. Life and death are intertwined in the lives of every human being on earth, and indeed in the lives of every living creature or system on the earth. The transition from life to death is a cycle that repeats itself in nature with the coming and passing of every season. The transition from summer to autumn and from autumn to winter also teaches us that we should not be afraid to die, because in the garden, as in the wilderness, death feeds life. If we turn to nature and its systems of death and rebirth, we can understand why the return of Monarch butterflies by November 1 in Central Mexico is a powerful marker for us to understand that we all follow the same patterns in nature.

AN ECOSYSTEMS APPROACH TO LIFE AND DEATH

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The ecosystems approach we take to caring for our gardens is to understand that death and life are integral to each other. Nature is a constant push and pull between life and death. Death in the garden is also the source of life, as in the Nutrient Cycle . In autumn, leaves fall from the trees and land on the ground beneath them. These leaves are then eaten by decomposers, who make the material smaller, and then even smaller organisms continue to eat, digest and excrete the leaves, until they become a part of the soil. This process creates nutrient dense soil which feeds the trees so that they can push out new leaves in the spring. Such is the cycle of life.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE GARDEN THIS FALL

As we celebrate death, with our cultural traditions of Dia de los Muertos and Halloween, we are also able to observe the transformation of death in the garden. Leaves are falling from the deciduous trees. Summer blooms have turned to seed. Summer and fall flowers have left hollow stems in the garden, and there just seems to be so much clean-up to do. However, our gardens are settling in for their resting period. Many mysterious goings on are happening in the garden that will ensure that come spring, your garden will once again be teeming with butterflies and songbirds.

In autumn, the Mariposa Garden Care Team is busily doing what they can to protect wildlife in the garden. They will tidy leaves from paths and patios, but in areas where perennials are going dormant, leaves will stay on the ground to protect the roots of the dormant plants. Think of it as a blanket, protecting the roots from winter chill. Decomposition from the leaves allows for nutrients to develop in the soil, growing stronger and more resilient plants.

What about the seed heads, and all of those hollow stems? Please leave them! It is not yet time to cut those back. Many birds will eat the seeds, especially if they are from native wildflowers and other flowering perennial plants. Echinacea, Rudbeckia and Phaecelia are easy to grow and drought resistant perennials that will produce nutritious seeds for birds to eat over the winter months. Those hollow stems? Leave those too! They are used by solitary bees to lay their eggs in. The eggs are protected from the cold and rainy winter. They will emerge in spring, to help keep the ecological balance in your garden.

Even though we leave most leaves, seed heads and hollow stems, there are many other plants and trimmings that develop this time of year, and at all times of the year. One way that we try to protect caterpillars in our gardens from being eaten by birds is to create a debris pile behind trees, and in an area that is relatively sheltered from sight. As the debris decomposes, many insects that are delicious to birds will populate the debris pile. This gives all of your birds an alternative to your butterfly caterpillars, and you will then save some of them so that they can transform into butterflies.

So, as we can see, death is a part of life and life is a part of death. And so the cycle continues year after year, generation after generation.

MONARCHS HAVE NO BORDERS

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 17:12:20 GMT

“Love is like a butterfly: It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.” — Anonymous

Each autumn, millions of Monarch butterflies set off on an incredible journey that spans thousands of miles, marking the turn of the seasons for those of us in North America, from Canada to Mexico.

Starting in September through early November, Monarch butterflies travel from as far north as Canada to their overwintering sites in Central California and Central Mexico. The Monarchs spend their winter together, clustered to stay warm. The eastern Monarch population spends the winter in Central Mexico, in the Oyamil Fir trees. The western Monarchs make a similar trip from the Western Rocky Mountains to the sheltered California coastal groves of Eucalyptus and Monterey cypress.

Despite decades of research, the Monarch migration still holds mysteries. The way that Monarchs navigate such great distances — generation after generation — continues to inspire awe and scientific curiosity.

The Journey of the Monarch

The Monarch butterfly has two different populations, the Eastern and the Western. They tend to divide east to west along the Rocky and Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Starting in March, eastern Monarchs leave their overwintering homes, following the bloom of the milkweed, their host plant, across their southern ranges to their northern reaches. Along the way, females lay eggs on fresh milkweed shoots, and new generations will continue their journey northward to Canada, following the emerging milkweed.

Monarch butterflies gather nectar, lay eggs, go into chrysalis and emerge again while spreading into the reaches of their northen range until October. That is when the final generation of the year, who are born with special reserves, will migrate south, to their warmer overwintering sites. Clustered together, high up in tall trees, adult butterflies go into a semi-dormant state. They are able to spend months in this state, depending on their lipid reserves, developed by gathering nectar from flowering perennials, such as yarrow, rudbeckia and echinacea. These and other late-blooming nectar plants offer an essential food source for a Monarch butterflies in autumn that will help them survive the winter.

Of the many things that Monarch butterflies have to teach us, among them is that nature has no borders. The journey that the Monarchs take is astounding. They have adapted themselves to be creatures of the planet. They intuitively know how to navigate over thousands of miles in order to find just the right place for the right time of year. They see the planet as their home and are able to expand their awareness to a very large geographical area.

If we acknowledge and accept ourselves as being a part of the natural world, rather than separated from it, then we can understand and imagine a world where borders are not determined by politicians, but by natural ecosystems. This understanding gives humans a greater level of compassion for one another. When we see ourselves as part of the cycles of nature, we expand our awareness of each other and develop tolerance for each other and the diversity that we all contribute to the planet.

THE ELEGANCE OF BUTTERFLIES

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 17:08:09 GMT

The inspiration behind butterflies and facts about their decline.

No matter where we come from or what we believe, we can all agree on one thing: butterflies are beautiful. Butterflies are the symbol of transformation. Their life journey from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly is one of nature’s most astonishing acts. Did you know that once inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar literally turns into a liquid form? Their transformation is so complete that the caterpillar and the butterfly appear as two different beings, yet they are one. This reminds us that growth, while challenging, leads to strength and beauty. We view our work in the same way: helping landscapes and communities move toward healthier, more resilient, and beautiful futures. Caterpillars are the larval stage of the eventual emergence of a butterfly.

It is no wonder that the butterfly holds such powerful symbolism and a special place in the heart of humanity. Their beauty and grace remind us of the significance of transformation and resilience. They delight us with their rainbow of colors and their endlessly intriguing wing patterns. Their flight is both delicate and purposeful. Our work is inspired by the balance of beauty and resilience found in a butterfly.

Butterflies are key to their ecosystems

Not only are they amazing creatures, they also play a vital role in ecosystems all over the world. Butterflies pollinate several species of wild plants, including wildflowers such as milkweed, echinacea, goldenrod, black-eyed Susans and many more. In addition, they work to pollinate several herbs such as cilantro, dill and basil. Vegetables that butterflies pollinate include: sunflowers, lettuce, cabbage, kale and artichokes.

As part of the natural ecosystem, they also serve as a food source for birds. Birds will eat butterflies both in the larval form, as caterpillars, and in the adult form, as butterflies. In designing a backyard ecosystem garden, we keep this natural cycle of life at the forefront of our minds. All of our gardens are a combination of habitats for butterflies and songbirds adjacent to each other. The edge between these two habitat areas is where the greatest ecological diversity lives

Butterfly populations are in decline

Sadly, according to a recently published study ( Edwards et al. 2025 ), butterfly populations overall have declined by 20% since 2020.

Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have all contributed to this decline. Declining butterfly populations carry the ecological consequence of losing the essential ways that butterflies contribute to the ecosystem.

Indicator Species

As an indicator species, butterflies highlight for us the overall health of our ecosystems. Indicator species are organisms in an ecosystem that demonstrate to us changes in the environment. As butterflies are so visible to us, their decline is noticeable. Even if you did not have the data ( Xerces Society ), you will probably have noticed that you used to see a lot of butterflies in areas where you now just see a few. The health of an indicator species, such as butterflies, reveals the state of health for whole ecosystems. Smaller and less noticeable pollinators require similar conditions as butterflies to be healthy, so what happens to butterflies will also happen to countless species. With the decline of butterflies, we are becoming more aware of the declining health of our ecosystems.

Habitat Loss

Not only have we lost vast amounts of habitat over the past 20 years due to development, but what remains has also been fragmented. Cities and towns split and divide habitat corridors, leaving gouges in the landscape. This requires butterflies to fly longer distances to increase their populations and spread through the landscape. The consequence is that fragmented habitats keep butterflies isolated and their populations low.

This photo illustrates the fragmentation of habitat in the San Francisco Bay Area. Development has literally descended right down from the hills and into the bay, essentially eliminating the possibility of butterflies and any wildlife to seek refuge in a body of water that once held an incredible diversity of species. Note the long rectangular green area. This is Golden Gate Park. Any wildlife living in that area is limited in its ability to spread its range to the surrounding developed areas. Although it appears green, it is a heavily used urban park, and the impact that humans have on the ecosystem is heavy.. Even so, the park is host to many more wildlife species than can exist outside that range.

Pesticide Use

If you want to have a healthy garden, don’t spray chemicals on it. It shocks me how many times I am in a friend’s garden, and sometimes in a new client’s garden, and I see a product like Neem. Neem is marketed as a product approved for IPM standards and considered “safe” for backyard gardeners. Products that kill are never safe in your garden . IPM standards do not take an entire ecosystem into account, and sometimes allow harmful chemicals as a last resort. Even though it is touted as better or safer than simply using broad-spectrum pesticides, IPM is a system that still reverts to products that are toxic and that kill. Although Neem can kill some of your garden pests, it is designed to kill all insects, including the many more beneficial species, including butterfly caterpillars. Anytime you are tempted to grab a product, especially Neem or anything with neonicotinoids off the garden store counter, think again. Turn around and go purchase more pollinator-friendly plants . Plant a lot of different pollinator-friendly plants all together, like you would see in nature. By using an ecosystems approach to solving pest problems in your garden and creating a garden that more closely replicates natural areas, with a diversity of plants, you will eliminate the need to purchase any more products. A diverse array of plants attracts a diverse range of insects. In this way, garden pest populations are kept in check because there are always predators for the pests living in your garden.

Climate Change

A warmer planet changes the ecosystems in which we all live. Creatures, such as butterflies, are sensitive to warming. Each individual species has a preference for the temperatures into which they have evolved. Butterflies are heat and cold-sensitive. They are all adapted to certain weather conditions. When the temperatures rise, the plant makeup of an area will change. These changes force butterflies out of areas that they have adapted to. Sometimes they can adapt, and sometimes they cannot adapt. The best thing each of us can do to help control climate change is to keep a garden. Even a small one. Green plants cool the planet. Read our article on green here. Adding a butterfly meadow to your garden not only has the benefit of increasing biodiversity, but it also will help to keep the planet cooler.

What can we do

That is why Mariposa Gardening & Design Cooperative, Inc. was created. The planet needed a company that is dedicated to the preservation of butterflies. And the good news is that it does not take too much effort to make a positive impact on bringing butterfly populations back. While there is an overall decline in butterfly populations, some butterflies are actually on the rise. Take the Pipevine swallowtail, for example. This butterfly had drastically dropped in population numbers over the years. However, in the Xerces Society report , we can see that the Pipevine Swallowtail has increased its population by 45% and the Gulf Fritillary by over 5,000%. This has largely been credited to the work of backyard gardeners. In fact, several butterflies common in urban areas have seen a rise in populations since 2000, though many more are in decline.

Butterflies are adaptable. Although their populations have declined, they can also be restored. Fractured habitat can be stitched together, one garden at a time, creating a chain that will support increased butterfly populations. Over the past 20 years, Mariposa has continued to build habitat gardens, one at a time, all around the San Francisco Bay. As many of our clients can attest, they start to see butterflies in their garden as soon as the plants are delivered, and even before they are planted. The butterflies are there, and they only need more places from which they can gather nectar, lay their eggs, and go into chrysalis. They simply need your help.

Pro tips to boost butterflies !

Plant pollinator and butterfly-friendly plants!

This includes both host plants and nectar plants.
Plant a diverse array of plants
Choose plants that will bloom at different times of the year
Most nurseries will indicate which plants are either native or good for pollinators

Plant native grasses !

Native grasses provide shelter for not only butterflies, but a whole host of beneficial insects and pollinators.
Keep your grasses long through the winter. Many insects, as well as eggs of butterflies and pollinators, will overwinter down inside of the protected area where the grasses meet the soil. These shelters will protect small insects and eggs from getting too cold as well as being washed away in the rain. We wait until the winter rains have mostly subsided before we do a hard cut on our grasses.

Keep your garden well-hydrated !

Gardens that have a consistent moisture level, not too wet, and not too dry , have healthy plants that will thrive and attract butterflies. Butterflies (and all pollinators) prefer to visit plants that are properly hydrated over dried-out ones. If the plant is healthier, the nectar is better for them, juicer, and tastes better. Even though it seems to make sense to conserve water in your garden, dry gardens diminish butterfly populations. You don’t need to waste water to make it have a positive effect on the planet. You can be lean with the water, but keep it consistent.

Mind your clippings !

Many host plants, such as passionvine, milkweed, and mallow, are a food source for caterpillars throughout the year. As you clip these plants, look for eggs and caterpillars on the underside of leaves. Even if you don’t find any, instead of hauling your trimmings away, carefully tuck them underneath the host plants, as if they are a mulch. This will enable caterpillars to crawl back into the plant to feed and complete their life cycle.

If we all took the effort to tend to our gardens as if we were stewarding the land, we would successfully change the fate of butterflies. Butterfly gardens not only contribute to the health of our ecosystems, but to our own health as well. Each time we can observe a butterfly, we are given a moment to pause and feel our connection to the natural world. This brief moment of peace, when multiplied around the world, can help to create a better sense of harmony and respect for each other.

Gardening During Fire Season

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 22:17:55 GMT

Gardening During Fire Season

Dry summers and dry soils increase fire risk — but a healthy, green garden can help protect your home.

Summer is a time of joy in the garden. Bright flowers, fragrant herbs, and the occasional butterfly flitting past all bring life and beauty to our outdoor spaces.

But here in California, summer also brings the reality of fire season. In recent years, devastating wildfires — from the Camp Fire in 2018 to the more recent Southern California fires — have shown us that not only wilderness, but also homes and communities, are vulnerable. As a result, both state and local governments are adopting new regulations to help protect neighborhoods from wildfire.

Healthy Soil, Safer Homes

Good fire prevention begins underground. Healthy soil, rich in organic matter, holds moisture. Adequately moist soil helps keep plants hydrated, which increases transpiration and adds humidity to the air around your home, decreasing fire risk. By contrast, dry soil will dry out plants, which act as fuel, increasing fire danger.

When your garden is well-watered and lush, it not only looks beautiful it also keeps your home safe.

Fire Safety Legislation and Your Garden

In January 2021, the State of California signed into law AB 3074 , with the intention of reducing fire risk around dwellings in high risk areas by mandating a 5 foot protection zone around all structures. See Saxon Holt’s article here on the Fire Zone Landscape Codes. While this legislation has been passed, it is not currently being enforced. Additional work is to be done this year, by the State Fire Marshall, to approve the vegetation clearance requirements.

In June of this year, The City of Berkeley approved the E.M.B.E.R. Ordinance . This stands for Effective Mitigations for Berkeley Ember Resilience. This ordinance requires home owners in the Panoramic neighborhood, which is in close proximity to Tilden Park, to clear all “flammable materials” 5 feet out from the perimeter of any structures. This includes removing gardens. While the law is currently in effect, the city will not begin enforcement until May 2026, giving homeowners time to prepare.

While it is incredibly important and pertinent to keep that 5-foot perimeter effectively clear of flammable materials, we do not promote the elimination of your garden. And, this is an important point. If that 5-foot perimeter is not well hydrated, it is a fire risk to your home. If you have left unattended and flammable materials within that 5-foot perimeter, then your house is at a significantly greater risk of burning in a fire event.

The state of California, as well as the City of Berkeley, has passed enforceable measures restricting vegetation near home structures–this includes gardens–because too many gardens are neglected and dry. At least part of the reason these gardens are dry is due to restricted watering schedules enforced by our municipalities, with hefty fines for non-compliance. Of course, it is essential to be mindful of water conservation in the garden.

Gardening Wisely: Fire-Safe and Water-Smart

Subsurface Drip Irrigation : This efficient system delivers water directly into the soil, minimizing evaporation and keeping roots consistently hydrated.
Native and Mediterranean Plants: Choosing plants adapted to dry summers reduces water use while keeping your garden lush. Many also support pollinators like butterflies and bees.
Regular Care: Remove dead or dry plant material and keep the 5-foot zone around your home tidy and green.

By combining these strategies, you can enjoy a thriving garden that conserves water, supports wildlife, and reduces fire risk.

The Bigger Picture

As summer stretches on and rain remains scarce, it’s tempting to let gardens dry out. But dry gardens don’t save water; they increase fire danger, make the air hotter and drier, and reduce resilience in our communities.

A lush, well-cared-for garden does more than bring beauty and joy. It plays a vital role in keeping our neighborhoods safer during fire season.

This summer, let’s garden not only for ourselves, but also for the safety of our neighbors and communities.

Meadows!

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 20:55:32 GMT

As summer unfolds, we find ourselves savoring the simple, joyful moments that our gardens bring. This season beautifully highlights our ongoing commitment to supporting urban wildlife habitats.

It’s such a joy to watch butterflies dance through the flowers, birds flit among the branches, and bees busily explore each blossom. Creating gardens that nurture life is one of the most rewarding parts of being a gardener.

The Beauty and Benefits of Meadows

One of the best ways to invite butterflies, and other pollinators, into your garden is by planting a meadow. Not only are meadows breathtakingly beautiful, but they also provide a vital habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.

A meadow’s open structure—filled with a mix of grasses, annuals, and perennials—creates a welcoming space for butterflies to find food and shelter. From marshy wetlands and mountain slopes to deserts and beyond, meadows are a part of natural landscapes all over the world. Perhaps that’s why we feel so connected to them. Lawns and open parks echo this connection, offering a familiar sense of peace and wellness that meadows inspire.

Whether nestled in a wild landscape or blooming in a city garden, meadows offer butterflies both food and shelter. The greater the diversity of flowers, especially those with long and overlapping bloom times, the more butterfly species your garden will attract and support.

STOP USING WEED CLOTH!

Before we do any planting in our gardens at Mariposa, the Install Team prepares the soil for success. There is a curious practice out there that we often encounter when we are beginning to prepare the soil for planting in a new garden. Weed cloth is regularly added to gardens with the misconception that it will reduce weed pressure. This false notion is promoted by the garden industry to sell a product that will alleviate one of the dreaded garden tasks—weeding. The short term downside of weed cloth is that it will only discourage weeds temporarily. If the garden is neglected, weeds will still persist. Over time, a garden that was prepared with weed cloth will get weeds, and the roots of those weeds will grow into the plastic “cloth” mesh, making them impossible to remove.

Creating Butterfly Meadows at Mariposa

When we design and build meadows at Mariposa, we focus first and foremost on attracting butterflies. These graceful pollinators are a clear and visible sign of a thriving, balanced garden ecosystem. Building meadows for butterflies will attract a wide range of pollinators and beneficial insects. Simple to build and endlessly rewarding, butterfly meadows offer natural pest control, better pollination, and a burst of biodiversity—all from planting a thoughtful mix of grasses and flowers.

With every meadow we create, we help support butterflies and work to offset their losses in the wild by increasing their populations in the city.

What Makes a Butterfly Meadow?

A butterfly meadow is essentially a combination of nectar-rich flowers and sheltering grasses. In urban gardens, these meadows often attract Monarchs, Swallowtails, and Skippers—important indicator species that will tell you that your meadow is healthy.

If there are specific butterflies you’d love to see in your garden, it’s helpful to know what plants they’re drawn to. The Xerces Society is a fantastic resource with detailed information on butterfly species and the native flowers and grasses they rely on.

How to Create a Butterfly Meadow

Whether you’re starting small or transforming your entire lawn, here’s how we recommend building a butterfly meadow from scratch:

Start with the soil. Remove any existing lawn or plants. Even a 5’x5’ area is a great place to begin!
Layer cardboard. Lay down 2–3 layers of cardboard, overlapping the edges to block out weeds.
Install irrigation. If you're using a drip system, lay the lines right over the cardboard.
Add compost. Spread about 3 inches of compost over the cardboard.

5. Fertilize. Lightly sprinkle with organic fertilizer. We suggest Down to Earth , E. B. Stone , and Fox Farm .

6. Plant live plants. Cut an “X” in the cardboard where you want to plant. Dig your hole, then try to tuck the cardboard back around the plant to suppress weeds.

7. Mulch. Add about 1 inch of ¼” fir mulch around the plants.

8. Planting seeds? You can sow them directly over the clean, ¼” mulch layer—it works beautifully!

9. Water well. Keep your new meadow hydrated, especially in the first few weeks.

10. Enjoy the show. Watch your meadow grow—and delight in the butterflies, bees, and other visitors it welcomes.

Summer Is Almost Here, Start Thinking About Your Soil

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:12:12 GMT

CHECK YOUR SOIL!

Isn’t it great to feel the longer and warmer days of late Spring? I love the feeling of going outside and seeing the sun, shining brightly on all of the green leaves and beautiful flowers. It is so wonderful to feel the glow of summer approaching. What a joy to get caught up in that glow, while we watch the gardens grow gorgeously. However, that joy makes it easy to forget that here in the Bay Area, we are entering the months long dry season. Our Mediterranean climate shifts this time of year, which can transform gardens from showing lots of flowering and new green growth, to gardens where soils and plants become dry and damaged. This transition can lead to health issues in the garden over the coming weeks and months. While plants are still thriving from the lovely winter rains, the soils are now drying out. We often don’t realize that the soils are becoming too dry because at this time of year, it takes plants longer to show signs of stress. However, if we know what is about to come, we can stay ahead of the dry season and the damage that hydrophobic soils can do to our garden.

STOP USING WEED CLOTH!

So, even in the short term, weed cloth actually makes weed issues and weed pressure much more difficult to address. In addition, adding plastic on top of the soil creates conditions where the soil cannot properly “breathe,” causing the life below the soil to diminish. This leaves your garden with soil that has poor structure and low fertility.

At Mariposa, our passion is to build life both below the soil and above the soil . This passion drives us to prepare soils for planting with consideration for how natural systems function. We don’t fight weed issues without first understanding how weeds behave in the garden. With an ecosystems approach, we have created the method highlighted below to prepare your soil for success. To us, success includes well hydrated soil that is neither overwatered nor underwatered. We focus on developing gardens to encounter low weed pressure. Most importantly our gardens create healthy soil and healthy plants that improve the ecological health of the planet.

WEEDING

Weeding and removing the plants we do not want in the landscape before planting is crucial. Getting to know your weeds will help to do a better job of long term elimination from the garden. For example, Ivy Hedera helix, will grow back from the woody stems. So, if even small pieces of it are left behind, it will regrow somewhat vigorously. Proper weed removal can improve the outcomes of reducing weed pressure in your garden.

GRADING

This step is very important for soil preparation so that water can evenly distribute to areas of the garden where we want water to concentrate, and move water away from the garden where we want to protect structures. We use the native “pan grade” to slow, sink and spread water to areas we want it in the landscape. More information about the “slow it, sink it, spread it” techniques can be found HERE .

FLAME WEEDING

Flame weeding is done with a special tool that is designed to throw a small and controlled flame over a garden bed. This will desiccate remaining roots or crowns of weeds that were left behind. It will also desiccate any potential weed seeds sitting on the surface of the soil. This is best done after any grading is finished. It is also important to only run the flame over the surface and not leave it in place for too long. It is possible to oversterilize the soil, and impact soil fertility.

SHEET MULCH WITH CARDBOARD!

Our most effective weed reduction and soil health strategy is to lay down cardboard to the areas to be planted. Cardboard diminishes the ability of any roots or weed seeds to take hold once the plants are in. It effectively does what weed cloth promises, but without the harmful downsides. Cardboard will suppress any aggressive roots or weed seeds that it covers, as the weed cloth promises to do, but it will also biodegrade as the garden fills in, allowing the soil to breathe. In addition, the cover of cardboard encourages earthworms, which help to aerate and improve the structure and fertility of the soil.

IRRIGATION, COMPOST AND PLANT!

Add your irrigation lines (we use ½” perforated lines on a grid) and compost on top of the cardboard for the final preparation before planting. The subterranean irrigation lines keep the soil evenly moist. Putting them at 3” below the layer of compost reduces the amount of evaporation and runoff that plague other types of irrigation systems, keeping your soil well-hydrated and water conscious. The compost adds essential nutrients and structure to your soil, allowing it to retain water and keep your plants healthy.

HYDRATED SOIL IS HAPPY SOIL!

Much like a sponge, soils that are well-hydrated, will absorb each drop of water and disperse it through the soil, making it evenly available for all your plants. This allows your soil to need considerably less water to keep it properly saturated. Properly saturated soils will keep your garden happy and healthy and lush throughout the dry summer and fall seasons.

Much like a sponge, soils that are well-hydrated, will absorb each drop of water and disperse it through the soil, making it evenly available for all your plants. Regularly checking your soil by digging down three-to-four inches will allow you to stay on top of when you need to increase the amount of irrigation in your garden. Don’t be afraid to add the right amount of water to your garden to keep your soils hydrated and your plants happy.

Setting up your soil for success during late spring will ensure a beautiful garden full of life both below and above the soil for the rest of the year.

Happy Spring!!!

Sat, 03 May 2025 20:13:48 GMT

With the warmer temperatures and longer days, gardens are literally bursting with hope. New leaves unfurl and early blooms emerge under the lengthening days and warming temperatures. April never fails to inspire me with its magical expression in the natural world. Each year, as this phenomenon occurs, I am delighted by the immense force that nature has to replenish and re-emerge anew. Being able to count on the small miracles of leafing out and blooming helps to give stability in an unstable world. Tending a garden is not only therapeutic for our soul, but also will help heal your local environment.

Each spring I am emotionally transformed by the season. Lately, as I walk around my neighborhood, I am in awe when I observe how a leaf finds its way out of dormant bark. Somehow, it opens up to the sun and the sky, capturing the nutrients it needs to feed its roots and grow. It is so incredible!

And when the buds start to burst on an apple or a cherry tree, it is sublime! My heart soars and my brain turns off the frightening narrative that dominates the news cycle. I am connected.

Finding your home in nature is the way to calm the mind and ease the heart. We have all been through so much, as we have navigated through roller coasters of presidents, covid and wars. But we can always find our way back to ourselves, back to calm and peace when we connect ourselves to the natural world. So, as the news is dim, and if you struggle with hope.

encourage you to turn to nature. Try to find a small bright spot by really stopping for a moment and noticing the unfurling of the leaves or the blossoming of flowers.

Open up to the calming effect that a connection to the natural world can provide. Even a small moment of connection can give a bit of peace to a weary heart.

Connecting to the natural world can happen every time we work in our gardens too. Spring is such a pivotal moment in the garden. It is a time when care for the garden provides multiple rewards for the coming growing season.

The garden reaps the rewards from the rains of March and April with a big influx of green growth. As habitat gardeners, we know to leave grasses and perennial stems alone through the colder months. But, now that we are warming back up, many of the hibernating pollinators are emerging. Pollinator eggs that have sat protected in leaf piles or inside stems are hatching and the larvae are welcomed with fresh juicy leaves. So now, we clean up the debris (perhaps leave some piles in the back areas of the garden, where they are less visible but still able to protect living creatures) and allow the fresh green growth to emerge.

We relish in the beauty of seeing the butterflies and ladybugs and other pollinators as well as beneficial insects gracing our gardens.

PRO TIP: Spring is the time to pull weeds!

Weeding! Ah yes, all of the beautiful growth and blooming in the garden also means an onslaught of new weeds. Keep your garden plants happy by keeping the weeds under control. In the Bay Area, we have two main garden weeds that vex us this time of year:

Ehrharta erecta

Ehrharta will pop up everywhere it has been allowed to set seed. The seeds are very tiny but don’t let that fool you. They are very tenacious and will thrive when they get the chance. Now is the time to head back that invasion by pulling it up whenever and wherever you see it.

Oxalis pes-caprae

Oxalis is such a common weed, that many people this time of year are relishing in its beautiful blooms. But don’t be fooled! It is incredibly difficult to eliminate, once it is established. It seems to grow exponentially, and in a year when we don’t work on eliminating it we, will see its return, and in much greater numbers.

The good news about oxalis is that; 1. Oxalis only grows when temperatures are regularly under 70 degrees. So, it dies back in the summer. However, up into April, Oxalis may have already done some damage in your garden, as it is so invasive. It can crowd out and shade out any emerging spring annuals and perennials that may be trying to emerge in your garden. Spring is a time when young and emerging plants are vulnerable to overcrowding and may die out as a result of the oxalis bullying its way into their territory.

In order to manage both Erharta and Oxalis, be sure to take time in your garden this spring to weed, weed, weed! Below I have outlined a few details about best practices for removing these weeds, and keepinem out.

will have a significant impact on its spread in your garden. Pulling this weed and removing the root is helpful, but the most important thing to know about controlling Erharta, is to not let it go to seed. Identify it, and pull it (preferably by the roots) before it goes to seed.

The same is true for oxalis. However, we recommend that you follow a few tips for weeding oxalis that will greatly improve your ability to take back control of this weed in your garden.

Oxalis largely spreads through its very large and juicy root system. Getting the roots and its progeny “Bulblets” will do a great job of reducing and eventually eliminating it. However, that is a larger endeavor than most gardeners can spend time on. Fortunately there is a way to eliminate oxalis, but it takes persistence.

If we pull this weed bully, down below the section where the roots transition to leaves

we can starve the bulbs. Do that every week, and you will see it grow back and grow back. Common knowledge as well as scientific research suggests that if you pull on the same bulb weekly, it will die as a result of pushing out growth without replenishing itself from photosynthesis. If you practice this method, you will see that every week the oxalis grows back, it gets shorter and stumpier. Eventually, the bulblet loses energy and dies.

Taking the time to pull these weeds, as we see them emerge allows us to stay in control of their spread. This in turn assures that the plants you intend to have there, the ones that will provide food and shelter to our butterflies and bees will be allowed to push out enough growth this spring to thrive into the fall.

In turn, when we allow ourselves the ability to soak in what the natural world has to offer us in terms of connection and relaxation, we ourselves will be able to heal accordingly from the stress of our uncertain times.

Happy Gardening and Happy Spring!

Spring Cleaning For Habitat

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:46:57 GMT

Spring is an amazing time of year to witness rebirth and transformation in the garden. Buds are swelling, flowers are beginning to bloom and butterflies are starting the procession of early, mid and late seasonal emergence into the garden! All of the subtle and beautiful change that happens day to day draws us gardeners out into the garden to witness the fullness of spring. During March, we see a chorus of changes in the garden, each element playing in harmony. Paying close attention to how your garden is changing and developing during this season can help you to become a better guardian for habitat protection.

In Mariposa’s newsletters and articles , we discuss that in order to protect habitat in the winter garden, one must be very careful. Many grown pollinators and butterflies, as well as their dormant eggs gather protection under the leaves and in the dried stems of flowering perennials such as Echinacea (purple coneflower) and Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan).

When we allow the garden to complete its natural cycles, we are rewarded with more beautiful butterflies, pollinators and birds. Each successive year that we practice habitat gardening, we are able to increase pollinator numbers and diversity in our gardens.

Once March comes along, we need to watch the garden for signs of growth and signs of life. Here, in the Bay Area, we are lucky to have mild winters, where many plants will still grow and bloom through the winter.

As habitat gardeners, we like to take the extra precaution of leaving the cut stems in the garden when we do this cutting back. Either next to the plant from where they were cut, or into a brush pile that is hidden behind the taller plants. This allows any remaining pollinators seeking shelter to emerge. The brush piles in the back corners of the garden are typically hidden, so we allow them to stay and add more clippings to them over time. This creates a nice rich pile for an array of decomposers, which are also nutritious bird food. All of this garden decomposing activity contributes to beneficial microbial growth in the soil, which in turn will make your plants healthier and happier.

HABITAT PRO TIP #1

As long as stem clippings are out of sight, they will not take away from the beauty of the garden. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As the brush pile decomposes, it provides food for the decomposers such as beetles and millipedes, which are great food for birds.

So the circle of life continues.

This is the plant telling you it is finally time to trim it back. Many plants will show this growth, including hydrangeas and CA native shrubs such as Calycanthus and Ceanothus produce blooms from the woody stems. Always look up woody shrubs before you prune to see if it blooms on second year wood, If it does, you may be cutting back flower buds.

HABITAT PRO TIP #2

Continue to keep leaf litter in place. The longer you keep the leaf litter in place, the more pollinators will emerge from their hiding spots. It is also important to be mindful of the weather and the forecast for rain. When the temps are consistently below 65 degrees and the rains are still coming, it is probably best to wait to clean up leaves. Many overwintering pollinators will continue to take cover in those circumstances. Once the temps go above 70 degrees, and the seasonal rains are subsiding, it is safer to clean up the leaves and most of the rest of the garden

HABITAT PRO TIP #3

Grasses!!! Ornamental and Native grasses are crucial host plants to many pollinators, including Skipper butterflies. Utilizing the same technique of waiting to see sprouting come from the base of the grasses is a good sign of when it is time to cut them back to the ground. Giving space for the new growth will keep your grass healthy and thriving.

HABITAT PRO TIP #4

Apply organic fertilizers. At least 2-3 times per year, adding a sprinkling of organic fertilizers will help your garden soil to stay full of beneficial microbial activity. Fertilizers, such as from the company Down to Earth , will break down in the soil slowly, over time, adding important nutrients for your plants to be strong and healthy. Getting formulas that are specific to the type of planting you have in a particular section of the garden is helpful. Such as for grassy meadow areas, or vegetable areas, and so on. It takes several weeks for the material in the fertilizer to break down and be available for the microbes in the soil, so we like to do it in the spring, late summer and late fall.

Spring is a magical time of year. If we can patiently keep our garden inhabitants protected and the plants fed and healthy, we can count on a lively and robust spring, summer and fall!

Bay Area Winter Gardening: January Tips & Tricks

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 19:31:01 GMT

How to cultivate life in your garden and provide more habitat for pollinators!

The winter months are the time of year when many of our butterflies and other pollinators are hunkering down and spending the cold time staying safe in hibernation. With declining populations of butterflies and other pollinators, it is a crucial time of year to do what we can as gardeners to keep them safe. In this article, we will share tips on how to tend to your garden in the winter so that it is teeming with butterflies, birds and bees during the warmer months.

The holidays are over. The days are short, the nights are long. Winter is upon us in full force, and it is a matter of weeks or months before we are able to enjoy blooms and the bustle of life in the garden again. What might seem like the quietest of times in California gardens is actually a season of abundant opportunity for renewal and regrowth.

For many of us, the hum of the holiday season has meant we have neglected the outside of our homes and transferred our attention to the coziness indoors. Our gardens have been in the background, waiting patiently for our gaze again. But now, in January, it is time to look back outside, while we pine for sunnier days. As we look outside, it may seem that there is a lot of tidying to do. The gray skies mimic the decaying leaves, branches and seed heads in the garden. It can look so much like a scary movie, with signs of death instead of bright colorful flowers. Trees have lost their leaves. The once bright pink of the Echinacea now carries a skeletal form in its decline towards being taken back to the earth. Before we go out to clean up the mess and to bring the decay in line, let’s discuss what this dead and dying plant material is doing in our garden.

Habitat Pro Tip #1 KEEP YOUR LEAVES:

If you have any deciduous trees in your garden, you will have likely been battling the constant clean up of their incessant falling to the ground. However, underneath the smattering of wilted and brown leaves lives a caucaphony of life, working hard to stay fed and warm. Leaf litter is full of life from beetles, earthworms and ladybugs, to the eggs of walking sticks and the pupae of many types of pollinators. They find shelter under the leaf litter and there they lay in wait until the days get longer and they are ready to emerge once again in your garden.

Gardeners who keep their leaf litter in place to decompose over the winter will be rewarded with healthier soil for their plants. Leaves decompose by getting eaten by organisms both large (such as beetles) and small (such as bacteria and fungi). This process of decomposition of leaves contributes to the overall health of the soil by adding nutrients as the organisms break down the matter and release it as essentially, poop. The enzymes released from the microorganisms in the soil are taken up by plant roots and this exchange is what creates stability and health for your plants.

In addition to protecting the microbial life that contributes to the overall health of your soil, keeping your leaves strategically on the ground will also increase the number of pollinators in your garden come spring. Leaf litter creates a protective environment for many butterflies and other pollinators who either lay their eggs or get protection from the rain under the leafy layers. An abundance of life is protected and created in your garden from fallen leaves.

Habitat Pro Tip #2 KEEP SEED HEADS AND DEAD STEMS:

Perennial flowers such as Echinacea, Black Eyed Susans, Coreopsis and many others will flower and then go to seed. As gardeners, many of us see the seed head stage as the end of the life of the flower until next year. This causes us to want to clean up the dead and decaying material that is no longer showy. However, the seeds of these perennials will feed the birds in your garden. Seeds are food for birds and a much healthier alternative to a regular bird feeder. A perfect seed to plant for your birds are sunflowers. Leaving the seed heads of a sunflower is a guarantee to witness a diverse array of birds in your garden.

Once the seeds have been eaten by the birds, the hollow stems are another favorite hiding place for many butterflies and other pollinators. Many solitary bees have the habit of laying their eggs in these open stems during the fall months. The eggs will overwinter in these cavities, and emerge in the spring. So, keeping the stalks of perennials around until spring will increase the biodiversity of your garden.

Habitat Pro Tip #3 SPREAD WILDFLOWER AND NATIVE GRASS SEEDS:

Winter is when we have the most rain in California, making it the time that native plants release their seeds to germinate using the seasonal moisture. January is one of the best times to sow seeds of native (and adapted) plants with the benefit of not needing any supplemental irrigation, in most cases. Seeding is one of the best ways to have strong, vigorous plants with healthy root systems! And after a few months, seeded areas can catch up or even fill in better than planted ones. Seeds have the added benefit of being very budget-friendly compared to their potted counterparts.

At Mariposa, we only remove leaves from the hardscapes such as patios, pathways and grassy meadows during winter garden care sessions with our clients. Leaves that fall within the garden beds are left to enhance soil fertility and provide a soft bed for beneficial insects. We also leave seed heads, as they are a vital source of food for songbirds and more. Hollow stems of plants that have gone dormant for the season also act as shelter for leaf cutter bees and other hibernating pollinators.

Habitat gardens are a little bit wild for the wildlife, and we love them for it.

It’s Fire Season

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 23:24:11 GMT

Cultivating Resilience

How you can help fight climate change by watering your garden

Gardens help cool the planet and prevent fires

As the reality of climate change looms larger, the need for individual action becomes imperative. Our weather is growing hotter, rain patterns are erratic, and fires across the Western US are increasingly more destructive. Dry soils lead to greater fire risk due to the nature of how firesburn hotter and more ferociously when the soils are dry. In addition, dry soils disrupt the water cycle and exacerbate the drought cycle. This is what we call the Drought Dilemma.

The Cooling Power of Plants

Properly hydrated soils and green growing plants are a powerful way to fight against climate change. Through transpiration, plants release moisture into the air, forming clouds and bringing much-needed rain. Thriving plants contribute to a cooler planet, creating a positive feedback loop that counters the effects of climate change. When plants are lush and thriving, the air surrounding them also has more moisture. One can feel a reduction of the temperature in the air when walking from a dry hot sidewalk, and into a green garden.

"I think the messaging of watering gardens is a good one. Great advice to the community."

~Duncan Allard, WUI Fire Inspector, Berkeley Fire Department

Wild flower garden with low water needs

Our current combination of years of dry air and dry soil has created conditions where recent fire events have literally turned into fire storms. Fires feed on dry air, dry soil and dead plant material. As the planet gets hotter and drier, and more plants are drying out or dying, conditions become more favorable for fires to get worse year after year. It is a negative feedback loop!

We are witnessing how disastrous this cycle has become, and how it is worsening every year. In the Western US, the “fireseason” starts earlier and lasts longer every year. Increasingly, the destruction from larger and larger fire events is not just limited to wilderness areas. The threat of fire has encroached on our towns and our cities, ravaging homes and communities.

During the drought years, local municipalities have put bans and restrictions on how much or when we are allowed to water our gardens. In many instances, this exacerbates fire conditions. This becomes part of the Drought Dilemma, as these restrictions prevent the aquifer from being recharged, increasing the amount of dried soil and dead plant material. For many homeowners, these restrictions just result in dead, dried up lawns and hydrophobic soil.

In addition to reducing the water added to your garden, municipalities and local fire departments are encouraging residents to keep a 5 foot area around the house clear of plants. The assumption is that the homeowner is not properly watering their plants (safe to assume as watering your garden has become taboo during the drought!), resulting in dry soils with dead plants that can light up against your home and increase the fire risk. Dry brush and dead plants against your house is definitely a real risk, and it needs to be prevented through garden maintenance.

Keeping it lean and green

Dry soils and dead plants contribute to exacerbated fires and fire conditions, perpetuating a dangerous cycle. On the other hand, moisture and humidity from healthy plants minimizes firedamage. Property with adequately hydrated soil and thriving plants can minimize or even thwart a fire that is raging in the area.

At Mariposa, we have actually observed our gardens (and the homes attached to them) spared in areas where wildfires raged around them. In one of our gardens, the moisture in the soil and the thriving plants surrounding the structures literally stopped a wildfire in its tracks. This just shows that it is crucial to understand how we can play a role in minimizing fire risks by continuing to irrigate our gardens.

"The fire department's message is a bit more complicated than simply asking residents to "keep areas around the house clear of plants."We ask residents to keep it "lean and green" and get rid of dead and dying vegetation. "

~ Duncan, Berkeley Fire Department**

Redwood understory garden

The solution: water your garden

If you are properly taking care of your garden, and not allowing the soil of your garden to dry out, the green plant material on your property will actually minimize your fire risk.

When your plants are well hydrated, they transpire and add moisture to the air. This helps reduce the intensity of any fire that may occur near your house. In addition, any moisture in the soil will help to minimize the type of fire storm activity we have seen in the last couple of years.

As plants grow, they capture carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and they also release moisture. That moisture goes on to create clouds and rain. If we break this cycle by insufficiently watering our gardens and allowing our soil to dry and our plants to die, we are hindering the water cycle. And when drought decreases the amount of rainfall, the worst thing that we can do is to stop watering our gardens.

We need green growing things to help cool our planet, and to create clouds.

"Fires feed on oxygen, heat, and fuel - in this case, we are suggesting that dry and dead plant matter contribute to the fuel available to fires and increase homes' vulnerability. 90% of home ignitions are actually caused by ember storms and slow-moving ground fires often after a wildfirecomes through an area. This is why we are asking residents to pay particular attention to the immediate area around the house (0-5 feet) and Zone 1 (5-30 ft). Most of the fire departments that we interact with are asking residents to pay particular attention to zones 0 and 1 and keep their gardens lean and green. Watering gardens, indeed, contributes to this goal and we appreciate you letting folks know."

~ Duncan Allard, Berkeley Fire Department

Water does not belong in pipes or storage tanks. It belongs in the earth. The earth is becoming more and more parched. As we think of ourselves as stewards of the earth through our gardens, we can combat extreme drought, intense fires and furthering the heating of the planet by watering our gardens.

For additional information on fire safety from the Berkeley Fire Department, please visit berkeleyfire.com. Thank you for reading and please share!

Permeable drivable meadow installed by Mariposa (Saxon Holt)

We are moving to Substack! Since our current newsletter platform, Mad Mimi, is ending on August 30th, future newsletters will be coming to you from our Substack. You can view future Mariposa newsletters in the Substack app, or on your browser. We will also be uploading them to our website if you prefer to view them there.

We'd love for you to stay connected so make sure to follow us on Instagram @mariposagardening where we will start sharing links to our newsletters when they are posted.

Habitat Gardens

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:24:11 GMT

Habitat Gardens

Put your hands in the soil and feel the dark, moist, gritty earth; smell the aroma of soil and plants and wake up to your surroundings. Sweat a little and enjoy the beautiful, tasty fruits of your labor.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and native strawberries (Fragaria vesca ssp. californica) create a dynamic and delicious groundcover. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

Gardening connects us to nature. It also invites us to think like scientists. The garden is our laboratory where experimentation, observation, and evaluation are a part of the process.

Conventional gardening advice teaches us to compartmentalize and evaluate the garden through the lens of each particular problem. Once the pest or disease has been isolated and identified a targeted treatment is applied. What can we buy to make the powdery mildew go away or combat pesky white flies? Yet isolating a disease or a pest problem and treating it with a product often means harming other living organisms, bacteria, and beneficial forms of life that support the health of the garden and its plants.

Mostly native plantings in this small sandy backyard near the beach in San Francisco provide songbird habitat with woody shrubs along the fence and a low open coastal meadowscape in the foreground. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

At Mariposa, my landscape design/build firm, we look at the garden as a complete ecosystem. Each element in the landscape—soil, water, and plants—is a part of an organized and efficient system that contributes to the overall health and vigor of a garden. Pest problems are not treated as isolated incidences; aphids on the roses don’t necessarily require the latest spray treatment. We can boost the microbial activity in the soil which strengthens the rose bush so it can ward off pesky aphids, adjust irrigation so that the rose isn’t stressed by over- or under-watering, and the right companion plants, such as garlic or thyme, attract ladybugs and other beneficial insects that prey on aphids and help keep their numbers low. It is a multi-pronged approach that treats the entire garden, not just aphids on the rose. It is all interrelated.

In nature, everything is connected. When we unzip nature to use isolated solutions to our gardening problems we override the many dynamic associations that are interwoven throughout healthy natural systems. Designing and building an ecologically strong garden requires us to appreciate our connection to nature and understand how to care for the overall health of the garden. Our efforts to manage water, make good plant choices, and increase the diversity of living organisms in and above the soil, zips everything back together again to create a garden that is healthy and vibrant as well as drought-tolerant and disease- and pest-resistant.

A tapestry of native wildflowers and flowering annuals including love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena), California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), and Clarkia spp., provides a late-spring bloom supporting pollinators and beneficial insects. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

Natural systems are complex, but creating an ecosystem-based garden doesn’t have to be. We frame it as building life in your garden both below and above the soil.

A residential garden planted with meadow habitat plants, a combination of grasses, veggies, herbs, and butterfly-attracting flowers. Photo: courtesy of Mariposa Gardening & Design

Soil Work

Soil is the medium that supports life in the garden. Increasing soil fertility in a healthy way contributes to the overall health of your plants. Garden soil has the potential to support an amazing and diverse network of beneficial living organisms from bacteria and mycorrhizae on a micro scale, to earthworms and beetles on a macro scale.

Increase your soil’s fertility by increasing the life in your soil. Compost and organic soil amendments provide food for beneficial soil organisms. More food increases microbial populations, resulting in increased enzymes and microbial waste, which promote plant health, vigor, and growth; resilience to disease and pest infestations; and increased drought tolerance.

Begin to increase beneficial soil organisms by applying fish emulsion to the garden every week. Switch to once a month as the health of your garden improves along with quarterly additions of organic amendments like kelp, blood and bone meals, ground feathers, rock dust, oyster shells, and an annual blanket of compost. Most garden centers carry blends of organic amendments specially formulated for specific garden needs like vegetables, blooming plants, or acid-loving plants and berries.

Yarrow, Verbena bonariensis, and Carex testacea mingle and mix in this lively composition that’s both beautiful and attractive to pollinators. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

Encouraging Life Above the Soil

Combining plants in ways we can see in nature creates more life and living connections above the soil. Habitat gardens provide food, water, and shelter to a diverse array of living creatures such as butterflies, dragonflies, beneficial wasps, predatory insects such as ladybugs, and pollinators such as honeybees and native mason bees and bumblebees. Fostering a diversity of species creates balance in the garden. If aphids appear in the garden, there are ladybugs are there to keep their populations in check.

We work to build life above the soil by planting densely. A foundation of native grasses, such as Sporobolus airoides and Danthonia californica, and the sedge, Carex pansa, provide shelter for a vast array of pollinator species. Next to these we plant nectar plants with long bloom times, such as Penstemon and Salvia. Then we add nectar plants with early bloom times, such as miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.) and Ribes, and mix in late-blooming nectar plants such as Epilobium (syn. Zauschneria), Galvezia, and native roses. To literally top things off, we layer in trees and shrubs creating “ladders” that allow birds to move up and down and throughout the garden sheltered from predators like cats. We add plants that will provide winter interest, such as native grapes and coffeeberry (Frangula californica, syn. Rhamnus californica), whose red berries hold into winter and provide nutrients for birds. Native strawberries (Fragaria vesca ssp. californica) and herbs such as thyme create a naturally drought- tolerant and lush groundcover that provides food for beneficial insects, birds, and people, too.

Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) and sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) make a great habitat combo. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

Native Plants

Using native plants in the garden is an effective way to create a beautiful garden that mimics natural systems and provides a net gain for the environment. Because they are adapted to local conditions, including life above and below the soil, native plants require less additional water (once they are established) and are more resistant to pests and disease. Natives also provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects. However, because native plants are such sturdy performers under garden conditions where other plants might die, their care is often neglected.

It is commonly believed that many natives can’t handle fertile soil or additional irrigation. I’ve been gardening with native plants for more than 20 years in the Northwest, the Southwest, the Northeast, and the San Francisco Bay Area. During that time, I’ve learned to build lush, beautiful, ecologically sound gardens using a primarily native plant palette by using this ecosystem approach to design. At Mariposa, we treat natives just as we do all other garden plants. We build fertility in the soil with a rigorous schedule of adding compost and organic amendments, as described opposite. Soil filled with lively microbes and plants that are allowed to mingle like they would in nature results in a healthy, robust garden that requires less water, rather than one that looks starved and deprived.

Beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis) and sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) make a great habitat combo. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

Designing gardens with an eye toward creating ecological diversity is a framework that prompts us to consider all of the individual elements at work in nature and weave them together in a finished space.

Andrea Hurd and Mariposa Gardening & Design are committed to creating beautiful and innovative ecological living spaces.

A native habitat meadow demonstration garden with a sculptural stone “Seed Fountain” at The Gardens at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. Plantings include Fragaria chiloensis, Mimulus cardinalis, and Carex pansa. Photo: Andrea Hurd

Republished with permission as first published by Pacific Horticulture , Habitat Gardens

We Won the CLCA 2023 Beautification Award for Small Design/Build Installation!

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 23:24:11 GMT

We're so excited to announce that we won the California Landscape Contractors Association 2023 Beautification Award for Small Design/Build Installation!

Our lead designer, Gina, and Project Manager, Lauren, attended the awards ceremony dinner and accepted the award on behalf of Mariposa Gardening and Design Cooperative, Inc.

Our cooperative is so proud of our work on this stunning front yard design and build located in Berkeley, California!

We got to install a lot of dry stacked stone and pollinator plantings as part of this design, as well as lots of veggies. Thank you to our clients for allowing us to submit this garden for the CLCA awards, and thank you CLCA for selecting our work!

In every garden, we see a unique opportunity to reconnect a space with its natural systems. Exposing nature’s existing elegant patterns allows us to create artfully designed spaces that complement urban environments. This front yard located in Berkeley is no exception!

Here, we expertly selected plants that provide seasonal interest and support ecological diversity year round. Our gardens incorporate plant relationships that are both beautiful and function as a complex ecosystem.

Stonework is a Mariposa specialty. We often incorporate stacked stone walls and stairs into our designs, as they are beautiful and withstand the test of time. Dry-stacked stone work has been used throughout the world for many centuries to build houses, walls, staircases and bridges. Many of them still stand, hundreds of years later. Carefully selected stones are knitted together using a time-tested technique that forms an interlocking, load bearing structure.

These walls can also withstand earthquakes! In the event of an earthquake, properly built dry-stacked stone walls become tighter and stronger than stone bound with mortar, which is always something to think about in the Bay Area!

This basalt planter also draws our clients out to the garden and provides them with seasonal veggies.

At Mariposa, our goal is to strengthen the connection between our clients and the natural world. One of the ways we like to do that is by incorporating seasonal veggie beds into our designs! This helps get our clients into the soil and fosters that attunement with our natural systems.

We strive to help our clients find their home in nature, while creating artfully designed spaces with locally sourced materials that are ecologically sound.

We see each of our gardens as a link in a chain of microhabitats that support birds, butterflies, humans, and pollinators. The recognition from the CLCA through this award further inspires our women-led cooperative to continue on our journey to change the face of the landscape industry to be empowering, both to us and our natural ecosystems.

We're working to popularize sustainable and artful spaces, as well as the aura of shared responsibility and environmental stewardship that comes with being a design/build cooperative.

Thank you again to the CLCA for selecting our design for this award! We also thank all of our clients for their continued support and dedication to our mission!

Don't forget to follow us on our Instagram @mariposagardening

and find us on Facebook to follow along on our journey!

WATER IN YOUR GARDEN AND IN THE EARTH

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 15:43:46 GMT

Is the drought over? Do we still need to conserve water in our homes? Can we go back to watering our gardens? Folks who live in Northern California, where we have been experiencing extreme drought conditions for the past several years, want to know.

WINTER RAIN AND SNOW

This past rainy season in Northern California has set many records. We are above average in rainfall. Snowpack in the mountains has reached huge new highs. Groundwater levels are also on the rise, but due to so many years of drought, are still below normal historical levels in most areas.

EXTENDED DRY CONDITIONS

The extended drought has heavily impacted the lives of human, plant and animal populations. Over the last several years, low water levels have led to water shortages and restrictions on water use. Less hydrated soils and lower ground water tables have dried out and stressed plants. Dry soils and dried out plants bear less food sources to the populations of wild animals and insects that depend on them. In addition, drought across the west has led to hotter and drier conditions making the fire season in the west more dangerous. The lack of humidity in the air creates conditions where during a fire dry soils pull moisture from the air, creating the firestorm conditions that are becoming more common.

LOWER WATER TABLES

The ongoing drought in Northern CA lowered the water table. A lower water table causes a lack of water for trees, grasses and other deeply rooted plants to draw from. As a result of lack of water, death and disease in the plant world has increased. Plants that are so severely dried out, even if they come back, become less resilient to pests and diseases.

HYDROPHOBIC SOILS

Hydrophobic soils are like a dried out sponge. If a water droplet falls on a dried out sponge, it beads up and tries to roll away. However, healthy soils are also like a wrung out sponge. Just like a wrung out sponge that will take a drop of water, and wick it through the entire sponge, soils that are properly saturated will be able to wick water to a wide area, keeping soils well conditioned for plants throughout the seasons. Even though so much rain fell, many areas are still plagued with hydrophobic soils and low water tables.

SUPER BLOOM

One of the more fabulous effects of all the water we received this season is the super bloom. We are seeing all over the hills of California.

The over 12 different atmospheric rivers that we experienced during the 22-23 winter, allowed the soils in many areas to resaturate and hold moisture during the germination season of our native wildflowers, making it a super bloom this year. The number of flowering plants and green growth seen even in our neighborhoods and on our streets is also a testament to the power of green growth when soils are properly saturated.

YOUR GARDEN IS AN ECOSYSTEM

Depriving our gardens of water damages the soil, and makes it inhospitable for plants to grow. This is one thing that nature is teaching us about right now. During the drought, we have been encouraged and even legally coerced into saving water by letting your garden dry out. But a dried out garden, with dried out soils is only going to create a situation where the earth becomes hotter and drier

Examining the water cycle teaches us that we need plants and trees to transpire, or emit moisture, in order to create clouds. This is how we get our rain. Transpiration can happen when plants are green and full of water. If you have ever walked through a forest on a warm spring day, you would have felt the moisture in the air from the plants transpiring. This is possible because enough rain has fallen to properly soak the ground and allow the plants to grow and transpire. So in order to keep the soils moist enough for plants to grow, the cycle must continue.

If we break the water cycle by not watering our plants because we are concerned about conserving water, we are increasing the damaging effects of the drought. Not watering your garden won’t work to conserve water because dry soils don't grow healthy plants. If we don't have healthy plants, we won't have enough transpiration to build clouds to give us rain. If we want to conserve water we must take shorter showers, use water efficiently in the home with our appliances and practices. The best thing to do with water that comes from the tap is to put it into the earth .

TO WATER OR NOT TO WATER YOUR GARDEN

Lithohydrology: The art and science of moving water through a landscape using dry laid stone work.

Wed, 17 May 2023 16:25:55 GMT

LITHOHYDROLOGY

Harvesting water through the use of dry laid stone work

Lithology -- Definition according to Merriam-Webster dictionary:

the study of rocks

the character of a rock formation

Hydrology -- Definition according to Merriam-Webster dictionary:

a science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on and below the earth's surface and in the atmosphere

It’s all in the Design

Understanding the way nature works is the guiding principle for our designs at Mariposa. Our design team considers multiple ways to replicate natural ecological systems in your garden.

One of the ways we use our understanding of natural systems is through the designing and building of garden features out of stone. Our stone features are durable and they are also permeable. We do not use mortar to bind our stonework, rather we employ techniques to build walls, patios and paths that have been proven over centuries to be durable. Dry laid stone work allows water to move through stone structures. Our techniques with stone give us the ability to slow, spread and sink in our gardens to make sure that the water that falls in your garden, stays in your garden.

Water is a resource, not a waste source

Conventional wisdom dictates that rainwater falling on a roof and property, must be removed away from the property in order to not cause damage to the house foundation. Most often, water is routed out into the street through downspouts from the roof and underground french drains. Downspouts and french drains channel rainwater to a point off of the property, most often routing it into the streets where the water gathers pollution before it enters a storm drain. Storm drain water eventually is delivered into an existing river or creek or into the Bay in the Bay Area. This water is not well suited for natural ecosystems as it introduces unwanted pollution.

Removing the water that would naturally fall on a property is a way of protecting a house from water damage. This action makes the water a source of waste that homeowners feel the need to protect their property from. However, especially during a drought, we see this water as a resource that can be used and stored on the property to keep the plants green and thriving.

With thoughtful design and intentional building techniques, we use stones to move water away from foundations and keep it in the landscape. This is especially important to do in the drought to replenish the groundwater table.

Slow it, sink it, spread it

At Mariposa we build stone features, such as walls, on a foundation filled with drain rock and decorative gravel. This feature is called a "footer" as it is at least one foot deep. A footer can slope in one direction or another, depending on how we want water to move in the landscape. This construction allows us to move, collect and store rainwater in the ground. The drain rock allows the water to gradually move under the ground, away from foundations, houses and other structures that may be damaged by water, slowly sinking into the soil as it goes. When we design our gardens, we are thinking about where to locate our stone features often based on how we want water to move through a property.

Grading the landscape with dry laid stone features

We construct stone hardscape features such as dry stacked stone walls and dry laid paths and patios with natural construction methods that are both ecologically friendly and create ways to move water to where we want it in the landscape. Dry laid stone walls have “footers” which are essentially trenches filled with drain rock. Paths and patios are similarly constructed, in that they have a 6' base of drain rock and decorative gravel, allowing them to further slow, sink and spread water.

The pan grade, which is the native soil after existing concrete or plants are removed, is graded by hand so that water flows away from the foundation of the house at a slope of at least 2%. Dry laid paths and patios are constructed on top of 3” of drain rock with 3” of decorative gravel above that. The drainage material under the flagstone helps to set the stones in place while allowing water to percolate into the rock and soil below at a rate that avoids puddling or flooding.

A New Year's Tale of Getting Your Garden off to a Good Start!

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 16:38:36 GMT

How we prep for planted areas at Mariposa

Minimize the weed pressure!

The Mariposa Team does it all for your garden; Design, Installation and Maintenance (or what we like to call 'Garden Care'). After the garden is in, we don't want our Garden Care team to be doing excessive weeding. So, over the years, we have perfected our approach to prepping your soil so that when our garden care team comes to care for your plants, the weed pressure is minimal. We do this through a series of steps, the first of which is to hand weed. In the garden we are featuring here, we did an initial weeding and then after about a week, when the crabgrass started to sprout again, we did an even deeper weeding to make sure we got as many of the roots out as possible. (Keep an eye on the red barn storage shed, this will help keep the perspective, as the garden changes).

How to mitigate a weedy "lawn"

When we arrived, the crabgrass and ehrharta were everywhere They were tall and well established. In addition, oxalis has infected many areas of the garden. We only noticed the oxalis after we had started our weeding this past October as oxalis only grows when temperatures are below 70 degrees. This can keep it hidden if we are designing a garden during the warmer months. However, once we start the clearing process, the tell tale bulblets will reveal themselves, so we know to take care of them too. When we initially come in and assess a new garden that is infected with weeds that are especially tenacious, we take note. We do not want to be dealing with them after the garden is finished. We want our clients to be happy with the results and to have a garden who's plants are thriving and not competing with the weeds. Crabgrass, ehrharta and oxalis are some of the most difficult weeds to deal with. Between the three, we had deep roots, easily spreading seeds and bulblets that can imbed themselves deeply into the soil and regrow quickly.

Once we remove all the weeds, we will flame weed. Flame weeding involves a special flame weeding torch that attaches to a typical grilling gas tank. The blue hot flame is quickly moved over the soil, effectively eliminating any existing weed seeds that are on top of the soil and desiccating any remaining roots that we may have missed. This is a very good way to prevent weeds from sprouting after we plant the new garden.

Its all about the cardboard!

At Mariposa, we believe in doing all that we can to protect the planet. One of the things that we do, which always feels like a win win is to lay down 2 layers of cardboard after the flame weeding is done. If we have discovered oxalis, we lay down 4 layers of cardboard. Cardboard is a great way to protect the soil and keep the weed pressure down. It is just enough of a barrier to discourage any weeds from coming up right after planting. However, it will decompose over a short period of time, allowing the soil to breathe. Typically, the plants we want to grow will have a bit of a head start with the cardboard in place suppressing the weeds. Once the cardboard breaks down, the desirable plants have filled in and the weeds are outcompeted. At Mariposa, one of our standards of practice is to collect cardboard that others are throwing away. One can purchase rolls of cardboard from box stores that sell building materials, but our aim is to make use of what is otherwise a waste source. We will find our cardboard in recycling bins, at the recycling center and our staff will bring cardboard from our own homes. If you have extra cardboard to discard of, please let us know! We will happily come pick it up and put it to use in one of our many gardens.

And Netafim!

Another thing we do before we plant is to put in a grid of netafim irrigation. The netafim is a 1/2" line of irrigation tubing that has emitters spaced every 12." This allows the soil to be evenly saturated, like a damp sponge. When we keep the soil saturated at this level, every drop of water that hits the soil is wicked into it evenly. This level of saturation is good for nearly all plants, whether they prefer slightly drier or slightly moister soil. Even saturation keeps all plants healthy and thriving. Soil with even saturation is able to support a wide diversity of micro and macro organisms in the soil. Bioactivity in the soil keeps the soil healthy and your plants thriving. Our favorite place to purchase all of our irrigation supplies, including netafim, is Urban Farmer, a Bay Area legendary irrigation supply store.

Once the irrigation lines are all laid out, we add 3" of organic compost. Our favorite is a product called "Wondergrow." It can be purchased by the bag or by the yard from American Soil and Stone in Richmond, CA. The netafim lines are intended to be buried 3" under soil or compost. The beauty of this is that the water you are using to irrigate your garden does not evaporate the way it does with overhead sprayers.

Garden Care And The Drought

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 16:28:03 GMT

As the drought lingers in California, and concerns about how to save water are at the forefront of our minds, many of us are thinking about how we can best conserve water in the garden.

Where do we get our water?

Water conservation is of utmost importance these days. Our rivers and lakes are depleted, and the water sources for our major cities and agricultural areas are running dry. But where does the water from our tap come from, and why is it running low? In the East Bay, our water supply comes from captured snowmelt from undeveloped public and private watershed lands of the Mokelumne River. It is collected at the Pardee Reservoir which is 90 miles east of the Bay Area.

“In a year of normal precipitation, EBMUD uses an average of 21 million gallons per day (MGD) of water from local watershed runoff.”

In drought years, most, if not all, of the snowmelt runoff is evaporating from the reservoir, so what we have historically counted on to replenish the water supply in the reservoir is disappearing. Without the annual replenishment of water to make up for what is used, the water stores become depleted. This is why there are alarm bells raised for us to conserve water in our homes by up to 30%. As the planet gets hotter and drier, our water stores are going to continue to diminish more over time.

Water Conservation

There are many ways we can work together to bring down our water usage. Here are a few tips on how to save water in the home from the State Water Resources Control Board. Many of these tips, such as take 5 minute showers and turning off the water when you brush your teeth or shave can save a significant amount of water.

Even today, the overall square footage of most gardens are made up of a conventional lawn. Due to the high water usage of lawns, and because lawns are typically irrigated with sprayers that lose up to 75% of the water they put out in evaporation, they are water guzzlers, and need to go. One of the main ways our municipalities are asking us to conserve water is by restricting the amount of water we use in the garden. Currently, in the East Bay, we are limited to watering our gardens 3 times per week. For many of our established Mariposa Gardens, this works out fine. We have conditioned the soil, installed a Netafim drip irrigation system, a subterranean line that loses no water to evaporation. However, under watering a healthy native low use garden can have more damaging effects on climate change than it would cost to give that garden the right amount of water to thrive.

It's all about the soil

The Mariposa garden care team consistently checks the soil to make sure that the soils in our gardens have a very consistent saturation level to that of a wrung out sponge. When soils dry out due to heat spells, or after our long dry summers, they can become hydrophobic. Hydrophobic soils are like a dried out sponge. Water will be dripped into the soil and will bead off and roll down, not allowing its life giving sustenance to the plant roots. This can happen, even in an established garden under high heat conditions, especially on sunny and exposed slopes. Once the soils become hydrophobic, it takes a lot more water to rehydrate the soil so that it gets to the saturation point of a wrung out sponge. This saturation point in the soil acts just like a sponge does. It will take that drop of water, and wick it through the soil, thereby keeping your plant roots well hydrated. Well hydrated plants are healthier, are better able to resist disease and pests and also contribute to transpiration. It is the transpiration of plants that creates clouds, and rain. Therefore, we are under an ecological obligation to keep our gardens hydrated.

Water Cycle

It’s important to understand that green, growing things (plants) provide a critical role in supporting the earth’s water cycle. Reducing water use by allowing our gardens to dry out and die back will only escalate our drought problems.

Transpiration is the movement of water through plant leaves, stems, and flowers into the atmosphere where moisture condenses and contributes to precipitation that falls from the sky and back into the soil. And then the cycle repeats. Less rain means less access to naturally clean water. And in the absence of a thriving layer of plants, any water captured in the soil moves further down into the ground, where it can be stored for thousands of years. Without plant cover, transpiration is reduced, in effect robbing the water cycle of potential moisture. A loss of green plants will increasingly heat up the planet and dry it out.

How do we Conserve Water?

At Mariposa, we have worked hard to find ways that we can both conserve water and keep our gardens lush and full of plant life that will contribute to the cooling of the planet. Sometimes this means that during hot spells, we may need to water our gardens in areas that are more exposed to the sun and heat more than 3 days per week. This does not mean the gardens need to over consume water, but allowing the soil to become hydrophobic is a bigger contributor to global warming than adding more water to the garden. We want to help our clients to find the balance between water conservation and keeping the gardens green.

One of the ways that we do this is through water harvesting. In all of our garden designs, we are incorporating ways to keep the water that falls on your property there. We will take your downspout and direct the water that falls onto the roof and slow it, sink it and spread it out into the garden. This helps to raise the groundwater table on your property, which can help larger plants such as trees and shrubs have better access to water during drought periods.

Living Fountain

Another way we do this is by tapping into your graywater, and developing a greywater system that will keep your plants green. There are many ways to design a greywater system. One of our specialties at Mariposa is our Living Fountain. The Living Fountain cycles your graywater through a mini constructed wetland system. The water is filtered through plant roots and soil, nature's way of cleaning water, which is superior to any constructed water filtration systems. In addition to cleaning the water, it is also bio-activated with beneficial nutrients and bacteria which act to help your plants thrive, and become more drought tolerant.

MEET THE GARDEN CARE TEAM

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:48:01 GMT

Kari and Allison have been working as co-leaders on The Garden Care Team since last fall.

The team is committed to implementing Mariposa's philosophy of “Find your home in nature.” Meaning, they are working with nature, rather than against natural systems, to care for all of our gardens.

When we asked Allison, who is an experienced gardener, how she thought we stand out from the rest, she said, “At Mariposa, we are much more concerned with the functionality of plants and role of plants. Not just what looks good but how they can provide habitat. How they provide year round nectar sources rather than just the aesthetics of year round color, yet we still accomplish the same level of beauty as any high end garden when we focus on pollinator and wildlife needs.”

From left to right: Kari and Allison loving a Mariposa garden

How we do it

To make sure our client’s garden habitats stay in balance, we practice an ecologically based way of designing and caring for our gardens. This requires planting a diverse array of pollinator friendly plants and grasses, as well as providing water, food and shelter for any beneficial insects that may want to visit your garden. Some of the things we do during our garden care visits are:

* fertilizing with organic fertilizer,

* checking and adjusting irrigation seasonally,

* hand picking weeds,

* employing non-toxic and organic methods of pest management, such as hand picking or spraying with water

* planting cover crops in vegetable beds in the winter to boost the soil fertility and

* annually apply compost and mulch to the entire garden for soil health.

An assortment of native and pollinator friendly plants in all of our gardens promotes a medley of native bees, wasps and other pest predators that keep down pest pressure. The variance of plants and beneficial insects ensures that your garden stays in balance as an ecosystem, which makes it very low maintenance. When we install our gardens, we implement methods such as flame weeding and sheet mulching to control weed pressure. We work to build up the health and texture of your soil so that it will hold water longer, and make it available to your plants, even during a drought.

Find your home in nature

We have a unique approach that is distinct from other landscaping companies. “We work with our clients to get them their dream garden but we are first and foremost gardening as advocates for wildlife habitat and climate friendly practices” says Kari.

Growing Food for Your Family

Our edible gardens, which we call Fruit Tree Guilds, are attentive to building natural systems as well. Our distinct practice of designing and caring for gardens means that we plant a well thought out array of edible plants from herbs and edible flowers to berries and fruit trees, in addition to vegetables, both annual and perennial. This ensures a healthy balance in the garden, keeping pest and disease issues to a minimum and making your edible garden healthy and resilient. Mariposa’s gardens are always striving to build life both above and below the soil.

Gardens are Life

Allison’s favorite thing about gardening with Mariposa is visiting gardens over time, seeing how things she’s planted grow and how the garden looks throughout the seasons.

Kari’s favorite thing, discovering all the tiny life happening between the leaves.

We look forward to working with you **in your garden. Please let us know if you would like to discuss how we can help you care for your garden and care for the earth at the same time.

info@mariposagardening.com

510-891-1835

Special Offer 50% off of your next garden care for each new client that you refer who signs on for our services! email us!

Mariposa Gardening & Design Cooperative, Inc.

Introducing Mariposa's Round the Block Farms

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 16:58:04 GMT

We are living through interesting times

Covid-19, the coronavirus, has us all in a new situation, but we are living through it together. Sheltering in place means a large proportion of our communities are home a whole lot more than we used to be. Sheltering in place disrupts our normal schedules, distances us from our family, friends and co-workers. This isolation and finding new ways to adapt to it, forces us to refocus and realign our lives.

Some of us are still working, albeit at home, which means we probably have jobs that require us to spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Some of us in service industries considered “non-essential,” such as landscaping, are sitting at home too - but with a bit of time on our hands.

All of us have questions and anxieties. When will this end? How will I continue to pay bills and feed my family safely? What if the supply chain breaks and I can’t get things my family needs? All of us at Mariposa share in these feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Particularly when it comes to food.

That’s why we’ve chosen to use our collective skills to help our community grow food. As a cooperative, serving our community is one of our bedrock principles, and it’s at the heart of our decision to launch a new service. We’re expanding our business -- historically focused on creating garden sanctuaries for humans that support and regenerate the natural environment -- to now also provide more food security for our community.

Introducing Round the Block Farms

Have you ever wanted to have a vegetable garden? Many of us are so busy, even now, that the wish to grow vegetables doesn’t sync up with the time it takes to actually do it. Never mind the time it takes to learn how to be a successful grower of vegetables!

To make it possible, even for those who are still working (whether at home, or in a service industry, and/or trying to manage home-schooling their children at the same time), Mariposa's Round the Block Farms will provide everything you need to grow your own food.

We'll use our proven, award-winning ecological design-build processes to create a space where you’ll grow vegetables, fruits, kitchen and medicinal herbs, and companion plants that help bring pollinators and discourage pests so your garden will thrive. We’ll take care of weeding, fertilizing, harvesting too - or you can have the pleasure of doing those things yourself if you prefer.

Giving Back

We want to give our customers the chance to share with the community as well. Our vision is to provide opportunities for those who have extra to share their harvest with others who may not have access to land for growing, or even to fresh vegetables and fruits at all. We’ll also make it possible to sponsor all or part of a planting bed installation and maintenance for people who need to receive the aid.

In short, Round the Block Farms is all about:

Building up your health and immunity with fresh food. Fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs have higher levels of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. These elements are key to building up a healthy and strong immune system.

Building up your community with sponsorships and surplus vegetables. Help others weather this storm by donating - your produce, or your money, or both - to help supplement the food supply or support the installation of vegetable gardens for others in your community.

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Mariposa's worker-owner team brings years of experience as farmers, garden designers, and teachers to this new venture. And we’ve always grown food for clients who want it - it just hasn't been our primary focus. That means we know how to do this, and do it successfully.

The idea to create Round the Block Farms came out of our reaction to the sudden shutdown of our normal landscaping business. But as we’ve dreamed and thought and worked out the details, it’s become more and more clear to us that this project is central to who we are as an organization and a cooperative dedicated to caring for our team, our customers, and our community. It fits perfectly with who we are, and who we want to be.

Even more importantly, we think this is a service that's needed in the world today - for now, and even beyond this time of pandemic. As we launch, the time is NOW for planting spring food gardens - we can't delay another minute. If you’d like to learn more about how it works, visit our Round the Block Farms page here.

March 22 is World Water Day!

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 17:15:05 GMT

This post was crafted by our South Bay Manager and Crew Leader Elizabeth Sarmiento. Her life has been an unbroken string of social justice and environmental activism. You can learn more about her work Here.

World Water Day provides us with the opportunity to focus our attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2010, the United Nations recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”. However, 2.1 billion of people today are still living without safe drinking water. This happens even in our own country - 70 million people in the USA may be affected by health-based contamination of water, including lead, copper, arsenic, and other contaminants.

Find your home in nature

We all agree that water is precious—so instead of moving it off our properties we can "Slow it, Spread it, Sink it", a basic Permaculture principle that we at Mariposa are proud to practice and incorporate in our projects. We capture storm rain in barrels to water our veggie gardens or trees during summer time and build permeable driveways to recharge the groundwater. Our rain gardens are created with bio-swales, and basins that direct, detain, and filter water to invigorate our soil ecology, enhance our yard's aesthetic, encourage habitat, filter pollutants to keep them out of The Bay, and assist in the relief of over-tasked city storm drains. These practices support the UN's initiative of safe, clean drinking water, and sanitation as a human right.

If you're interested in the work of Mariposa and in working with us to make a difference in honoring World Water Day year round visit us Here. You can learn more about our Water Wise Practices through visiting the blog posts listed below.

Adding Shelter and Water for Pollinators to the Garden

Secret Sources of Free Water

Pruning for Health and Seasonal Interest

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 17:40:53 GMT

At Mariposa, we have a particular way of working with plants that is geared toward understanding and honoring the nature of each species. It can take a long time to learn each plant, but a few tips on ways to “listen to plants” can help all gardeners become more skilled in the art of pruning. When we say “listen” what we mean is to observe them and the way they grow closely. This practice means you don’t necessarily have to read a book on how to prune each plant (though that is also very helpful and highly recommended--especially for fruit); instead, you can find patterns in the way certain plants grow that can be applied to a number of species.

There are some general rules of pruning, however, and this post covers the basics that you can use to get started on pruning most of the trees, shrubs and perennials in your garden.

The Rules of Pruning

To prune properly, when you cut a plant’s branches or stems, always cut a little bit above a growth node, where the bark tends to get squishy or shows a bit of a ring. Just above that bark change is where the cells on the bark can generate a healthy cover to the wound. Growth nodes are the points on the stem where buds, leaves and branching twigs originate. They usually look like little brown, green or reddish nubs just poking out from the stem. Cuts should be made at a 45 degree angle and angled away from the node or bud, so that water can shed away from the plant. The drawings below show you how to cut depending on whether the plant has buds that alternate on the stem, or are opposite to each other.

The first rule of pruning is to look for the 3Ds: dead, diseased or damaged. Depending on the health of the tree or shrub to be pruned, this work can range from a small amount of clean up, to taking out a lot of material, especially if the tree or shrub has been improperly pruned in the past. If you have a tree or shrub that is congested with dead growth, that may be your main pruning task.

If your tree or shrub has minimal 3Ds, you can move onto the next phase, keeping in mind the second rule of pruning: Never take off more than ⅓ of the tree or shrub. If you take off more you can damage or even kill your plant.

Once you have taken control of the 3D’s, and you have some live plant left to work with, you can start removing crossing branches. This is particularly important for fruiting varieties, roses, and other trees and shrubs that need good air circulation. You want to focus on the branches that cross, especially in the middle of the plant, because they can invite pest and disease issues in the spot where the branches touch. This spot tends to decay, as if it is damaged or dead, which opens up an environment for pests and disease to move in.

If you have a lot of crossing branches in the middle of your plant, you will need to take the branches down to the Point of Origin (or the POO). Sometimes, the POO is at the base; sometimes the branch comes into the trunk or a to a main branch, stemming from the base. Either way, taking branches back to the POO discourages the build up of more branching in the middle of the tree or shrub, which is how plants get congested and how extreme dieback occurs.

If all of the 3D’s are taken care of, and there are no crossing branches, it’s time to start shaping. This is a more complicated aspect of pruning, and requires some experience in the cause and effect of cuts. A typical shaping issue involves a branch or branches sticking out into an entrance or a walkway. Our instinct is to cut the overreaching branch back to where we want it to be. However, said branch is likely to sprout several other branches on the nodes directly below the cut, creating an even more congested feel once those branches start to mature. Again, the POO is the rule. Taking the branch that is overreaching back down to its POO eliminates the threat of branches emerging from the lower nodes. It also gives the tree or shrub an opportunity to put more energy into branches that are growing at a more desirable height. So, when shaping, consider the entire branch, and the effect the cut will have on the future growth of the plant. Every cut has a consequence.

Basic botany: how pruning works to stimulate plant growth

Just like most living organisms, plants have hormones that determine their growth patterns. We can control how a plant grows by understanding how to stimulate plant hormones with careful pruning.

Cutting back lower branches or stems stimulates the hormones that control the upward growth and the height of the plant. If you want a plant to grow taller, or to produce more main stems from the base, remove the lower branches or branches at the base and the remaining stems or branches will grow taller, rather than bushier.

If you want a plant to grow in fuller, use tip pruning, which means cut back the tips of branches or stems. Tip pruning stimulates growth on the nodes that are just below the cut. Some plants will grow heavily in the 2-3 nodes below the cut, some plants will show stimulation down the whole branch. Either way, a tip prune promotes bushy growth.

Where you cut will be determined by where you want the growth to be concentrated. For example, if you have a “lopsided” tree or shrub with uneven bushiness on one side, you might be tempted to cut back the full side, in order to give the thin side a growth advantage. However, a hard prune like that on the bushier side is only going to promote more branching and more growth. In this case, we need to take a very counter-intuitive approach and do a harder prune on the thin side, knowing that each cut will increase the branching below the cut. The heavy side may get a few select cuts on branches that are large, or on branches that are smaller but grow too close or in the wrong direction. These cuts are taken back to the POO so they won’t create side shoots.

Careful pruning of trees, shrubs and vines (like this wisteria) will reward you with beautiful greenery and spectacular flowers.

Pruning fruit trees

At this time of year, we focus on pruning fruit trees. Fruiting trees can also be summer pruned, but the most popular time of year for pruning fruit trees is winter, before the buds break. Here in the Bay Area, because of our wet rainy winters, we like to wait to prune until as late in the season as possible (the exact timing depends on the fruit). Rain and moisture on a fresh cut can increase the possibility of fungal diseases. That said, waiting too long, after the buds have begun to break can also be hard on fruit trees.

The important thing to know, when pruning fruit trees, is whether they are tip bearing or spur bearing. Some trees produce their flower buds and fruit on the tips of branches, right at the end, instead of on fruiting spurs situated along the branch. Some fruit trees, such as apples, have both tip bearing and spur bearing varieties. Most fruit trees found in local nurseries are spur-bearing, as shown in the picture below, but it is important to be able to tell the difference, because the pruning techniques are quite different. Pruning a tip bearing tree in the wrong places will reduce its fruiting capacity.

In a spur bearing tree, cut the branch leaders by one quarter of the year’s growth, to an outward facing bud. In addition, prune strong lateral branches down to just 4-6 buds, to encourage fruiting spurs.

In tip bearing trees, cut the branch leaders by one quarter only, also to an outward facing bud. The remaining side shoots should stay unpruned, unless badly damaged, as they will bear the fruit for the coming year.

Now is the time

February is a great month to prune your trees and shrubs so they'll be ready to grow vigorously in the spring and summer months ahead. It's a good time to add organic amendments such as compost, mulch, and worm castings to the soil, too, to feed your garden's green inhabitants as they get ready for the latest cycle of growing, flowering, and creating fruit and seeds.

Green is the Color of Nature

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:54:11 GMT

With the onset of global warming, weather patterns have become erratic. According to Time magazine, July of 2019 was one of the hottest on record across the globe. Here in the Bay Area, our past winter rainy season was wet and long, but it still did not pull our region completely out of the long drought we’ve experienced over the last decade. As a result, our annual fire season is becoming more extreme each year.

In spite of the rainfall we received last winter, in general the entire West Coast is experiencing longer, warmer dry seasons, with significantly less precipitation during the rainy season. While we need to be concerned about drought, we should also be concerned about heat, and about the drying out of the landscape. Low winter rainfall and high summer temperatures combine to lower the groundwater table and create dry conditions in the soil. Once soils become dry, they not only cannot provide water for plants, but they also cannot provide nutrients because microbial activity, which is what feeds the plants, is also dying or dead. Water is essential to build life and fertility in the soil.

During these years of drought, one of the primary targets of water use reduction efforts has been for our local municipalities to advocate for reducing or eliminating garden watering. Homeowners are being asked to conserve water by letting their lawns die out; “Brown is the New Green” has become a catchy but simplistic slogan used by said municipalities.

But green is the color of nature.

The Movement of Water

Green, growing things play a critical role in supporting the earth’s water cycle. Reducing water use by allowing our gardens to brown and dry out will only escalate our drought and escalating fire problems.

Transpiration, the release of water through plant leaves, stems, and flowers into the atmosphere, is crucial to the health of the planet. During transpiration, moisture condenses and contributes to the formation of clouds, which carry precipitation. Rain falls from the sky to the earth and this moisture keeps soils healthy and capable of supporting plant life. The water cycle needs to be able to repeat itself in order to keep our planet green and therefore cooler.

Without adequate plant cover, transpiration is reduced, in effect robbing the water cycle of potential moisture and leading to less rain. Less rain means less access to naturally clean water. In the absence of a thriving layer of plants, any water captured in the soil moves further down into the ground, where it may be stored for thousands of years but won’t be available to the plants and other living things above.

Not watering our gardens results in the loss of green plants. This reduction in lush green plant life contributes to the warming and drying of the planet. We can see the effect of this loss at a large scale in our forests in California, where long years of drought have contributed to deadly firestorms that feed on the build-up of dry plant matter and dying trees that go up like matches when a PG&E power line sparks.

The water cycle is an amazing recycling system. Water is cleaned and purified when it passes through plant roots and soil. Encouraging the natural water cycle in our gardens offers us a far more effective response to drought conditions than simply reducing water use and letting our lawns dry up.

Encouraging the Water Cycle in the Garden

With this in mind, responsible gardeners should look to nature as a guide when designing, building and maintaining landscapes and managing water. Growing and watering green plants in our gardens—especially in urban areas—helps to cool the environment and prevent our suburbs and cities from becoming “heat sinks” that only make the problem worse.

Harvesting rainwater and installing greywater (sometimes spelled graywater) systems are two excellent ways to keep our gardens green without using additional potable water. Directing water into swales or habitat depressions, using permeable surfaces, and collecting rain from rooftops are a few of the methods used to keep rainwater on site and make it available for plants. Contouring the land to capture water as well as switching from non-permeable surfaces, such as concrete, to surfaces like decorative gravel and soft-set stone pavers that absorb water, also help to accomplish this goal.

Greywater is water that has been used in your home for bathing or washing. Greywater is considered safe to use in the garden as long as it is handled properly. Rerouting water from washing machines, bathroom sinks, and showers into the landscape instead of the city sewer is good for the garden and lessens the load on the municipal system.

There are several innovative ways to capture and use greywater. Washing machine water is the most accessible, and routing it to your garden is a simple DIY project that most homeowners can do. Online resources and irrigation vendors, such as The Urban Farmer in the Bay Area, provide information and instructions. Many public utilities have developed rainwater and greywater harvesting guidelines for consumers. San Francisco’s water and sewer utility has published a comprehensive instruction manual that will guide you through the process of building a greywater system of your own; you’ll find a link to these and more in the resources at the end of this post.

There are many ways of designing a greywater system for your garden, and they vary in complexity. Applying water from your washing machine directly at the base of well-mulched fruit trees is the simplest way to do it. A more complex action is to filter greywater through a constructed wetland where soil and plant roots clean the water like they would in nature. At Mariposa, we call this a Living Fountain.

After plant roots and soil have cleaned the water, it’s routed into a drip irrigation system in your garden. The living fountain has the additional benefit of “bio-invigorating” water by removing soap, salts, and other chemicals and adding beneficial microbes that improve the health of your soil. Water from a Living Fountain builds life both above and below the soil, causing plants to become healthier and more resistant to pests, disease, and drought.

Living fountains increase the overall health of your garden by supporting a diverse plant palette in the garden, including those that thrive in wet conditions. In turn, plant diversity attracts a more varied array of beneficial insects and contributes to the development of a garden ecosystem that helps control pests and diseases.

These are just a few of the ways to rethink the way we source and use water in our gardens. As our climate continues to warm, I encourage all gardeners to learn more and to start using water recycling practices in the garden.

Yes, it’s time to reduce how much water we use - but it will never be time to contribute to the drying out of our planet. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. We hope it never happens to anyone, but as the danger of deadly wildfires increases, a healthy garden with green, well-watered plants provides a buffer zone helping slow or even stop fires from reaching your home. And by finding a way to collect and recycle water, we’re on the path to balancing the water cycle, one garden at a time.

If you want to learn more or start implementing some of these practices in your own garden, there are many non-profit agencies and for-profit businesses that are ready to help you, including Mariposa. As a bonus, many bay area county water districts offer incentives and rebates for implementing greywater systems in your garden.

Resources:

Mariposa Gardening & Design Cooperative, Inc . is an award-winning design-build landscaping company with a strong commitment to creating beautiful, ecologically minded gardens. Founder Andrea Hurd and her team promote water conservation with their innovative approach to replicating natural systems.

The Urban Farmer Store has locations in San Francisco, Mill Valley, and Richmond Annex. Check out their online library of resources, including information on greywater and rainwater harvesting.

Greywater Action is a collaborative of educators who teach residents and tradespeople about affordable and simple household water systems that dramatically reduce water use and foster sustainable cultures of water. On a policy level, they work with water districts to develop codes and incentives for greywater, rainwater harvesting, and composting toilets.

EBMUD offers its East Bay customers information and support for being “watersmart” in the garden, including how to replace your lawn with plants that thrive in our climate, rainwater harvesting, firescaping, and more.

Valley Water in Santa Clara County offers a wealth of greywater resources including how-to videos, resources on finding equipment and installers, maintenance tips, soap and plant health, workshops, and more.

Access the Graywater Design Manual and other valuable information from San Francisco Water Power Sewer at www.sfwater.org, search: Graywater.

Secret Sources of Free Water

Republished with permission as first published by Pacific Horticulture , Green Is The Color Of Nature ( https://pacifichorticulture.org/articles/green-is-the-color-of-nature/ )

Collaborate with Nature: Design the Way Nature Designs

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 18:04:49 GMT

Do you want to know how you can protect the earth and your community at the same time? Become a steward of the land by planting an ecologically and biologically diverse habitat garden. While this may sound very complicated or technical, it can really be quite easy and even fun. The following steps will help you on your way.

Build life below the soil and above the soil

A garden thrives when we encourage biological diversity both above and below the ground. At Mariposa, we choose plants and combine them in a way that maximizes biological diversity in our garden. So too we feed the soil with compost and organic matter such as turned in cover crops and organic fertilizers including bone meal, feather meal, blood meal, worm castings and manure, to maximize biological diversity below the ground.

These additions break down because they are food to a myriad of microorganisms that live in the soil. The “digestion” of this material causes the microorganisms to release enzymes that feed plant roots. The greater the diversity of organic amendments, the greater the diversity of microbial activity. In turn the microbial diversity feeds the larger decomposers such as beetles and earthworms. With proper care, this environment helps the plants in your garden become healthier and more resistant to drought and pests. In other words, biologically diverse soil is the foundation for a resilient garden.

In addition to organic amendments, it is important to keep soil evenly moist. If your soil is dry it will need to be reconditioned to support life again. “Hydrophobic” soil actually repels water and can no longer absorb it, much like a dry sponge that repels a cup of water. It takes a lot of water to rescue soil from this condition. There are a few signs you can look for to know if you have hydrophobic soil:

Soil is dry - really dry; it can even be sort of crumbly and sandy.
Plants are wilting or dying, even though you’re watering them regularly or it’s raining.
If you dig down 4-6”, the soil is dry.
If you plant seeds, they fail to germinate.
Plants grow in patches instead of spreading evenly.
Water “ponds” on top of the soil, and takes a long time to sink in.

Just like a sponge, soil can be reconditioned to absorb water. Healthy soil, with plenty of organic matter such as compost and a thriving microbial environment, will wick a drop of water evenly, rather than repelling it, as it falls. To encourage microbes, supplement your soil seasonally (3-4x per year) with organic amendments such as compost or manure, and monthly with fish emulsion or compost tea.

Building up a healthy ecosystem in your soil supports a healthy ecosystem in your garden.

More diversity means more resiliency

Ecologists consider the number of species in an ecosystem the best way to measure its health. The more different types of plant and animal species exist in an ecological system, the stronger and healthier it becomes. When a network of species develops together, they learn to depend on each other for survival. In a biodiverse system, there are many producers, consumers, and decomposers that all work together to mutually benefit the success of all species in the system. When species diversity starts to decline in an ecosystem, the system becomes unbalanced. That is when pests and diseases can come in and wreak havoc.

Human societies are not so different. In a community or a nation, when one individual or ideology dominates, others who are not part of the ruling group may suffer from oppression or lack of opportunity, or worse. When there’s a diversity of voices within any organization, the tendency for egalitarianism increases.

Similarly, the less diversity of plants in a garden, the more the chance a “bully” will take over. In an idealized version of the 1950’s suburban backyard, there might be a concrete patio, a large expanse of lawn, and possibly a border of shrubs along the fenceline with a few flowering perennials or annuals mixed in. This landscape is uniform and controlled. The atmosphere around the yard is neat, orderly and tight. But there’s no welcome or place for butterflies, songbirds or pollinators to flourish.

This clean and minimal landscape provides little food, water or shelter for pollinators, and does not allow for a diversity of species. What you see in this type of garden are yellowjackets, wasps, and other garden pests. These “bully” species are scavengers: they feed on the waste of humans, and can find shelter in human structures. They will also rob honeybee hives and will feed on other beneficial pollinator species.

By bringing in a diverse array of plants, in the right combinations, we can attract the desirable insects that prey on the “bullies” and keep their numbers under control. When the garden is opened up to a diversity of plant species growing together and mixed in a way that supports a diversity of insects, garden pests such as yellowjackets are not able to crowd out other species.

Create habitat for birds, butterflies, and pollinators by providing food, water and shelter.

Earlier this year we wrote two posts covering this topic. Follow the links to read about:

Adding Food for Pollinators to the Garden

Adding Shelter and Water for Pollinators to the Garden

Conclusion

If you follow these simple principles, you’ll have a healthy, thriving garden. Then you can enjoy watching the diversity of bird and insect species that visit your garden grow!

Designing with Natural Forms and Patterns

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 20:41:45 GMT

" The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration. " – Claude Monet

For centuries, people have been designing gardens for residences and public spaces. As a result, the field of garden design offers us a wealth of styles and information to turn to, keeping gardeners busy learning how to create the perfect outdoor paradise.

Gardens give us pleasure, they calm our senses and they help us to slow down and relax. Gardens provide beauty and inspiration and can help heal the sick. Gardens provide sanctuary, solace and a peaceful place to return to our connection to the natural world. It is this final perspective, helping our clients find their connection to nature, that we embrace in our designs. In order to foster those connections, we are intimately focused on how nature works from both an ecological and an artistic perspective.

The beauty of nature can be felt and it can also be interpreted. Nature in and of itself can seem chaotic, but within the seeming-chaos lies a tremendous amount of mathematical order. Studying natural systems has allowed designers over the ages to discover certain mathematically-based patterns. Once the order within the chaos is understood, a whole world of design potential opens up. Playing with the idea that there is order within the chaos of a garden gives the gardens we design a sense of harmony. Within the spectrum between wild and tame lies the sweet spot in our designs. Mariposa’s gardens and our designs gain strength from observing the patterns of nature and then replicating those patterns in the garden during design and construction.

Some of the patterns we use in our designs include symmetries, fractals and spirals. Repeating these patterns when laying out hardscapes or placing plants is one of the ways we replicate natural systems in our designs.

Symmetries: There are several kinds of symmetry. In nature, bilateral and radial symmetry are common. Bilateral symmetry means an object has a left side and a right side that are mirror images of each other - most animals and insects demonstrate bilateral symmetry.

Radial symmetry, like the form of a daisy, is common in flowers even when the rest of the plant exhibits little or no symmetry.

Here’s an example of how we used radial symmetry in the design of a stone wall:

Fractals: A fractal, according to Merriam Webster, is “any of various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size.” If you look closely at the picture of romanesco broccoli below, you’ll notice that the same shapes and curves are repeated over and over in smaller and smaller sizes.

Fractals occur in many places in nature. They are essentially repeating patterns that course through an organism. For example, fern branching patterns start with the leaflet pattern as it goes down the stem. Then, the leaflet itself matches the pattern of the branching form.

Trees also repeat their branching pattern from the trunk out to the newest branches. The branches grow out from the trunk and then fan out in a similar pattern throughout the tree. Each tree has its own sort of fractal pattern.

One of the ways we use fractals in our designs is by repeating patterns within our stonework or in our patios. We also use repeats in our planting layouts. For example, we may repeat the same groupings of plants throughout a bed.

Spirals: A spiral is defined by Merriam Webster as “the path of a point in a plane moving around a central point while continuously receding from or approaching it.” Spirals are all around us: the center of a sunflower is a complex spiral, as are the plates of a pineapple. Vine tendrils spiral around the objects they cling to, helping the vine to climb. The DNA double-helix is a spiral; our Milky Way galaxy is a spiral; hurricanes, water going down a drain, nautilus shells, snail shells - even your fingerprints - all spirals.

This post by blogger Sam Woolfe offers a fascinating look at why spirals are so common in nature, and why they have been seen as a mystical and sacred form by so many civilizations over the centuries. Mr. Woolfe’s blog offers an introduction to “Fibonacci spirals,” which are logarithmic spirals based on the Fibonacci Sequence, and which adhere very closely to “the Golden Mean.”

The Golden Mean, also known as the Golden Ratio, is a mathematical concept that is expressed in nature’s patterns. It is another way we use the mathematical order found in nature to complement how we lay out our garden designs. Otherwise known as the Golden Ratio a+b is to a as a is to b. This mathematical ratio is found in the way that ferns unfurl, roses bloom, seashells form, petals are arranged on a flower, pineapples grow and on and on. The wave in the picture below demonstrates the Golden Mean proportions.

Examples of the Golden Mean are endless in nature, and mathematicians have given us the tools to understand natural proportions so that we may recreate them in our work. The ancients used this ratio when building some of the great works of architecture. Artists often use the ratio to create pleasing proportions in their art. In the garden, we can lay out hardscapes and other elements within the garden using the Golden Mean to great effect. At Mariposa, we design our lines in the landscape, the shape of planting beds, the proportion of planted area to hardscapes to this mathematical this proportion. Our “Seed” sculptures and fountains are designed using the Golden Ratio of 1:1.61. Our “Seeds” are often seen as “eggs” or “beehives” or various other forms seen in nature that follow this same proportion. Using the Golden Mean in design is a way of bringing order to the chaos.

The Golden Mean is closely associated with the Fibonacci Sequence. This sequence of numbers is useful when thinking of how to pattern stonework and other hardscapes. It can also be useful in plant layout. For example, when we want to add an element to a stone seed sculpture, we use the Fibonacci Sequence of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 to determine where to add the decorative element. In the sculpture shown below we created the pattern of light and dark layers using the Fibonacci Sequence.

Using rhythms and repeats in plant layout is a good way to engage the garden visitor. Laying out repeats with the sequence in mind is a way of creating order within the chaos that may not be consciously perceived, but is felt. It is the element that makes the garden sing. We use the sequence to determine how much space to leave between plantings too. If we have five very colorful red flowers that we want to incorporate into a garden area, we lay them out with the amount of space between each plant coordinating to the Fibonacci Sequence: two at 1 foot apart, the next at 2 feet apart, the next 3 feet apart, the next 5 feet apart, and so on. This spacing provides a rhythm that creates a feeling of order, even though it may look random. Because this mathematical sequence is seen all over nature, it is familiar, even when we are not consciously aware of it.

Next time you visit a public garden or landscaped parkland, whether the garden is formal or informal, spend some time observing how the design uses rhythm and pattern to bring order and beauty into the space. Or when you take a walk in a forest or on the beach and look for symmetry, fractals, and spirals. We think you’ll be amazed at what you see. If you try this exercise, please share what you find in the comments!

The Mariposa Method: An Introduction

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 20:46:59 GMT

At Mariposa Gardening & Design Cooperative, our philosophy of garden design, creation, and maintenance is based on what we call the Mariposa Method. When we think of gardens at Mariposa, we think of dynamic ecological systems that encourage life on the planet, both above and below the soil. We take our design cues from nature, following her patterns, her rhythms and aesthetic and blending that with our human desire for order. This sweet spot, between the chaos of life and the order of the mind, is where our designs flourish and grow.

For example: all gardeners know that gardens need water to look good. However, the past several years of on again and off again drought in California have encouraged, even required, cutting back on the amount of water we use in our gardens. Many cities and counties have incentive-based programs to encourage homeowners to water less. Those of us in the landscaping field here are all too aware that we may soon be facing water restrictions. As a result, many gardeners are coming up with ways to cut back on watering. However, even in drought, we still need to irrigate our gardens. Gardens contribute to the cooling of the planet, and the transpiration of plants produces clouds. (A new study shows that “...lack of water vapor in the atmosphere has caused a global decline in plant growth over the past two decades, resulting in a 59 per cent decline in vegetated areas worldwide.”) In addition, more plants create cleaner air, and reduce the amount of toxic carbon in the air Plants that are the most beneficial to our environment because they provide food or shelter or both to our native pollinators, need water to survive. Limiting our plant choices, creating arid gardens, and taking away the elements that create life in the garden are not good ways to improve the health of the environment, or of ourselves.

Our approach is different. The key to building a really beautiful garden that conserves water, and does not require the addition of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides is in using an ecosystems approach to design. In other words, the Mariposa Method does not work with single-focus simplistic solutions such as using drought tolerant plants; instead we look at how we plant and what we plant with an eye toward creating a thriving garden ecosystem. We consider whether the plants we choose provide food or shelter for pollinators, and how they co-exist with other plants to increase the diversity of flora and fauna in your garden. The overall design and planting plan support the larger cycles and systems of nature - especially the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the carbon cycle.

When each element in a garden ecosystem is working with all the other elements, complex associations begin to form. The garden becomes healthier and more able to resist pest and disease problems. The soil teems with life and provides nutrients and healthy interconnections between plants and plant roots, so less water is needed to keep plants healthy and resilient to pests and diseases.

We focus on following the natural forms and rhythms of nature, designing with an eye toward creating both beauty and ecological diversity. This framework that allows us to bring together all of the separate factors that go into creating a garden and weave them together into a garden that will thrive in our area and provide habitat value to the birds, bees, and butterflies who live among us. That way, when the garden is finished and we are relaxing with our friends and family outside, we can feel more connected to the natural world around us.

Western Monarchs in Crisis: How You Can Help

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 21:00:25 GMT

Did you know that, with just a little effort and the right plant choice, you can be part of helping our Western Monarch (scientific name Danaus plexippus plexippus) and other butterfly species survive and even flourish, after years of population declines?

The Monarch is beloved because it’s big and showy (have you ever seen a eucalyptus grove full of monarch butterflies? If not, take a look at this video .

The news on western Monarch populations has been bad for a while. “Monarch Butterflies Drop Stuns Scientists” was the SF Chronicle front-page headline on January 17, 2019. The story covers the results of the winter 2018 monarch count in 213 forested groves in California this last winter. The results are alarming: the count showed an 86% drop from a year ago, a 99.4% drop since the 1980s, and “...an all-time low for the Pacific Coast, where an estimated 10 million monarchs once blanketed trees from Marin County to the Baja California peninsula…”.

Eastern Monarchs overwinter in Mexico and migrate north through the eastern United States. They had a much better year. The number of Monarchs that overwintered in Mexico was more than twice as large as the prior year. Something to celebrate, certainly, but the long-term trend is not as rosy. The total population is still only about ⅓ of what it was two decades ago.

It's not just Monarchs that are threatened; many other butterfly species have seen steep population declines or even gone extinct in the recent past. Dr. Arthur Shapiro, Professor of Evolution and Ecology at UC Davis, is one of the world’s leading butterfly experts. He’s been monitoring butterfly populations in California since 1972. In this interview , he notes that what is happening to Monarchs is also happening to many species in our state, due to the “...large loss of habitat and habitat connectivity, and the [landscape] is increasingly becoming more butterfly-sterile.”

Among the Lepidoptera species that have seen steep population declines in the past 10-20 years are the beautiful blue-and-black Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor), the Callippe Silverspot (Speyeria callippe callippe), the Mission Blue (Icaricia icarioides missionensis), the San Bruno Elfin Blue (Incisalia mossii bayensis) and the Bay Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha bayensis). Battus philenor, for example, has nearly disappeared due to loss of habitat for Pipevine (Aristolochia species), its larval host plant.

But there’s hope! Thanks at least in part to active efforts to create habitat corridors, Eastern Monarchs had a much better year in 2018 than Western populations. The number of Eastern Monarchs that overwintered in Mexico was more than twice as large as the prior year. The total population is still only about ⅓ of what it was two decades ago, but human actions have made a big difference in the sustainability of Eastern Monarchs over the last few decades.

Here’s where you come in . Read on for actions you can take to help our Monarchs survive and maybe even rebound.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation , an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats, tracks monarch populations. They offer a Western Monarch Call to Action plan to help the monarch population bounce back:

Protect and manage Monarch overwintering sites.
Restore breeding and migratory habitat in California.
Protect Monarchs and their habitat from pesticides, and work toward elimination or reduction of insecticides and herbicides in Monarch habitat.
Protect, manage, and restore summer breeding and fall migration Monarch habitat outside of California.
Answer key research questions about how to best aid Western Monarch recovery.

Visit their web site to read more about this plan and learn how you can get involved if you want to.

There are some steps you can take in your own garden to help Monarchs survive:

Grow Milkweed, the host plant for Monarch caterpillars, and other native plants that produce nectar. Look for plants that bloom in early spring. Refer to the plant lists published by the Xerces Society for plants that butterflies like to feed on.

If you do plant milkweed, be aware that not all milkweed is alike. Native California species such as Narrow-leaf and Showy Milkweed go dormant in the winter. This encourages the butterflies to migrate as they normally would. Tropical Milkweed does not go dormant, blooming through the winter. This can encourage Monarchs to stick around (hey, plenty of food here, why take that dangerous journey?)

When Monarchs don’t migrate it can cause build up of a bacterium that weakens the developing insect as it transforms from caterpillar to butterfly. OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha) is a protozoan parasite that infects butterflies in the Danaus species group, those that host on milkweed. In the US, OE affects Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Queen (Danaus gilippus), and Soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflies. When butterflies don’t migrate, OE within the population can become quite high. As a result many caterpillars are infected and the adult butterflies are weakened or even killed.

To make a long story short: it’s preferable to plant native milkweeds. If you do plant tropical milkweed in your garden, be sure to cut it back in September. Keep it cut back until the spring, to encourage Monarchs to migrate south during the winter months.

Grow host plants for other endangered butterfly species as well. The Master Gardeners of Sonoma County offer information on California butterflies and their host plants here . The table below shows just a few of the suggested plants and the butterflies they support:

Don’t use pesticides - insecticides or herbicides - in your garden. Period, end of story. Like war, they are not good for children and other living things, as they used to say.
If you find Monarch caterpillars in your garden, you can hand raise them until they become butterflies. This improves their survival rate. It’s also a great experience for you and for your children to watch the caterpillars grow, form a chrysalis, and hatch into a beautiful butterfly that you can set free. You’ll find complete instructions for raising Monarchs on the Save Our Monarchs site. You can do the same thing with caterpillars of other species - just make sure you feed them leaves from their own host plant!
You can also be active on social media to raise awareness! Spread the word, including on social media. Use the hashtag #SaveWesternMonarchs on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram , and add a Save Western Monarchs frame to your Facebook profile picture!
Keep on educating yourself! Mariposa partners with several organizations that do important work to preserve and create pollinator habitat in the Bay Area, and they all offer resources, education, and events that you can use to learn more. They include:
Pollinator Posse
San Bruno Mountain Watch
The Gardens at Lake Merritt
Children’s Fairyland
Suncrest Nurseries
Devil Mountain Nursery
Spiral Gardens
East Bay Nursery
Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
Oaktown Nursery

To make a long story short: if you’re feeling blue about the environmental news that we’re bombarded with every day, there’s no better cure than to get into action to help make our own piece of the planet a little bit healthier. Monarchs, and all the other pollinators, need our help so they can continue to bring us fruits, vegetables, fibers, and a host of other plant-based products that bring pleasure, nutrition and healing to our lives.

Milkweed resources
:Find sources o milkweed
How to grow milkweed

Adding Shelter and Water for Pollinators to the Garden

Thu, 16 May 2019 21:07:07 GMT

In an earlier post we talked about including food for pollinators to your garden. Along with making food available, one of the best ways to make sure your garden is pollinator-friendly is to incorporate shelter by adding grasses and host plants -- trees and shrubs -- planted in a layered fashion, as in the picture below.

Pollinators can find shelter in grasses planted with perennials, debris piles or decaying logs, and in trees and shrubs. Choose mostly native grasses and plant both cool and warm season varieties. Wait until late spring to cut them back, to allow pollinator and butterfly eggs to hatch. The meadow shown here is planted with different varieties of grass to make sure some are always green, no matter what the season.

The picture below is a great example of a pollinator habitat garden spot, with many flower shapes, grasses, and dry-stacked stone that offers nesting and hiding places.

If you need to remove a tree, it can still add value to your garden; just use the wood in your landscape for pollinator habitat. You can lay large branches or the trunk into a garden bed as a feature; you can also make a debris pile from the smaller branches in back areas where they won’t be visible. Both will be much appreciated by native bees, lizards, and other beneficial garden inhabitants.

Last but not least, make sure fresh water is available to pollinators at all time. Water is life! At MGDC we make water available to pollinators in ponds, dragonfly ponds, muddy and wet garden areas, stacked stone fountains, and the Living Fountain greywater purification system.

Be aware that the slippery surfaces in bird baths are not usable by most butterflies, birds and bees. A bowl of pebbles in water is an excellent way to make water available in your garden!

Adding Food for Pollinators to the Garden

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 21:11:26 GMT

Provide food for bees, birds, and butterflies by incorporating plants that offer them nectar, seeds, berries, and pollen. The first thing to think about is adding flowers; flowers are not only beautiful, they also offer food for native pollinators, birds and butterflies. Flower shapes that attract pollinators include:

Compositae - daisy-shaped flowers - because the center of the blossom is actually several individual flowers that they can gather nectar from all at once. The flowers in the picture below are Layia platyglossa, commonly known as tidy tips.

Flowers with “landing pads,” known as a Umbelliferae, are similar to Compositae in that they have many small flower clusters to drink from. “Landing pad” flowers include yarrow, lantana, verbena, and milkweed. The picture below shows several varieties of yarrow.

Pollinators also like the umbrella-shaped flowers from plants such as dill, parsley, carrots, and Queen Anne’s lace.

Trumpet-shaped flowers like Penstemon and Mimulus allow butterflies, bees and hummingbirds to seek nectar from deep down in the throat of the flower.

The Importance of Pollinator Habitat

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 16:34:48 GMT

The focus of our next few posts is on pollinators and how we can help them thrive. The transfer of pollen in and between flowers of the same species leads to successful seed and fruit production for plants, ensuring full-bodied fruit and a full set of viable seeds. Loss of pollinators means many plants can’t reproduce at all, with catastrophic consequences up and down the food chain.

The economic cost of pollinator loss is also high: globally, the annual value of global crops directly affected by pollinators is between US$235 to US$577 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations. According to the USDA, “Three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce.

More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields.”

Most of the plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines depend on pollination to produce the goods on which we depend. Just a few of the foods and beverages produced with the help of pollinators include: apples, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, melons, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins, vanilla, almonds, and tequila. Without pollinators, our plant food options would be few and dull, just grains and greens.

Three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields.

Human survival is intimately linked with many species of insects, especially pollinators. Unfortunately for them, and for us, huge areas of pollinator habitat have been and continue to be destroyed due to land development and large-scale, corporate forms of agriculture. As human populations grow, we eradicate crucial food and shelter sources for pollinator species in order to build homes, shopping centers, schools, industrial parks and agribusiness - the business of agricultural production, which includes agrichemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), breeding, crop production, distribution, farm machinery, processing, seed supply, and marketing and sales. The reduction in habitat areas, especially over the past 20 years, has resulted in a large decline in pollinator populations all over the world.

Agricultural areas in particular have had a huge impact on pollinator populations. As small farms continue to be consumed by giant agribusiness corporations, loss of habitat occurs as corporate farms convert large areas of land from a mixed group of crops and plant cover into a monoculture where only one type of plant is allowed to grow. This lack of diversity in rural areas is detrimental to all kinds of pollinators.

Finally, the increased use of pesticides, as well as the increased toxicity of modern pesticides, further diminishes the ability of pollinators to thrive. The irony of this situation is that farmers need to pay beekeepers to move their bees onto the farms in order to pollinate food crops. Bees that travel across the country to serve as pollinators tend to be weaker. These weaker, stressed bees are believed to be a part of what is leading to colony collapse disorder.

Fortunately, it’s easy to incorporate pollinator habitat into our own gardens. By adding food, shelter, and water to the garden, we can improve conditions for pollinators, and help ensure that food sources are secure for future generations. We’ll talk more about how to add these things to the garden in the next few posts. In the next post, we'll talk about ways to add food for pollinators to your garden.

Water Water Everywhere...

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 21:13:58 GMT

One challenge we face with every garden we create is, what can we build into the design to make sure the garden is not only beautiful, but also a regenerative place of abundant life? All life on earth needs food, shelter and water. We create food and shelter with the plants, but we also need to create spaces where water is accessible to birds, butterflies and bees, in order for them to build a home in your garden.

All gardeners know that gardens need water to stay green and lush, but the past several years of on-again-off-again drought mean we've had to think hard about the amount of water we use - and about how we can cut our water usage back. To make being water wise even more urgent, many municipalities have incentive-based and/or tiered-cost programs to encourage homeowners to reduce their water usage in the garden. It has become expensive to irrigate a garden, even on a small plot of land, using the more conventional irrigation systems.

Plants need water to survive and to provide their environmental benefits of food and shelter for our native pollinators. At Mariposa, we discourage the trend toward limiting plant choices, creating arid gardens, and taking away the elements that create life in the garden; that is not the way to improve the health of the environment for plants, pollinators, OR humans. Transpiration, or the movement of water vapor from plants to the air to form clouds is essential to a healthy water cycle and to a healthy planet. Arid gardens may look modern and stylish and require little water, but a suburb filled with plots consisting of succulents and gravel will contribute to disruptions in the regional water cycle and can actually exacerbate drought conditions by making the planet hotter and drier!

This winter we've had a pretty good year for rain, but the specter of drought still hangs over the state of California, threatening to return. Using water wisely is always a good practice, no matter what the rain gods bring us, and the threat of drought is fundamentally related to the need to combat climate change with methods that promote sustainability and regenerativity.

To paraphrase Hamlet, to irrigate or not to irrigate is not the question. Instead, we need to improve the source of the water that we use in our gardens. Water harvesting and greywater reuse are two of the primary ways to conserve by keeping water on your property instead of pulling more from the municipal tap. In the next two posts we'll show you how you can implement simple water harvesting and greywater techniques to continue to irrigate your garden, without using additional water bought from the city.

Why You Need a Habitat Garden

Wed, 13 Mar 2019 16:14:44 GMT

Does your outdoor space give you joy? Does it allow you the opportunity to connect to the natural world?

Or is it a source of worry, an expensive responsibility, a time-consuming chore?

If you lean more toward the second feeling than the first, you're not alone. When we lead busy lives, spending time in the garden becomes a taxing chore. It can seem like there's always something to do, and not enough time to get it done.

When we first meet our clients, many of them are overwhelmed by their outdoor spaces. Our goal is to help create enjoyable gardens for our clients, where they can relax and settle into a relationship with the natural world. A garden that hold life, such as a diverse array of butterflies, birds and bees, as well as a myriad of colorful plants that bloom year round, is one that can relax our minds, and calm our fears.

Building gardens with an eye toward creating places that invite butterflies, birds and bees is commonly known these days as habitat gardening. Habitat gardening is about building and maintaining gardens by designing them through a way that creates serene spaces full of life, color, beautiful scents, and fresh air. As a bonus, this kind of garden requires less maintenance than traditional gardens because its design works with, rather than against, nature.

Habitat gardening is also about taking a critical look at the standards of both the landscaping and agricultural industries and questioning what we as homeowners and garden makers can do to improve the environment, improve our health, and improve our communities by taking better care of our local environment and the living beings who depend on it.

As a firm with thirty years of experience in designing, building, and maintaining gardens based on permaculture and ecological design principles, we've learned how to create and sustain ecologically beneficial gardens that are also beautiful, inspiring places for human beings. The pictures below show one of our client's gardens before and after; at Mariposa, we want everyone to have a space like this, that takes the stresses of the day away by providing a garden that is teeming with life, one that allows you to connect to the natural world.

We want to share our expertise and knowledge of how to build ecologically inspired gardens with homeowners and members of the gardening community in this blog. Starting one garden at a time, we are working to restore and regenerate the health of our local and even our global environment. We’d love to start a conversation with readers, too; feel free to use the comments to tell us your opinions, experiences, learnings, successes and failures.

Next up: How to design your garden with nature in mind.

Before and after photos show the change from traditional to habitat garden at this Oakland home.

Secret Sources of Free Water

Sat, 02 Feb 2019 16:39:42 GMT

Water makes up about 70% of the planet’s surface, and approximately the same percentage of the human body. Water is everywhere. In order to survive, we need it to be available, and we need it to be clean.

During rainstorms, we’ve all seen our streets fill with water as it moves over the asphalt surfaces and runs into storm drains. Here in the Bay Area, rain water runs from our roofs, driveways and streets, down storm drains, and into the San Francisco Bay. Not so bad, you might think, the Bay needs water to keep it filled, right? The truth is, as the water flows over rooftops and paved surfaces, it picks up all of the pollutants that have accumulated on them, including dirt and dust, gas and oil from cars, and pesticides and fertilizers from our gardens and lawns. All of these sediments and poisons end up in the San Francisco Bay, polluting it every time it rains.

In a natural environment that water would stay on the land, filtering into the ground where it would be purified through plant roots and soil. A typical roof can catch thousands of gallons water every time there's a rainy day -- but we waste this valuable resource when we don’t create conditions that allow the water to remain on the land where it falls. And the pollutants carried in water that moves over impermeable surfaces before entering our waterways without first filtering through soil eventually affect the health of the entire local watershed and beyond - and our health as well.

Fortunately, there are many ways that we can harvest the water that falls on our property, and keep it there for a more ecologically useful benefit. The first way is simply to remove non-permeable concrete surfaces so that water can percolate back into the soil and recharge the groundwater in a healthy way. In addition, the water that we keep out of the storm drains makes the soil we garden on more saturated, and most importantly reduces the need to add water. Another way is to harvest the “greywater” that comes out of our washing machines, bathtubs, and showers.

Seasonal water storage is another way to harvest rainwater, and at Mariposa, we do seasonal water storage with a thing we like to call Dragonfly Ponds.

Dragonfly Ponds

Dragonfly Ponds are one of our favorite ways to harvest water. These water features capture the rain that falls on your roof by redirecting your downspout to deposit rainwater directly back into the ground rather than piping it out to the street. By retaining this water, Dragonfly Ponds create a water source for pollinators, particularly dragonflies. Rainwater is moved to a depression in the garden that’s filled with drain rock and decorative gravel. Water collects in the depression, the pit fills, and over the next few days the water drains back into the earth. This action of filling and draining, paired with grasses planted around the pond, creates the kind of muddy grassy conditions that dragonflies like to lay their eggs in.

The benefits of a Dragonfly Pond include the addition of another layer of habitat to your garden, which in turn attracts flora and fauna that need it. In addition, the water that would have flushed pollution into the Bay is now recharging the groundwater table, and keeping water fresh and clean for the health of future generations.

Next up: how to make your garden a place that pollinators will love

EARLY SPRING FLOWERS

Fri, 11 Mar 2016 21:18:56 GMT

March is a time of year in the Bay Area that sees a fluctuation in temperatures and in precipitation. This year, we were lucky in January to see so much rain, and then to have a warm and dry February. This brought out the blooms. When it comes to blooming, at Mariposa, we love to see as much late winter and early spring bloom as we can. Not only is it beautiful, after the cold grey days of December and January, but it is also important for our winged friends, the butterflies and the bees. Blooming flowers provide nectar and nourishment when the weather starts to get warm and the pollinators emerge from winter dormancy.

Fuschia thymilfolia is an excellent garden performer. It keeps its flowers year round, and provides nectar to a host of pollinators, including bumblebees and hummingbirds. In addition, it does well in dry shade. Often, trying to find plants that work in dry shade is a gardener’s dilemma.

Cerinthe is a flower that will readily reseed itself in your garden. It’s lovely blue flowers are one of our first blooms of the year. Bumblebees and honey bees will be glad that you’ve planted it, as it is blooming right when they start to actively forage again.

Lantana is blooming in my garden right now, however, I normally think of Lantana as a summer bloomer. Maybe it is the effects of the drought that has it blooming out of season. At any rate, it is blooming, and I have seen several bumblebees visiting during our warmer days in Late February.

Ceanothus is one of my favorite late winter and early spring bloomers! It’s beautiful soft blue flowers make it a true gem in the garden. The heavenly and faint scent send me swooning every time I leave in the morning, as I have a full blooming Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ blooming right outside my front door. The bumblebees love Ceanothus, and on a sunny day, one can see several of them working the deep blue blooms.

The fairest of all Early Spring blooms is the lovely Ribes sanguineum. It’s graceful plumes of pink flowers are truly lovely to behold. Right now, in many parts of the Bay Area, they are at their peak. Enjoy them while you can. Once the flowers have faded, they will produce currants that are loved by our local birds.

Mariposa Gardening & Design - Newsletter

Origins of Our Traditional Stone Working Style

International Education with Stone Masters ﻿

The Master Mason’s Pledge ﻿

Intuitive Knowledge and Practice ﻿

UNESCO World Heritage Site ﻿

INTERVIEW WITH LLUC MIR ﻿

CELEBRATING THE NATURE OF TRANSFORMATION

AN ECOSYSTEMS APPROACH TO LIFE AND DEATH

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE GARDEN THIS FALL

MONARCHS HAVE NO BORDERS

“Love is like a butterfly: It goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.” — Anonymous

The Journey of the Monarch

THE ELEGANCE OF BUTTERFLIES

The inspiration behind butterflies and facts about their decline.

Butterflies are key to their ecosystems

Butterfly populations are in decline

Indicator Species

Habitat Loss

Pesticide Use

Climate Change

What can we do

Pro tips to boost butterflies !

Plant pollinator and butterfly-friendly plants!

Plant native grasses !

Keep your garden well-hydrated !

Mind your clippings !

Gardening During Fire Season

Gardening During Fire Season

Dry summers and dry soils increase fire risk — but a healthy, green garden can help protect your home.

Healthy Soil, Safer Homes ﻿

Fire Safety Legislation and Your Garden ﻿

Gardening Wisely: Fire-Safe and Water-Smart ﻿

The Bigger Picture ﻿

Meadows!

The Beauty and Benefits of Meadows

STOP USING WEED CLOTH!

Creating Butterfly Meadows at Mariposa

What Makes a Butterfly Meadow?

Summer Is Almost Here, Start Thinking About Your Soil

CHECK YOUR SOIL!

STOP USING WEED CLOTH!

WEEDING

GRADING

FLAME WEEDING

SHEET MULCH WITH CARDBOARD!

IRRIGATION, COMPOST AND PLANT!

Happy Spring!!!

Ehrharta erecta

Oxalis pes-caprae ﻿

Spring Cleaning For Habitat

Bay Area Winter Gardening: January Tips & Tricks

How to cultivate life in your garden and provide more habitat for pollinators!

Habitat Pro Tip #1 KEEP YOUR LEAVES:

Habitat Pro Tip #2 KEEP SEED HEADS AND DEAD STEMS:

Habitat Pro Tip #3 SPREAD WILDFLOWER AND NATIVE GRASS SEEDS:

Habitat gardens are a little bit wild for the wildlife, and we love them for it.

It’s Fire Season

Cultivating Resilience

Gardens help cool the planet and prevent fires

The Cooling Power of Plants

Keeping it lean and green

The solution: water your garden

We need green growing things to help cool our planet, and to create clouds.

Habitat Gardens

Habitat Gardens

Soil Work

Encouraging Life Above the Soil

Native Plants

We Won the CLCA 2023 Beautification Award for Small Design/Build Installation!

WATER IN YOUR GARDEN AND IN THE EARTH

WINTER RAIN AND SNOW

EXTENDED DRY CONDITIONS

LOWER WATER TABLES

HYDROPHOBIC SOILS

SUPER BLOOM

YOUR GARDEN IS AN ECOSYSTEM

Lithohydrology: The art and science of moving water through a landscape using dry laid stone work.

LITHOHYDROLOGY

It’s all in the Design

International Education with Stone Masters

The Master Mason’s Pledge

Intuitive Knowledge and Practice

UNESCO World Heritage Site

INTERVIEW WITH LLUC MIR

Healthy Soil, Safer Homes

Fire Safety Legislation and Your Garden

Gardening Wisely: Fire-Safe and Water-Smart

The Bigger Picture

Oxalis pes-caprae

Water is a resource, not a waste source

Slow it, sink it, spread it

Grading the landscape with dry laid stone features