MEET THE GARDEN CARE TEAM

Andrea Hurd • August 31, 2022

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.

A woman in a hat is standing on a set of steps in a garden.

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.

A woman wearing a beanie and a jacket is smiling in front of a tree.

A person is holding a green caterpillar on their finger.

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.

A wooden fence surrounds a garden filled with lots of plants and flowers.

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

A butterfly is sitting on a pink flower in a garden.

A woman in a white shirt and blue hat is kneeling down in a garden.

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.

A bunch of red and yellow flowers are growing in the grass.

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Summer Is Almost Here, Start Thinking About Your Soil

By Andrea andrea • June 9, 2025

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.

Happy Spring!!!

By Andrea andrea • May 3, 2025

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.

Spring Cleaning For Habitat

By Andrea andrea • April 28, 2025

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).