MEET THE GARDEN CARE TEAM

8/31/2022

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.

Allison in one of our beautiful lush and drought tolerant gardens

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.

Kari in her natural setting

Kari with a cabbage white caterpillar

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.

Food and herbs growing together under fruit trees

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.
[email protected]
510-891-1835