How We Support Natural Systems

Habitat Gardens

We see each of our gardens as a link in a chain of microhabitats that support threatened birds, butterflies and pollinators. To develop these relationships, our gardens incorporate plant combinations that are both beautiful and function as a complex ecosystem. We expertly choose plants that provide seasonal interest and bloom year round. The ecological diversity of Mariposa gardens creates an environment where the range of insect and bird life in the garden becomes an effective natural pest control. Our clients continuously marvel at the number of butterflies they find in our gardens. Hummingbirds, chickadees, bushtits, cedar waxwings, thrushes, are some of the regular birds nesting and feeding in Mariposa gardens. Many years of research and experience inform the selection of grasses, perennials, shrubs, vines and trees that we use to provide food, water and shelter for our local wildlife. 

Seed Fountains

Mariposa’s Seed Fountains are dry stacked stone fountains that are regularly visited by birds, bees and butterflies. Seed Fountains are designed for water to gently flow over the stone surface, making water more accessible for local pollinators. Seeds often grow in proportion to the Golden Ratio, inspiring the shape of our Seed Fountains and giving them their name.

Stonework

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. Dry stacked stonework is done without the use of mortar or glue to bind the rocks. Carefully selected stones are knitted together using a time-tested technique that forms an interlocking, load bearing structure that lasts for hundreds of years. In the event of an earthquake, properly built dry stacked stone becomes tighter and stronger than stone bound with mortar. Dry stacked stone allows for proper soil drainage, where as concrete structures do not. In addition, dry stacked stone structures house many types of living creatures from reptiles to butterflies, who like to find shelter at night in the cracks of the warmed stones. Unique and well-crafted stone structures bring combined beauty and durability to an ecologically designed garden.

Greywater

Living Fountains capture the greywater from your washing machine or bathroom sink and clean it through plant roots and soil. This process filters the impurities from the water, and bioinvigorates it from the naturally occurring bacteria in the plants specially chosen to effectively clean the water. This water, when used in the garden, is teeming with life, and has the ability to make your plants healthier. We believe that this is an important solution to the drought conditions that we are currently facing. 

Water Harvesting

We practice the methods of slowing it, stopping it and sinking it by grading your garden so the water that falls onto your property is utilized efficiently. 

Dragonfly Ponds utilize the rainwater that falls on your roof and runs down your downspouts. Water is directed through trenches lined with drain rock into a dry well. When the dry well seasonally fills, water is collected and held which provides good growing conditions for wetland plants that dragonflies and other wetland pollinators are attracted to. Along with this ecologically friendly design, they add an artistic, unique approach to your garden!