Our Journal

The client reached out to our design team about a disused fountain located in the middle of their corporate courtyard. They looked at a few possibilities: break out the concrete bottom and use it like a big planting pot or remove the fountain completely and create a landscaped seating area. All options seemed cost prohibitive. We came up with a simple, economical solution that also matched their modern style: Place large pots of Golden Goddess Bamboo in the fountain bowl and fill in around them with river cobble and local boulders….

The best organic mulch is local and affordable. All natural, with no dyes or chipped wooden pallets, just clean, hand-sorted green waste. Varied, like the forest floor, with a mix of arbor chip and fresh ramial chipped wood (recently living green material that breaks down quickly and adds a shot of nitrogen to the soil). A sort of micro composting every time you mulch. Cheaper than commercial mulch. More than our waste – it’s local hand-screened gold. The best organic mulch is applied correctly. First, we chop down aggressive weeds…

When it came time to install landscaping for our new offices in San Leandro, company president Cassidy Lundin had a special request. Instead of a boring lawn edged with the usual clipped shrubs, he envisioned a habitat garden that would support local wildlife like butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. No problem! We planted Butterfly Bush (Buddleja), Daylilies (Hemerocallis), Santa Barbara Sage (Salvia leucantha Santa Barbara’), Butterfly Weed (Asclepias), Lion’s Tail (Leonotus) and a variety of native sages and manzanitas. These…