MUG | Mike's Urban Garden

July 19, 2008

The Ruth Bancroft Garden Tour

This is one of our first garden tour. To Walnut Creek, California to The Ruth Bancroft Garden and a private palm garden.

April 19, 2008

March 15, 2008

Lake County, California

Some of my Natural inspirations. A fast hail storm in March in the hill above Clear Lake. You can see the lake among the mist and clouds.

March 01, 2008

Crissy Field GGNRA

After about 3 seasons, the newly restored tidal marsh looks really good.

January 21, 2008

Maui

Sleep overnight in the huge cave on the island of Maui. Sunrise looking towards the Big Island of Hawaii.

My Path

Garden Fluffer, Personal Gardener, Fine Gardening, Market Gardener these are some of the names I have toyed with as my official title or job description. Most would classify me as a maintenance gardener. But i do things much different than your basic gardening crew. It is all about the process or procedures that I use to make my green spaces.

Simple things, done well. A gardener’s influence on a space is through control. Pruning, thinning, dividing and moving plants around to create an authentic natural look. But this is far from Nature. Step lightly and preen like a large herbivore. Leave all clippings around its source to replenish and shade the soil, creating a good environment for seeds to germinate. Only remove weed seed heads, diseased material and anything sharp like rose thorns, all other green material is made into compost either in a formal pile or as a light mulch. Nothing looks more authentic than a plant mulched with it’s own leaves and twigs. That is my gardening process. Simply well.

This is on top of picking the right plant in the right place. When I am looking to fill a void, no matter if it’s an annual or perennial, tree or shrub, evergreen or deciduous; I start with California and Western US native plants. If nothing fits my requirements (exposure, water, form and floral timing, client preferences) then I look at plants from the other Mediterranean regions of the world.

This blog is my chance to show my work and those things that inspire and influence.

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