MUG | Mike's Urban Garden | MUG: September 2015

September 30, 2015

Annie's Annuals Fall Sale

My buddy, Dino is being attacked by the giant green man at Annie's Fall Sale Party. I've been making this 45 minute trip from San Francisco for 10 years now. It is by far the most interesting nursery in the Bay Area. If you've never been, well, you should go! Here is some of the interesting things I saw:

At first I thought this was a verbena but it turns out to be Lavandula canariensis. Wonderful bright green leaves with a panicle of flowers that appears to bloom for months.

September 27, 2015

Bay Street Entry Garden

My latest installation in the front entry stairwell for a building in the Marina neighborhood. This low light interior space is open only to the sidewalk. It's a southern exposure with bright indirect light reflecting off the sidewalk.

September 04, 2015

Retarding a Vigorous Street Tree

Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) grows to 10–18 m tall and 15–20 m wide in ideal conditions. It's tough being a street tree but U. parvifolia is vigorous and resilient in San Francisco. This one in Noe Valley must have a low water table. It is never irrigated but is lush. I prune this tree ever 6-9 months. Essentially this is a extremely large bonsia. The soil in the tree basins act more like large containers then expanses of live soil.

Ready for a trim. After 5 hours of pruning and two dump runs:

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.