WE DO NOT SHIP PLANTS: You can purchase our plants online, but they are only available for pick-up at the nursery or other offsite pop-up sales. We offer delivery for bulk orders and landscaping contract clients. We ship objects like apparel, stickers, books, etc…Thanks for your understanding.
SPRAY CHEMICALS: No pesticides, No herbicides, and no synthetic fertilizers. Weeds are controlled by manual removal, the introduction of competitive native plants, and mowing. Insects are kept in check by creating a healthy and sustainable ecosystem with natural predator competition.
MOW, BLOW and GO: If you are looking for turf maintenance there are many qualified companies who specialize in these services. We understand that turf is hard to give up especially for those who have pets, kids or enjoy hosting gatherings. Turf is a useful thing and for some people, HOAs or city ordinances make turf mandatory on their property. If you must have turf, please consider only using organic or sustainable maintenance practices that do not employ hazardous chemicals like synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. These chemicals are very dangerous to the applicators, your family, your pets, your neighbors and the wildlife that lives around you. We recommend contacting trusted contractors who practice safe and sustainable lawn care like Lundseth Organic Lawn Care or if you are a DIYer check out Perfect Earth Project for tips on how to manage turf more sustainably. That said, WE DO offer solutions for LOW MOW, NO MOW and Turf replacements that utilize native and introduced plants as substitutes for lawn growing under 12 inches. Check out our LAWN collection or inquire via email to contract our design services.
FALL LEAF CLEAN-UP: Sorry, we don’t even own a leaf blower. We encourage everyone to “leave the leaves”. Leaves are essential in most ecosystems because they provide food, habitat and home for insects and they break down into the soil to create nutrients for plants. There are thousands of insects that live among fallen leaves and use them as shelter to survive winter, including: Fireflies, Beetles, Moths, Bees and many more! So, it’s not an exaggeration to say that when you remove your leaves you are starving your trees and killing insects. There are exceptions to this such as prairie gardens and ponds. Prairie plants did not adapt to live among trees; tree leaves can smother prairie grasses and forbs. Leaves left in water bodies breakdown, add extra nutrients and can pollute the water.
WOOD CHIP MULCHING: “Green: or “Living mulch” is the most sustainable choice. We use ground covers and layered planting techniques to shade out weeds, retain moisture and improve soil health. We only use woodchips, straw, or composted leaf mulch during initial installations to protect new transplants and retain moisture during establishment. We do not reapply mulch on an annual basis like many conventional landscaping operations, we would rather sell you more plants to make your garden more lush and improve your soil.
IRRIGATION SYSTEMS: Our plantings are designed to survive without supplemental watering after the 1st year with the exception of severe drought conditions. Irrigation is the responsibility of the client. But do not worry, we provide training to clients on how to water their new plantings.
ADOPT CONVENTIONAL GARDENS: While we are capable of caring for conventional garden plants, our specialty is native plants, so we do not adopt traditional perennial border gardens or annual flower beds. However, in situations where we are contracted to redesign gardens, we will gladly keep conventional garden plants intact and maintain them alongside the added native plants.
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: We do light carpentry, bushcraft and superficial stonework like garden pathways, building raised beds and installing short fences like wattles. We do not build structures for gardens like pergolas, decks or privacy fences. We do not install rock walls, patios, chimneys or other stone constructions. If projects call for these types of constructions, we will subcontract this labor out to companies in our network that specialize in this work.
USE HEAVY MACHINERY: While it may be cheaper and faster to use excavators, skid steers and other heavy machinery, we prioritize using human power in our projects. Heavy machinery compacts soil, making it more difficult for existing plant roots to get oxygen and for new plants to get established. We are always looking to reduce our carbon footprint, and this means using less gasoline and diesel-powered equipment. We also try to limit dramatic alterations to landscapes with the exception of controlling the flow of water. It’s often necessary to install creeks, pipes, rain gardens and berms and we prefer to do this with hand tools. We are willing to work with other contractors to complete certain projects. We’ll keep an open mind if you do.
ARBORIST TREE WORK: We are not certified or insured to do tree work. We do install and prune trees under 12 feet. We can offer advice on best practices for total tree care for mature trees, but you should always seek the expert opinion of a certified arborist before pruning, spraying or removing trees.
PRESCRIBED BURNS: While we have been trained to conduct prescribed burns, we do not carry insurance for this activity. If a burn is necessary for a project we will contract this service out.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: We have no licenses, training, certificates or official education in the field of landscape architecture. If your project requires a landscape architect or environmental engineer, we have associates who we can collaborate with to meet this need. While our specialty
is gardening and creating plant communities, large design concepts are a part of our milieu.
