Portfolio

Filoli Vegetable Garden

I maintained the vegetable garden at Filoli: preparing planting beds, companion planting seasonal crops, building support structures, pest management, and harvest.

Annual blooms

Every two weeks filled this small garden with new seasonal bedding plants for continuous color.

Production garden

Covered beds to protect vegetables from critters with potted herbs, a cut flower border, and fruit trees.

Filoli Vegetable Garden

I maintained the vegetable garden at Filoli: preparing planting beds, companion planting seasonal crops, building support structures, pest management, and harvest.

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Inspiration

These are some of my favorite spaces that inform my designs

Presidio Tunnel Tops

Tassajara

Southern Oregon University

I turned my backyard lawn into a thriving production garden. Swipe to see the before and how I did it.
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#urbanhomestead #permaculture #foodforest #ediblegarden #sanfranciscogardening

Pear harvest time has arrived! This is the biggest yield we've gotten from this tree. Did a few grafts in the spring and one of the comice scions actually fruited!

We'll be turning this all into ginger pear preserves and maybe try distilling some pear eau de vie.
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#californiagarden #growyourowngroceries #ediblegarden #sanfranciscogardening #zone10b #backyardorchard

I planted two red kuri squash (my favorite) plants, and they're trying to take over the garden. It keeps reaching and pumping out more fruits! Going to give extras to neighbors and donate to the food bank.
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#californiagarden #growyourowngroceries #ediblegarden #sanfranciscogardening #zone10b #urbanhomestead

Got to take home a bouquet of fresh cut flowers from @sisterhoodgardens for their fundraiser today. Very happy with how my arrangement turned out. Their dahlias are stunning right now!
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#communitygarden #cutflowergarden #dahlias

Successful tomatoes in San Francisco!
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#californiagarden #sanfranciscogardening #growyourowngroceries #zone10b #ediblegarden #tomatoplant

The winter squash is kicking into gear and lacinato kale still holding on from spring.
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#californiagarden #urbanagriculture #growyourowngroceries #homegrownveggies #zone10b #zone10 #sanfranciscogardening #ediblegarden

So excited to have such vigorous tomato plants in San Francisco! The grafted plant is by far the biggest, which is very interesting.
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#californiagarden #urbanagriculture #growyourowngroceries #homegrownveggies #zone10b #zone10 #sanfranciscogardening #ediblegarden #tomatoplant

My herb barrel has filled in really nicely for summer. The purple leaved plant is basil 'Magic Mountain' which I perennialized from last summer!
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#containergardening #herbgarden #perennialvegetables #perennialgarden #pollinatorgarden #californiagarden #urbanagriculture #growyourowngroceries #homegrownveggies #zone10b #zone10 #sanfranciscogardening #ediblegarden #potager

There's nothing like home grown strawberries 🍓❤️
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#californiagarden #urbanagriculture #growyourowngroceries #homegrownveggies #zone10b #zone10 #sanfranciscogardening #ediblegarden

Today I volunteered with @sanbrunomountainwatch to collect seaside daisy seed with @pollinatorpartnership to be used in habitat restoration. The mountain is looking stunning with paintbrush and monkey flower in full bloom.

I love getting inspiration from our natural lands to translate these plant communities to urban gardens. The purple seaside daisy, orange monkey flower, and yellow wooly coastal sunflower are a complimentary mix. Artemisia, coffee berry, and native bunch grasses are a great texture.
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#californianativeplants #habitatgarden #pollinatorgarden #nativeplantgarden #urbanhabitat #statepark

I usually just grow garlic to harvest the green shoots in spring because spring garlic is hard to find at markets.

Growing garlic to bulbs takes pretty much a whole year--plant in fall, harvest in summer, then cure for a few more weeks. That's a long time to take up space in a small urban garden.

These escaped spring harvest, so I let them keep growing. I was so pleased to pull them and find these beautiful big bulbs!

They're curing inside now because outdoors gets too moist with fog. They need to be in a dry place with good air flow to fully dry out. That will make it easier to separate the cloves for cooking. We'll save one to plant for next year's garlic.
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#californiagarden #urbanagriculture #growyourowngroceries #garlic #ediblegarden #sanfranciscogardening

My third year with these Reka blueberry bushes and they're finally giving me a good harvest. Enough to top my granola a few times a week.
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#californiagarden #growyourowngroceries #ediblegarden #blueberrypicking

It may look like a plum, but this is an apple! This is the cultivar 'Pink Pearl' which gives a lovely blush to apple preserves that are otherwise brown. Apple harvest season has begun!
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#orchard #californiagarden

Lots of bees sleeping in this foggy morning
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#pollinators #dahlias #cutflowergarden #nativebees

I've been growing mushrooms in the shady mulched areas in my garden. These are wine cap mushrooms, spawn from @cascadiamushrooms. The flavor is great, a little sweet and nutty.
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#urbangarden #californiagarden #permaculture #foodforest #mushrooms #growyourowngroceries

Scenes from the garden, July edition. The Chihuly rose looks like it's glowing!
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#californiagarden #urbangarden #compost #rose #flowersofinstagram

With so many flowers in the garden I'm noticing bees I've never seen before. I believe these are sweat bees.
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#californiagarden #pollinatorgarden #urbangarden #pollinators

Living the dream in my hammock surrounded by fragrant flowers
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#californiagarden #urbangarden #flowersofinstagram #cutflowergarden

June garden update: lots of flowers and happy bees. Thinned fruits on the pear tree so it will make bigger fruits.
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#flowersofinstagram #californiagarden #cutflowergarden #cottagegarden #flowersofinstagram #permaculture @vego_garden

I grew everything but the peonies (which I've never had luck with in SF, so I buy as long as they're in season)! It's so satisfying arranging flowers I grew myself.
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#flowersofinstagram #growyourown #traderjoesflowers #cutflowergarden #cottagegarden #californiagarden

I enthusiastically seeded sweet peas in spring then forgot to thin them. Harvesting two bouquets worth a week! The smell can't be beat.
Seed from @botanical_interests
#californiagarden #cutflowergarden #flowersofinstagram #growyourown #learnasyougrow

Super blooming!
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#californianativeplants #wildflowers #superbloom #nps #nationalseashore #marin

Potato tower! You can grow potatoes year round in San Francisco. Growing vertically helps save space in my urban garden. Milk crates are great containers for potatoes because the plants can sprout out all the holes. Layer seed potatoes in compost, fine mulch, or even shredded paper. When the greens die back, shake out all the soil, and you'll have a crate of potatoes!
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#californiagarden #urbangarden #sanfranciscogardening #permaculture #growyourowngroceries #growvertical

My first garden rose! This is Chihuly, named for the famous glass artist. I love the variegation, and it should change colors as it opens more. 😍
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#californiagarden #flowersofinstagram #rose #cutflowergarden

Out standing in my field.
Filling water bags for the 15 new apples I planted last month in the Heritage Orchard. Fruit trees and wild flowers are blooming!
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#californianativeplants #orchard #meadow #womenatwork

So much color in the garden!
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#californiagarden #pollinatorgarden

Another great homegrown spring bouquet!
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#flowersofinstagram #growyourown #cutflowergarden #springbulbs

The California natives have started blooming for spring!
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#californiagarden #californianativeplants #flowersofinstagram #flowerfriday

Made it to @sfbotanicalgarden for #magnificentmagnolias! My favorite for a garden is Magnolia x solangeana with it's large, deep pink saucer flowers. For something more delicate in a Japanese garden, I love Magnolia stellata. And Magnolia doltsopa is great for fragrance.
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#flowersofinstagram #flowerfriday #magnolias #botanicalgardens

My first harvest of spring bulbs!
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#californiagarden #flowers #growyourown #cutflowergarden

This is my first year starting seeds at home. Who needs a greenhouse!? Definitely see myself expanding this setup next year with a taller shelf and more grow lights and heat mats.
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#seedtotable #seedstarts #growyourown #homestead

With spring just around the corner, I'm starting seeds for summer. A selection of vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers.
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#californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b #urbangarden #homestead #growyourown #seedtotable

Lots of buds getting ready for spring!
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#californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b #flowers #growyourown

It's time to prune fruit trees! Here's my old pear tree before and after pruning. Can you see the difference? I removed any dead wood, shortened it slightly for easy picking, and thinned out branches for good air flow. This tree gave us 9 lbs of fruit last year. Hoping this prune will help it fruit even more.
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#californiagarden #backyardorchard #backyardgrocerystore #growyourown #foodforest #fruittrees #arborist #zone10 #zone10b

Happy flower Friday! I was happy to see my huckleberry has started to bloom, with plenty more buds promising berries to come! Just a few flowers in the garden today, but lots more plants with buds. Can't wait until spring!
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#flowerfriday #flowers #californianativeplants #californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b

It's big, it's heavy, it's wood! Spotted a pile of logs in the neighborhood, so I loaded them into my car to use as edging. The logs will keep mulch contained in the beds so it doesn't spill into the path. Gives the garden a tidy rustic look. Better than bad, it's good!
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#californiagarden #californianativeplants #zone10 #zone10b #urbangardening #urbanhabitat #permaculture

Growing peppers in San Francisco is a challenge due to our cooler climate. Last year I got jalapeno and Thai chili starts from @alemany_farm. They produced a few fruit that didn't ripen until winter.

@thinkingstomach recommended manzana chiles, native to cloud forests, and gave me some fruits from her garden to harvest their seeds. They're difficult to germinate, but mine have sprouted in just a few weeks! They're cozy on a heat mat with grow lights.
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#californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b #growyourown #propogation #seedtotable #urbangardening #sanfranciscogardening #foodforest

It's fungi season! I even found a chanterelle growing in the mulch of a client's garden 🤤. Mushrooms aren't weeds, they're decomposers. They do the important work of breaking down organic matter into soil so plants can grow.
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#mushrooms #mushroomforaging #chantrelles #mulch #foraging #urbanforaging #zone10 #zone10b #californiagarden

So excited for spring to come! I planted most of my bulbs in October and they've come up strong. Garlic and sweet peas have sprouted too.
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#californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b #homestead #urbangardening #permaculture #sanfranciscogardening #growyourown #organicgardening #foodforest #flowers #growyourownveggies #backyardgrocerystore #backyardgroceries #sfurbangardening #seedtotable

Constructed row covers to keep critters out of the veggie beds. Used electrical conduit instead of PVC because it won't decrease in the sun. It can be shaped using a pipe bender. Then cover the hoops with thick pond netting.
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#californiagarden #urbanfarming #homestead #hoophouse #rowcover #sanfranciscogardening #permaculture

Getting a free apple tree from @friendsoftheurbanforest accelerated the home orchard project. Used a breaker to remove a concrete pad in the back of the garden and then sheet mulched it. My home orchard includes a lemon, pear, makrut lime, fig, and Fuji apple!
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#urbanfarming #homestead #homeorchard #foodforest #permaculture #californiagarden #backyardorchard #sanfranciscogardening

Mosaic steps are a common motif in the SF landscape. I love how these capture the neighborhood's natural history and architecture.

Snapdragon seed heads look like little skulls
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#californiagarden #gothgarden #spookyseason

Visited @cornerstonesonoma today. Beautiful perennial pollinator gardens. Spotted a monarch and swallowtail!
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#pollinatorgarden #monarchbutterfly #californiagarden #cottagegarden #zone9 #zone10 #decorativegourdseason

Today's harvest
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#californiagarden #zone10b #homestead #foodforest #uebanagriculture #dahlias #cutflowergarden

Inspiration and new garden friends at the Portola Garden Tour
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#californiagarden #zone10b #japanesegarden #foodforest #permaculture #californianativeplants #urbanhabitat #ccsfhorticulturedepartment

Finding inspiration in San Francisco's wilderness
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#sfparks #californianativeplants #karlthefog #urbanwilderness

These retaining wall blocks make building raised beds so easy! I'm building soil by filling them with leaves, free compost (extra fine mulch), and topping with rice hay.
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#californiagarden #zone10b #raisedbeds #hugelkultur

Blue eyed grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), one of my favorite native plants I scored for the recent @missionbluenursery plant sale. Not actually a grass, it's in the iris family. I love how the little flowers close up at night and open for the sun.
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#californiagarden #californianativeplants #nativeplantgarden #zone10b #cnps #sanfranciscogardening

Pear harvest! The house came with this awkward little pear tree. Decent yield with no irrigation or pruning. I'll be processing them into jam.
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#californiagarden #zone10 #zone10b #urbanfarming #homestead

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