Marion Shaw Greenscape Designer

06/14/2026

Call to action. Join the movement to spread milkweed across California. Sign up to be a monarch fellowship native plant hub.

Monarchfellowship.org

06/13/2026

When they build out these new subdivisions, all of the grading and compacting make it difficult to landscape. I had a backhoe fluff up the top 18 or so inches of soil to make it easier to work. There was so much rock in that top layer that it took two of us five days of hand sifting to remove enough to start digging planting holes.
We repurposed the rock as pathways and a rain garden instead of hauling it off.
New valves and a controller were added to accommodate the additional areas. All the plants were on site in pots, except the wildflowers.
It was a labor of love.
It was August!
Before, during, and after.
The flagstone and soil amendments came from Wild Toad Landscape Materials.

06/11/2026

The Wild Toad project was completed in April, and I wanted to see how the plantings were doing, so here is the progress.
I can't wait to start the next phase.

06/10/2026

I saw this in a garden group and it reminded me when people ask me, “Luke why do you think seed sales at MIgardener are at an all time high?”

This. This is why. Now in a free market system, this kind of pricing is allowed. It is welcomed in fact, because it allows the small business like ours to offer the same product, at nearly half the cost, and offer more seed at the same time, and it isn’t illegal at all for me to laugh in their face when they go out of business.

Greed in business only gets you so far. Passion, respect, and a code of ethics is required to be your North Star to success. Companies back in 2020 went nuts with price increases, they blamed “inflation”. Now they are blaming “fuel costs and fertilizer costs.” No. No, that’s greed. Because our costs have gone up slightly and yet in 2027 the price for our packets will be $2.20. A 10% increase for 6….SIX years of no price increases. They just woke up and said “hmmm a 150+ % increase seems like a good thing to take advantage of gardeners who are flocking to seeds to offset grocery prices. Our shareholders will love this, and after a month of complaining our customers will just be used to it because they are uninformed and like convenience.”

You have a choice where to buy seed. You have a choice to not pick it up, to laugh, and then save money elsewhere and grow a garden at a budget you choose. And we are happy to be your “elsewhere”. You can even save 20% right now sitewide making our $2 seeds, even cheaper.

06/06/2026

This backyard is on a steep slope, making it difficult and a little dangerous to access the garden area. (Everyone on the crew ended up on their but at least once.) We leveled paths along the hillside and the garden boxes and built box steps filled with gravel for drainage. See the last photos for the solution. An irrigation upgrade, fresh soil from Loucks Landscape Supply, and some Trifecta+ from MIgardener really can do wonders.

05/30/2026

05/27/2026

I stopped by this morning to see how the wildflowers were doing. I think they are happy.

05/26/2026

I don't think I posted this before.
This is what 14 thousand pounds of flagstone looks like on the ground.

05/23/2026