GARDEN STORIES
California plants, edible gardens, rain, soil, pollinators, strange plants, old trees and what we learn from actually making gardens in Southern California.
Some stories begin with a plant. Some with a problem. Some with something we noticed while standing in a garden.
This is where we share them.
Build a Garden for Dragonflies
What if the answer to mosquitoes isn't simply what kills them, but what eats them? A story about dragonflies, water, predators and how a Los Angeles garden becomes living habitat.
The Owl and the Oak
Before there were owl boxes, there were old trees. A story about barn owls, California oaks, natural rodent control and why preserving a mature tree can be one of the most important decisions we make in a garden.
El Niño Is Coming. Where Will Your Rain Go?
A very strong El Niño is forecast for this winter. Here's what a rain garden actually is, how it's different from a bioswale or a pond, and why Southern California's dry-then-drenched climate is exactly what it was built for.
The Furniture That Stayed Outside
Before there was a "garden aesthetic," there was a California that knew how to sit still. We've been sourcing the furniture from that era ever since — and placing it back where it belongs.
A Magical Apothecary Garden for a Maker in Ojai
At Wild & Tame, we designed and installed an apothecary garden for a maker whose work is inseparable from her land. We love working with makers and healers to help bring their process to life through a living garden, where beauty and function become one and the same.
Welcome to The Black Thumb Posse
Welcome to the Black Thumb Posse, where we are all growing, failing, learning, and trying again. This community isn’t about perfection, but about being in touch with nature and the land - and accepting both our black and green thumbs.
Planning a Backyard Bash or Ceremony? Start Here.
If you’re planning a backyard ceremony, event, or gathering — and want the space to feel as intentional as the moment itself — now is the time to begin.
Apothecary Gardens: A Place Where Scent Lives
Wild & Tame designs living fragrance for homes, creatives, and ritual spaces. From sun-warmed sage to night-blooming jasmine, we create environments you can step into, tend, and experience over time.
If This Were Ours: Garden Mood Boards as Prophecy
At Wild & Tame, we don't just design gardens. We listen to them. We treat each patch of earth — each awkward corner, crumbling border, or dried-up slope — like a temple-in-waiting. And before we plant a single thing, we ask: "If this were ours, what would it want to become?"
Plant Buddy: The Off-Menu Garden Collab
Sometimes you don't need a whole team. You just need a friend who gardens. Plant Buddy is our off-menu collaborative cultivation service for hands-on garden lovers in LA.
We don't rake leaves. Let them fall. Let them feed.
At Wild & Tame, we do not rake the leaves. We let them gather like a blanket. A soft, rustling quilt made by the trees for the soil. Because leaves are not litter. They are protection. They are offering. This is your permission to stop. Let the leaves lie.
Rue by the Door Ritual, Ruda, and the Sacred Role of Plants in Protection
We never said it. We just did it. Tucked sprigs of rue behind the doorframe. Hung it upside down in the kitchen, tied with red thread. Rue — or ruda in Spanish — is more than a plant. It's a quiet spell passed down from hand to hand. Plants aren't passive decor. They carry memory. They carry lineage.
Porch Rituals & Threshold Gardens
Before you step inside, there is a space. A pause. A threshold. That small stretch between sidewalk and door, brick and bloom — this is sacred ground. At Wild & Tame, we call this a Threshold Garden. And we don't just style it, we bless it.
Neon Gardens: Bold Color, Electric Texture, and the Art of Unsubtle Beauty
Let's not pretend. I love neon. Not the kind that blinks in liquor store signs, but the kind that glows under the sun — alive, unapologetic, and utterly untamed. Neon gardens are for those who want a riot of color. A rebellious bloom. A palette that sings instead of whispers.
Design vs. Gardener: Why Your Pinterest Garden Isn't Growing
It starts the same way every time. You say "I want a native garden" and show us a Pinterest board of dreamy landscapes. Your gardener isn't a designer, botanist, or mind reader. That's why your Pinterest garden isn't growing. Here's the gap between garden dreams and soil reality.
The Goth Cactus Garden: Prickly Beauty, Burgundy Drama, Desert Romance
Not everyone loves cactus. But those who do? We understand elegance with an edge. My favorite cactus displays aren't sterile or Southwest cliché. They're moody. Cinematic. They whisper desert noir and punk flower dreams. Spikes and shadows. Deep reds and dusty sages. Where the architecture of survival becomes a work of art.
The Feral Garden: Where Chaos Grows Fruit and Memory Smells Like Mint
I was raised in a wild garden. Not wild like untouched wilderness — wild like unstructured abundance. Fruit trees and fences, mint and roses, chaos and care. My swing set nestled between a mango tree and a fig. Pink guavas stained my dresses. It was feral. It was sacred. It was everything.
Small Space Gardens: Grow Anyway
I've heard every reason. I don't have land. I don't have light. I don't have time. I don't have water. And to each one, I say: Grow anyway. Because if you've got a pot, a window, a wall, or even a cracked milk crate — you've got a garden. If you can drill a hole, you can plant a dream.
The Rise of the Garden Keeper
There is a shift happening — quiet but undeniable. We are done with mow-and-blow. We are rising into a new kind of stewardship. Enter: The Garden Keeper. Not a landscaper. Not a gardener. A listener. A witness. A participant who knows your veggie patch is a return, a reclamation.
Your Plants Are Still Here: A Love Letter to the Forgotten Pandemic Jungle
It's okay. You forgot to water them. You stopped talking to them. They're still here. Back in 2020, we filled our homes with green like prayer - rubber trees, monsteras, pothos lined like altars. Now they're waiting by the window, dusty but devoted. This isn't guilt. This is grace.