A sense of place
For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated with growing plants and passionate about caring for the land. I grew up in Connecticut and spent about as much time out in the woods and fishing as I could. I attended the University of Maine and studied Forest Ecology. Afterwards after some time working for a landscaper in coastal Maine and for a retail plant nursery also in Maine I spent 16 years as an agriculture inspector, mostly in a supervisory role, for the Federal Government in Boston.
In early 2017 I decided to leave that job and start a business in Massachusetts which I called NativeScapesMA. Creating beautiful residential landscapes focusing on native plants and natural materials was what I had in mind. During those two years I had the privilege of working with many wonderful clients designing and installing a wide range of sustainable ecological landscapes and gardens across northeastern Massachusetts.
In the summer of 2019 my family and I have relocated to Southern California. I decided to give my newly-relocated business the name Gaia Nativescapes, with Gaia being related to the concept of Earth as a self-regulating system where everything is connected together. I liked the name for how it reflected my vision of caring for and being a steward of creation. One yard at a time. Since 2019 I’ve designed and installed dozens of gardens throughout Southern California’s Inland Empire and North Orange County areas with many satisfied customers.
Each garden I create reflects a real sense of place intrinsic to this part of the world. Using beautiful native plants that belong here, changing through the seasons, and thriving with very little care. With long-term drought becoming more and more of a concern, the gardens I create generally need watering only every 3-4 weeks. So they save tremendous amounts of water compared with more typical landscapes full of exotic plants. They also invite and support multitudes of birds, butterflies, and other wild creatures that are part of the ecosystem.
Now in 2022 I’ve decided to change the name of my small business to Oak and Sage Native Gardens because our native oaks and sages are keystone native plants of Southern California and I’ve found that I end up using them in most of my designs. I feel that this name better reflects the focus of my business. Creating gardens focusing on tough and beautiful drought-tolerant California native plants.
-Richard Barry, owner