"Greg Rubin: Engineering a Sustainable Future through Native Landscapes"

Meet Greg Rubin , a landscape designer whose journey is as unique as his creations. With roots in aerospace, Greg's fascination with native landscapes began unexpectedly during his college years in California. Introduced to the beauty of California native plants by a friend, he was initially skeptical but soon found himself captivated during a visit to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

This encounter ignited a passion that eventually led Greg to leave his aerospace career behind and pursue landscape design full-time. Founding California's Own Native Landscape Design Inc., Greg set out to revolutionize the industry with his unconventional approach. He delved into understanding the science behind native ecosystems without a background in traditional horticulture.

Greg's philosophy is simple yet groundbreaking: instead of imposing conventional horticultural practices on native plants, he focuses on emulating their natural habitats. By closely mimicking native ecologies and using minimal irrigation, Greg creates landscapes that are not only beautiful but also sustainable and resilient.

Ecosystem emulation resonated with Greg with his scientific mindset and love for discovery. His technical background in engineering allowed him to absorb concepts like ecosystem science and soil biology, applying them to his landscaping work in innovative ways.

Despite initial skepticism, Rubin's approach to native landscapes has proven successful. While landscape architects may specify native plants, they often blame them when they fail to thrive. Greg observed failed “horticulturally managed” native landscapes with a native hillside on the other side of a fenced in property thriving. Hiring individuals trained in horticulture to his ever growing company meant he had to de”influence” them from traditional training. Rubin emphasizes that when done right, native landscapes are stable, beautiful year-round, and attract birds and butterflies while requiring less water and maintenance-emulating nature.

One controversial aspect of Greg's approach is his use of sprinklers instead of drip irrigation for native plants. He argues that overhead watering creates a more balanced environment across the landscape, benefiting plants adapted to drier conditions and emulating California rainfall. While his landscapes do require some irrigation, it's minimal, around 20 to 30 percent of conventional landscape watering, but enough to maintain their appearance and hydrate them for fire prevention.

Greg believes that lightly hydrating native landscapes makes them as fire-resistant as other types of landscapes, if not more so. Even in low-rainfall years, he may provide additional irrigation in winter to ensure the plants remain healthy and resilient.

Despite facing skepticism from some in the landscaping community, Greg's dedication has earned him recognition, including being named the 2018 Horticulturalist of the Year by the San Diego Horticulture Society. The native plant community has embraced his techniques in the two books he has authored on California native plants. His passion for native plants has led to opportunities to share his expertise through educational talks, and even speaking engagements at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaking to JPL about native plants.

For Greg, this journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. While his career may not have taken him to outer space, his love for California's native landscapes has propelled him on an adventure that's truly out of this world.

The California Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring ItsBeauty and Balance, by Greg Rubinand Lucy Warren, isavailable at events and from Amazon.

Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren's new book The Drought-Defying California Garden: 230 Native Plants for a Lush Low-Water Landscape, is available at events, most major bookstores and from Amazon.

#nativelandscape #sustainablelandscaping # plantnative #CNPS