Coastal Sage Gardening in Ocean Beach has progressed beyond being just a drought-tolerant and native landscaper, adding botany education and community beautification to its mix.
With 30 years of experience in the industry, Coastal Sage owner John Noble, with a little help from his friends, namely employees Grace Schmalz and Grace Jackson, has revived Botany for Kids, a program offering plant and gardening lessons via walks and talks to kids, families, groups and schools.
The landscaping company has also taken on another challenging long-term project: Resuscitating the 1.2-acre Sefton Gardens at the century-old property of the late Joseph Sefton Jr., a notable San Diego banker, philanthropist, and amateur naturalist and ornithologist. Sefton’s property, guarded by twin lion statues, is at 1865 Sefton Place.
Noble, the two Graces, and others recently held a Valentine’s fundraising benefit at Sefton Gardens to contribute toward the revival of the property’s green space, which is rich in history.
“We specialize in drought-tolerant and native landscapes, and are experienced in all garden environments,” notes Coastal Sage on its Facebook page. “We do custom design, installation, maintenance, irrigation, repair, labor, and consultation. We also have classes, tutorial services, plant walks, plants, a full line of organic gardening supplies, and a reference library to guide and help you if you want to build your own garden.”
Noble has been truly “graced” in his business expansion efforts by Jackson and Schmalz, two young women who found a perfect fit partnering with him to become his proteges and garden gurus. Their collective goal is to start a community garden at the Sefton home, where everyone can reap the rewards of fresh vegetables and herbs.
Schmalz talked about how the gardening trio got together.
“Running by Coastal Sage, I saw they had a ‘help wanted’ sign up,” she said. “I loved the look of the building with its peace sign in the window and special rocks and crystals outside. I ran back home and told Grace (Jackson) my roommate about the garden shop down the street. And she said, ‘Let’s put our resumes in ASAP.’”
Both Graces started out doing gardening for Noble, which led to their helping him revive the Botany for Kids program, which had been dormant during COVID.
Jackson, a marketing major in college, took on that role for Coastal Sage, along with handling their social media, including promoting the resurrected Botany for Kids program. “I was motivated to help kids fall in love with nature, creating a safe space for them to express themselves and have an open dialogue with each other,” she said adding, “Organizations and schools have been reaching out to us. Since January, we’ve also started doing a monthly newsletter.”
Schmalz, a field guide with a nonprofit working at a wildlife refuge, said she and her friend Jackson are fortunate to have discovered Noble and Coastal Sage. “We’ve both known each other since middle school and after we graduated from college and moved to San Diego, we wanted to find something we could share our passion and synergy with and put our efforts toward,” she said. “When we got involved with Coastal Sage – we never knew how much of a perfect match it would be.”
For more information about Coastal Sage visit www.coastalsage.com, call 619-223-5229, or email [email protected].
COASTAL SAGE GARDENING
Where: 3685 Voltaire St.
Contact: coastalsage.com, 619-223-5229.
