About Spring Branch

Mary Jane Pearson Baker is owner and designer at Spring Branch Landscapes. She has been making gardens in the Triangle since 1986. 

She was trained as a Landscape Gardener in the Sandhills Community College Horticulture program, interned at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, and took further design courses at NC State University.   For inspiration, Mary Jane loves to travel and visit beautiful gardens all over the country and abroad.

"I love what I do, the whole process: meeting a new client, seeing the potential in a site, helping a client create a vision of what is possible, and then making that vision a reality. One of the things that I find most satisfying about gardening is that you can not learn everything you need from a book. You just must start gardening, make mistakes, have successes, and then garden some more." 

using the best compost (Brooks Contractors) and amendments (principally Espoma organic products).  It is safer for us and for clients. And creates healthy soil for plants that thrive.  

We do not use heavy equipment that compacts and destroys soil structure and harms the root systems of existing plants.  In the photo above we are about to  spread 26 yards of compost by wheel barrow.  When the compost and amendments are well-tilled into the existing soil, we set out plants and give them a good start with Maxi-crop Kelp.  Peaceful Valley Farm Supply is our source for good organic products and information. 

With good soil and healthy plants we rarely have reasons to use pesticides and fungicides.When we do have a problem we prefer repellents with botanical oils and scents.  I Must Garden products are particularly good.