Planting like a punk rocker

Inside a sun-drenched plant shop in Glassell Park, poetry-inscribed “earth posts,” California-friendly plants and unusual biodynamic edibles are among the first signs that the 4,000-square-foot Plant Material is not your typical nursery.

Terremoto landscape architect David Godshall, who co-founded Plant Material with business partner Matt Burrows, likens the new nursery’s aesthetic and spirit to “a punk rock plant shop.”

Translation: Don’t expect begonias, genetically modified crops or invasive plants here.

“Punk rock stripped down rock music to its most basic elements, and then through unlearning and rejecting normal musical expectations, presented a radical vision of a wholly new type of music,” Godshall said. “We want to do the same thing, but with gardens. Our instruments are the same (dirt, water, organic matter), but we envision these future gardens as a wholly new type of music.”

On a recent visit, the nursery’s horticultural offerings included a profusion of drought-tolerant California favorites like artemisia, salvia and buckwheat as well as some surprises: California native grapes, thornless edible blackberries and biodynamic tomato tree and rhubarb.

At a time when many Southern Californians are removing their lawns in favor of less thirsty sustainable alternatives, Godshall sees the nursery as a showcase for drought-tolerant landscaping.

“We wanted to create a nursery that offers a curated vision of what the future of ecologically appropriate horticulture in Southern California might look like,” Godshall said.

“It’s time that as individuals, families and communities, we begin to garden with a new ethos.”