The Urban Gardener

About The Urban Gardener

Front gardens in Hayes Valley are measured in feet rather than acres — a step, a gate, a green square beneath a bay window, and that is the entire canvas. The Urban Gardener mows and keeps those small city lawns from the flat blocks near Patricia's Green up the rise toward Alamo Square. Small does not mean easy: at this size, one crooked edge is the only thing anybody sees. So the borders get cut by hand where they need it, the grass is held at an even height, and no trimmings are left on the walk. On a bright winter day, with the painted houses standing behind it, a well-kept square of green does a great deal of work.