Sustainable Garden Design & Landscaping
Meet the team.
Sandy Lee "Phoenix" Jungwirth
Owner
Phoenix started gardening in Wisconsin as soon as she was old enough to place seeds in the ground. Her family grew the majority of fruits and vegetables that they consumed throughout the year.
She has been gardening in San Francisco since 2004, and began her landscaping business in 2007. She gained her Certificate in Urban Permaculture in 2009, and obtained her associate’s degree in Landscape Gardening and Landscape Contracting in December 2012. She is a licensed C-27 Landscape Contractor. License #992937.
Patrick Carter
Lead Gardening Assistant
Patrick has always been fascinated by the natural sciences and has long studied plants, animals, and ecology for many years. This fascination led him to the planted aquarium and reef aquarium hobby. He has also been employed with the California Academy of Sciences as an on-call biologist since 2010. Patrick has been with Green Earth Gardeners since 2012.
He has done extensive work in the horticulture field primarily focusing on aquatic plants, tropical plants, living walls, ponds, permaculture, nano farming, small spaces and the re-creation of habitats. He is currently working with Neil Bobo, owner of Pond Revival on ponds, fountains, and aquatic displays in the East Bay as well as running his own exclusive gardening business LeftCoast Gardening and Aquatics with clients throughout Oakland and Berkley. Patrick has been with Green Earth Gardeners since 2012.
Daniel Southard
Lead Gardening Assistant
With a background in horticulture, botany, and visual arts, Daniel has spent most of his life involved in and fascinated with the green world. He has broad experience in the gardening field including design, large-scale landscape installation, maintenance, plant identification, photography, field collection of seeds, food growing, and farm work.
He was the owner of Potato Rock Nursery in far northern California for 17 years which specialized in California native and Mediterranean climate zone seed-grown rarities and selling to designers and gardeners at the farmers market and via mail-order. He has a BA in Spanish Literature from Humboldt State and an MFA in Fine Art from SF State.
Insley Smullen
Lead Gardening Assistant
Raised on the edge of Northern Appalachia, Insley descends from a long line of subsistence farmers; much of her childhood was spent digging, weeding, and harvesting in her grandparents' garden. As an adult, she traded the deciduous forests of Maryland for the sandy, muddy marshes of coastal Georgia, where she spent years as a gardener for local bed and breakfasts.
Now in California, Insley is eagerly learning the new biome she calls home. A student of ornithology, biology, botany, and poetry, Insley received her MFA at Hollins University and published her first chapbook of poetry in 2013.
Hannah Tokuno
Gardening Assistant
Hannah Tokuno was raised on a walnut farm in Northern California. She graduated with a B.S. from UC Berkeley studying Ecological Restoration and Monitoring. Hannah has always had a passion for the natural sciences and grew up caring for plants from a young age. She wants to encourage people to grow their own food and deepen their connection with nature.
Her favorite tree is the Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) because they remind her of California and light moves so beautifully through their canopy. Her other passions include: archery, film, equestrianism and photography.
Isabella Gonzales
Gardening Assistant
Isabella grew up in San Francisco and studied environmental horticulture in college starting in 2019. She always loved the landscapes of California, especially the local native plants, and took any chance to spend time with nature.
In her free time she collects and propagates indoor plants; she's had grocery store orchids for as long as she can remember but her current favorite projects are tropical vines.
What People Are Saying
"Working on my garden with Phoenix has been a wonderful experience. She is extremely imaginative, knowledgeable and dependable. I have learned so much from her… this woman walks her talk!"
— Leslie, Homeowner in North Beach
"She runs her business in a professional manner while maintaining a cheerful, helpful, friendly demeanor. I rely on her without reservation and recommend her work wholeheartedly."
— Eve, Homeowner in the Castro