Born and Raised in California
Our founder, Jacob Taylor, was born in San Luis Obispo and raised in Hanford and Arroyo Grande. Graduating Top 10 from Nipomo High School, he has always held a deep love for the sciences.While pursuing a Plant Genetics degree from BYU, Jake returned home often to survey local plant species for his research advisor Rick Jellen, PhD. His task was to preserve and sequence the genome of the endangered species Chenipodium littoreum, a small plant native to the Oceano dunes. This experience along with countless others instilled in him a strong love for California’s rare and endemic plants.
Reviving Landscapes with California Native Plants
During graduate school, Jacob was struck by the origin of the word ecology. It comes from the two Greek roots oikos (meaning house) and logos (meaning order). In this sense, ecology is not simply the study of a region's plants and animals—it’s how we make sense of our own home.
Our ecological haven on the Central Coast is unique and deserves to be given its chance to flourish. Lawns have their place and we know how to make them lovely, but we strive to utilize the native plants of California wherever possible since they are what makes where we live naturally beautiful and diverse.
Esto Kata Physin
This Greek invocation roughly translates to “let it be done according to nature’s will.” As members of the California Native Plants Society, we strive to integrate native plants wherever possible into our landscape designs.
The Halcyon Ethos
While pursuing a Master’s degree in Classical Humanities, Jacob discovered the myth of Alcyone and Ceyx which serves as the origin of our word Halcyon. When King Ceyx tragically dies at sea, his wife Alcyone is so grief-stricken that she casts herself into the waves. The gods take pity on them, transforming them into Halcyon birds, more commonly known as Kingfishers.
These two mythic figures preside over the winter solstice and provide calm weather for birds seeking a place to nest. This meaning is reflected in the word Halcyon itself, which is “a period of calm, happiness, or prosperity.”We aim to imbue this mythically-inspired tenet of natural tranquility into all landscapes we service.
