“Anything that helps grow plants or is related to landscaping, we have here,” says Kan Parthiban, sustainability coordinator of green-devoted Lyngso Garden Materials in San Carlos. That includes organic composts, soils and fertilizers, of course, but the family-run employee-owned business is also the source of larger landscaping items, such as boulders, flagstones and rocks, water features and pottery.

“What ties everything together is our community involvement, sustainability of raw materials and environmental conscientiousness,” she says. As part of that, Lyngso upgraded to Peninsula Clean Energy’s ECO100 product, which provides energy from 100% renewable sources.

Lyngso has held free Saturday learning sessions for more than a decade. “We host DIY classes and educational classes with the UC Master Gardeners,” Parthiban says. “We have been a community resource and a people-based business since the early 1950s.”

Another key is the emphasis on organics. “We don’t have any synthetics or chemical products on site,” she says.

“Our customers care about the environment, so all of our soils and amendments are natural and eco-friendly.