Meet Sara Saxonberg | Founder of Pachamama Inspired

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Saxonberg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Growing up in the rocky mountains of Colorado, my childhood was spent climbing rocks & trees, digging in the Earth for earthworms, creating miniature homes for my imaginary friends out of grasses, flowers, and whatever natural elements I could find in the forest that was my backyard. Days were filled with imagination and freedom. Seasons were defined by changing leaves, blankets of snow, brave flowers emerging from the snow in Spring – irises and daffodils – welcoming warmer weather and longer days ahead, and the promise of summer afternoon rain showers.

At the age of 7 my childhood suddenly split off into a new chapter in Los Angeles near the coast. This shift rattled me to my core, and my mom often reminds me of what I said when we first arrived as I tried to make sense of everything. “Mom, I just don’t know how to play here?” My imagination was originally stumped by that flat lawn, and all the houses and properties that looked so similar.

We do have seasons (and so many incredible plants and ecosystems) in Los Angeles but they are much more subtle and accessible in different ways than I was used to in Colorado. This all began to be revealed to me through my first long-term career which I LOVED – cooking Farm to Table ingredients over a citrus and oak wood fire at AOC, and other fine dining restaurants in Los Angeles. On Wednesdays, we would shop at the Santa Monica farmers market and my mentor, Javier, would teach me about the unique ingredients each season would bring. I experienced the colorful, fragrant produce shifting from season to season.

Learning the nuances of the market and how the slight weather changes impacted harvest and flavor – and what was even available, connected me back to the awe-inspiring essense of Nature and her seasons. This is when I first started falling in love with California. I noticed how delicious winter ingredients paired together to celebrate the season – arugula pomegranates and persimmons, and throughout the winter, all of the citrus and avocados and then finally those first moments of spring when I’d be greeted by peas, green garlic and sometimes the mountain lilacs!

Living in the city for so long, I had started to lose my way, but these experiences began grounding me and inspired me to learn to grow my own food. Growing food brought opportunities to learn and to wonder about Nature again. I got my fingers into the soil and my bare toes connected back with the Earth. The more seeds I planted and the more I learned , the more I personally began to bloom. Pachamama Inspired was born alongside my son, as an effort for me to find a career that would offer me the freedom to be the present parent I wanted to be. Since then, so many seeds have been planted and the Pachamama team has grown.

A big challenge for me has been to maintain my connection to the majesty and inspiration nature provides while also living in this massive city where the birdsongs compete with construction trucks and the stars compete with landscape lighting. Since this is constantly on my mind, I am always searching out new ways to create and maintain these connections. Witnessing birds singing, butterflies fluttering around blooming flowers, stars sparkling in the sky, leaves dancing on the trees, smelling the fragrances of the different seasons, – these experiences offer us not only a sense of wonder but also intimately connect us back to that essential part of ourselves we so often lose as we emerge into adulthood. As we become rooted back into the Earth we begin to remember who we really are and always have been. When we rediscover Nature , we find parts of ourselves that we may have been missing for a very long time without consciously knowing they were missing.

Recently, I was overcome walking a client’s property as I was flashed back to memories of my childhood in Colorado. I realized how strongly those experiences influence my work today. It is so rewarding to be able to support my clients and their families, here in urban sprawling Los Angeles, in creating the freedom and gifts of uninhibited imagination that Wild Nature provides. At that moment, it hit me that for most of my adult life, throughout my evolving career I have been searching to find a way to become re-immersed fully in Nature, while not deserting my family who all live in Los Angeles.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Specializing in landscape design and garden coaching, Pachamama Inspired’s regenerative design approach is intended to move beyond sustainability by creating multifunctional outdoor spaces that exceed our clients’ imaginations. Through intentional design, we aim to re-connect our clients intimately with nature, and in the process, create resilient spaces that will support not only our clients, but future generations. My intention in founding Pachamama Inspired has been to create a resource for people to learn more about Nature and find sources of inspiration within their own backyard. My designs result in beautiful, multifunctional outdoor spaces that rely on California friendly plants and sustainable materials. I also love adding edible plants, and inspiring my clients to cook with them whenever possible.

While my mission as both a mother and a business owner has evolved over time, I believe I owe it to my son and fellow Earth citizens to prioritize our mission of fostering climate action through regenerative garden education and design. I think an equally important aspect of that mission is connecting our community back with Nature and empowering city dwellers to reconnect with the Source. . Possibly, some of the most impactful things we can do to shift the trajectory of climate change as individuals, is by learning to grow and share our own food, while also promoting the realization that we can re-wild Los Angeles by reclaiming unused spaces such as lawns and parkways to bring back habitat. Pachamama Inspired also supports our clients through education, coaching, and more recently plant care & stewardship services, offering our community access to the tools and education needed to make these big shifts in a responsible and effective way.

We all start in different places, come from different backgrounds and are inspired by different things. I’ve learned that if I can meet my clients where they are, no matter where that is on the climate action spectrum, we can make incremental continuous improvements that will ultimately result in monumental change. Maybe a client is not that interested in sustainability or regenerative gardening and they just want to have a pretty place to come home to. That’s absolutely fine. If I can introduce one client to the joy that nature brings and get them outside of their house noticing some butterflies or birds that maybe weren’t there before, we could be planting the seeds of change that will ultimately cause them to fall madly in love with nature again!

Nature is awesome, we are Nature. I am constantly reminded of that little girl who at seven years old left her home, her friends, and her dog on a rainy day to travel across miles and miles of road to a new home in Los Angeles, California where the yards were much smaller and there were block after block of lawns instead of ecosystems & forests as far as the eye can see. It’s rewarding to see those spaces evolve into regenerative gardens, food forests, and rewilded California Native habitat for future generations to enjoy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hiking on Palos Verdes Peninsula, and Santa Monica Mountains.

Beach day in Hermosa or RAT beach, then head to San Pedro for first Thursday art walk and check out Crafted and Brouwerji West for food trucks and beverages with a place to let the kids free range.

Hit up a few farmers markets, my favorites include Torrance on Tuesdays and Saturdays (my local best) Mar Vista on Sundays (one of my favorite places to work out my Master Gardener Volunteer hours) and Wednesday at 3rd street Santa Monica Market

Head down to the heart of Los Angeles and check out the beautiful patio at A.O.C. or Suzanne’s awesome Downtown Proper restaurant Caldo Verde. Or if we are looking for something more local to the South Bay, I would take my friends to Little Sister if we are feeling fancy or Saigon Dish if we are on more a budget for a must have Vietnamese meal.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been so blessed to be mentored and supported by so many brilliant and inspiring people. My family, of course, are my number one cheerleaders and they deserve more gratitude than I can offer words for. My partner, Christopher Quain, is a talented sound and yoga therapy healer who has gotten me out of myself and supported me in raising an incredible 5 year old boy who inspires me every second of every day. My parents are an essential piece of my support system and my “why” as well. Aside from family, when I look back at how I got here, the farmers at the Santa Monica farmers market, including Peter Schaener, and Alex Weiser, just to name a few, opened my eyes to how important it is to care for and steward the Earth and the culinary abundance Earth offers in exchange. I wouldn’t have found the farmers market if it were not for the chefs who mentored me over the years – notably Javier Espinoza, Suzanne Goin, Renzo Pinillos and Laurant Saussy – who all opened my heart (and pallet) to the magic that quality, ethically sourced food rewards our souls. It was food and the connections that food creates that led me to focus on plants which, in turn, led me to focus on our interconnectedness as humans and the vast ecosystems we inhabit. I also must give credit to my dear friend, Barbara Swift, who shares my passion and love for both food and Nature and has introduced me to Andean Cosmology which has enlightened my personal path, gifting me with ceremony and words to nurture and express my growing relationship with nature.

Website: www.pachamamainspired.com

Instagram: pachamama.inspired, https://instagram.com/pachamama.inspired?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Other: Email: info@pachamamainspired.com Houzz: https://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-architects-and-landscape-designers/pachamama-inspired-llc-pfvwus-pf~506861432