Creating Beautiful Gardens In San Carlos – An Interview with Jennifer France, Owner of Jenn’s Gardening

Jennifer France, owner of Jenn's Gardening.

A garden is a little like a good marriage. It grows with you through the seasons, asks for care, and rewards patience with beauty, comfort, and abundance. Neglect it long enough, and it quietly begins to fade. As Jennifer France has learned through 40 years of working with gardens, tending a garden can teach us a thing or two about love, healing, and the many ways life renews itself.

As the owner of Jenn’s Gardening, she has cared for countless gardens in San Carlos and across the Peninsula, helping homeowners create outdoor spaces that feel less like chores and more like sanctuaries. Jenn focuses on a narrow list of clients whom she provides a higher level of care for, allowing her to stay hands-on with her crew and offer the highest quality she values.

A Career Rooted in Plants, Work, and Risk

Jenn did not start with a polished business plan. While studying psychology at UC Davis, gardening started as a side job to help pay for books, but it slowly pulled her in another direction. Her parents both worked in pomology, and her father was a lifelong farmer, giving her an early foundation in plants and growing.

Eventually, she left school, moved to the Bay Area, and began building her business one garden at a time. "I never thought that it would be a viable career," she said. "That I would be able to survive on gardening. But I took my chances and jumped into it." Over time, she took courses in lighting and irrigation, earned her contractor's license, and learned much of the craft through hands-on experience.

Choosing Fewer Gardens, and Caring for Them Better

At one point, Jenn served roughly 300 customers, but the larger business was not the best fit for the kind of work she wanted to do. About seven years ago, she shifted her model, choosing fewer clients so she could provide a higher level of care and attention.

Today, she works with about 35 to 40 clients, which allows her to stay present with her crew and maintain quality. "I'm there every day working with my crew," she said. "So, I can maintain the quality that I want." She is best suited to homeowners who truly value their gardens and want them consistently cared for.

The Biggest Change: Water Conservation

For Jenn, the biggest change in Bay Area gardening has been water conservation. Beauty, shade, privacy, and maintenance still matter, but water now sits at the center of many landscaping decisions.

That shift has come from both drought and rising water costs. Homeowners are watching water bills more closely, and many are more open to plants that do not need constant watering. France points to lavenders and Mediterranean-style plants as good examples, noting that a water-wise garden can still feel lush, full, and beautiful when the right plants and systems are chosen.

Drip Irrigation and the Quiet Work Below the Soil

Jenn strongly favors professionally installed drip irrigation, especially Netafim-style subsurface dripline systems. These systems place irrigation tubing underground so water reaches the roots directly, reducing overspray, evaporation, and water waste.

"When the drip is under the ground," she said, "you have zero evaporation. You have zero overspray." Because the system is buried, it can also reduce damage from animals chewing exposed pipes or sprinkler heads. France recommends hiring a qualified installer from the start instead of improvised systems, since these can create bigger problems later. 

About Netafim Subsurface Drip Irrigation

Smart Irrigation Helps, but Microclimates Still Matter

Jenn uses smart irrigation controllers and appreciates the convenience of adjusting watering of multiple gardens right from her phone. She can add time to a zone, reduce watering, or turn a system off when rain comes.

Still, she cautions that technology should support, not replace, a gardener’s judgment. "We've got a lot of microclimates," she said. Fog, moisture, shade, and elevation can vary from one Peninsula garden to another, so local knowledge still matters.

Hardscaping That Lets Water Return

Jenn also recommends thinking carefully about hardscaping. For patios, paths, and driveways, she favors permeable pavers because they allow water to move downward instead of rushing toward the street.

"That allows the water to permeate down, or percolate down into the paver," she said. While decomposed granite can be less expensive, it may become messy or unstable with heavy rain or regular driving. Her recommendation is simple: "My recommendation is the permeable paver."

Some of Jenn's gardens.

The Gardener and the Writer

Jenn's story includes another chapter beyond gardening. She is also the author of "Faith, Hope & Love", a memoir rooted in love, grief, journaling, and the search for meaning after the passing of her former partner, Ann Marie.

Gardening and writing share a similar rhythm. Both require patience, attention, revision, and the willingness to keep learning. Neither is ever truly finished, and both offer opportunities to grow.

Her Advice for San Carlos Homeowners

Near the end of the interview, Jenn offered a simple piece of advice: gardens are deeply subjective. Some people are drawn to the calm lines of a Japanese-style garden, while others prefer the romantic softness of an English garden. "Beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder."

A garden does not need to be grand to be generous. It simply needs to work for the people who live with it. Like a marriage, it asks for patience, attention, forgiveness, and a willingness to show up everyday, through every season. And just like any relationship, the most important thing is not perfection, but enjoyment. "If a garden brings happiness and peace, then that is what matters most," Jenn said.

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About Jenn's Gardening