About FYGN (For Your Gardens' Needs)
At FYGN (For Your Gardens' Needs), our values are rooted in professionalism, responsiveness, and courtesy. With over 25 years of experience serving Marin and San Francisco, we are dedicated to creating sustainable, water-efficient landscapes that enhance outdoor living spaces while respecting the natural environment. Our expertise in water-delivery systems ensures that gardens receive the hydration they need while minimizing runoff and waste. More than just landscapers, we see ourselves as stewards of the land, committed to thoughtful, ecologically sound solutions that support the health of both our clients’ gardens and the planet.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We prioritize organic alternatives over chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ensuring that your garden is a safe, toxin-free space where you can walk barefoot with peace of mind. With a deep understanding of the Bay Area’s Mediterranean climate, we design landscapes that thrive through seasonal changes, reducing water waste while maximizing beauty and longevity. Supporting local nurseries, composting green waste back into the soil, and participating in the Marin Green Business Program are just a few ways we uphold our commitment to environmentally responsible landscaping. At FYGN, we don’t just build gardens—we cultivate lasting, regenerative landscapes that bring joy and connection to nature.
Bret de Zordo — FYGN Founder
Bret de Zordo has spent a lifetime outside, working with the land, and creating art with plants. Raised in a family that didn’t see gardening as a career path, he carved his own way, drawn to the rhythm of nature. His journey began as a child working alongside his grandmother, Elena, a prize-winning rose grower in San Francisco. She was obsessed with perfect blooms, and young Bret earned his allowance tending to her roses—an early initiation into a world of plants, soil, and seasonal cycles. But landscaping was never something he chose—it followed him, weaving its way into his life no matter where he went.
For decades, Bret resisted calling himself a gardener. He spent years as a bike racer, a waiter, and a caretaker, trading landscaping for rent in Marin while working nights at Max’s Café in Corte Madera. He built gardens in some of California’s most elite communities—Montecito, Hope Ranch, Mill Valley—where he saw the extraordinary possibilities of landscape design, from craning in redwood trees to sculpting living art. By 2003, he could no longer deny it: this was his calling. He got licensed, insured, and fully committed to building FYGN, hiring a crew, and embracing the identity of a gardener and landscaper.
Bret’s philosophy is simple: work for cool people, create beauty, and respect the craft. Over the years, his clients have become like family, patrons who support his work as a form of art. His team, largely made up of Latinx workers, has become his lifeline—his colleagues, his community. He has learned Spanish, stood up for fair wages, and pushed back against the rhetoric that undervalues the very people who do the hardest work. For him, landscaping isn’t just a job; it’s a connection to the earth, to history, and to the people who make it possible.
Today, after decades in the dirt, Bret still lives by the seasons. Landscaping fuels his love for adventure—skiing, hiking, biking, and traveling the world. Whether battling 100-degree heat in Marin or freezing mornings in Ross Valley, he remains fully present in the work. His passion for drought-tolerant, native California gardens reflects his deep respect for the land and its changing climate. As he contemplates a shift toward semi-retirement, one thing remains certain: Bret will always be outside, hands in the soil, shaping landscapes and lives, just as he has for the past 45 years.
