By Mary Cristy
LAH resident Craig Murray’s vegetation paradise has faithful customers clamoring for more
When a man uses his hands to enrich the soil, when his ears are attuned to bird song, when he senses the merest vibration of a single leaf imperiled by a tiny insect predator, when butterflies and bees flit about him as he tends and seeds his plot to produce 12-foot towers of greenery topped with giant sunflowers that lift their faces to the sky, his soul is nourished, his spirit is gentled, and his heart soars to the music of the spheres.
In l992 horticulturist Craig Murray planted his first organic garden on Dori Lane in Los Altos Hills. Today, Murray views his crop with quiet confidence and sees that it is good.
“We humans have the same DNA as plants,” he said. “In a natural ecosystem the physical life-force energy shines through. In college I considered art and science as ‘either-or’ choices. Then I realized horticulture allowed me to have both.”
Murray’s “bread and butter” work is landscape design and construction. “You’ve got to have a base,” he said.
Early on, The Garden was a venue for neighbors and friendly shoppers to meet, greet and exchange recipes.
A complaint from a lone dissenter disturbed the even tenor briefly, and its future seemed uncertain. But the Los Altos Hills City Council agreed agricultural pursuits were approved in their constitution and Murray’s dream of producing pure food and beautiful flowers was validated.
The Garden was inspired by Scotland’s “Findhorn,” where dedicated nature lovers transformed a bleak and barren tract into a productive farm, where, they felt , friendly spirits called “Devas” came to bless, and caused them to prosper. Years of perfecting techniques and integrating pest management into the soil gave Murray sufficient opportunity to “deepen spiritual insights,” and to find himself in accord with Findhorn’s believers.
“The more you connect with nature’s healing power, the more you understand it,” he said. As a handsome, healthy advocate of his philosophy, the highly eligible bachelor is a prime example of the benefits of natural food and outdoor living.
Inevitably, growing food leads to cooking and preserving it. Murray, his mother and a friend have canned as many as 80 quarts of tomatoes for a “three way split” to see them through the winter.
This charming domestic vignette is augmented by the enterprising gardener’s professional association with executive and sous chefs throughout San Francisco and in upscale restaurants on the Peninsula, where Murray helped them to plan menus and introduced them to new seeds, seasonings and sauces.
With twinkling eyes and a dimpled smile, he shared the story of his collaboration with Star’s chef when the posh restaurant opened in Palo Alto. “I had some chili pepper seeds a client brought me from Peru and some I discovered on my own trip to China.”
The chef was eager and willing to pay Murray in gift certificates to Star’s.
At Miramonte Mental Facility in Mountain View, Murray taught patients to create their own organic gardens. “The response was heart warming. Letters from grateful patients reported increased self-esteem, improved health, and less depression.”
In Menlo Park Murray was engaged by Draeger’s to teach cooking classes in their gourmet kitchen . Access TV at Foothill College provided another opportunity to share his experience with the community.
As well as field trips with grade school children, and their teachers, Murray has volunteered each winter since the garden’s inception, to instruct Foothill horiticultural students in his family’s greenhouse where they work for hands-on credit, “Their vitality energizes me,” .he said.
When the subject of awards is raised Murray is low key. Having won so many contests at fairs, tastings, and other food- related events he’s inclined to be “embarrassed”
What pleases him greatly are the visitors who come to the Garden to depressurize after work. A surgeon with a grueling schedule at Stanford Hospital comes “for a slice of sanity.”
As ripple effects continue Murray stands on the threshold of still more exciting achievements.. A leading House and Garden publication has proposed a feature and photos for its Spring issue. Murray’s long-range plans include writing, teaching, and cooking, (with possibly a recipe book.) His vision includes a line of oven-ready meals like the ones he prepares at home.
With a wok, a basket of organic produce, and a handful of other healthful and delicious ingredients he cooks his own “fast food” and hopes to tout the benefits of such a diet.
He believes a decade in the garden has enriched him immeasurably.
“Working close to Nature fosters maturity, wisdom, and the peace that comes with deepening spirituality. To all this, add the satisfaction of doing the work you love. And, the community has been so supportive.”
“It’s a two-way street”, a patron observed. ” He brings so much light, and beauty here. A unanimous vote of thanks is no more than he deserves.”
Overhearing, and agreeing with her, another added,
“To me it’s the Garden of Eden before the serpent got loose, “
Murray wears an abashed grin as he deems this praise a “bit much” But it’s clear to those who know and love the garden that this is a “most happy Fella” with his feet on the ground, and his head in the stars.
