About SymbiOp

A Company For People and Planet

Worker-owned · Value-led · Mission-driven

SymbiOp started off as one-person landscaping business, operated by one of our cofounders, Nutmeg. We have grown significantly over the years. On Oct 1st, 2021, we also opened an ecological garden shop, using our plant expertise to make ecological gardening even more accessible to the greater community. Our workers have 10+ years of experience cultivating ecological landscapes, and even more years of experience with plant care in general. We come from a multitude of identities and backgrounds. You can learn more about each worker in the biography section below.

The name SymbiOp stands for Symbiosis Cooperative. We picked that name because we value the idea of symbiosis – a mutually beneficial relationship for all participants. We apply this value not only in the work we do, by cultivating plants and landscapes that are beneficial to our customers, our communities, and the greater ecosystems, but also in how we govern our company, as a worker cooperative, an employee-owned company.

Having equal voice and stake in the company enables us to work symbiotically. We strive to keep our wages above market rate. We strive to create a healthy work environment. We strive to be inclusive, equitable, and compassionate. You can read what that means for us in the frequently asked questions section below.

Symbiosis is not just a product that we produce. It is a value that we believe in. We value it so much that we put it in our bylaws. This means we are bound by laws to consider our social and ecological impacts as much if not more than our financial gains.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I pronounce SymbiOp?

Sym as in symmetry. Bi as in bicycle. Op as in operate.

In biology, symbiosis doesn’t always mean mutually beneficial relationships.

This is correct. We are using the layman’s definition of symbiosis – a mutually beneficial relationship. However, in biology, symbiosis is a larger category that contains many sub categories – competition, amensalism, agonism, neutralism, commensalism, and mutualism. Mutually beneficial relationships, aka mutualism, is just one of them. For simplicity, when we say symbiosis, we generally means the latter three, with heavy emphasis on mutualism, unless otherwise specified.

Is SymbiOp Garden Shop a change of ownership of the old Naomi’s Farm Supply store?

No. Although Naomi’s Farm Supply used to reside on the same property, SymbiOp Garden Shop is a completely new business, with different owners, workers, governance, mission, and values. Some of our products may be similar, but we are not related at all. SymbiOp Landscaping was also started before Naomi’s closed.

What do the two letters at the end of your shop product names mean? (NN, SE, DP, etc)?

These letters are used for our internal inventory management, specifically to track plants by growers. They don’t indicate anything biologically different about the plants, i.e. a Common Yarrow SE is essentially the same as a Common Yarrow DP. We are sorry about the confusion. Unfortunately, with the limitations of our current inventory system, we have to do it this way at this time.

Are your products and services completely carbon neutral / ecological / ethical?

Some of our products may be considered carbon neutral / ecological / ethical by some standard. Some may not. This is a tricky question that doesn’t have a straight-forward answer.

It’s easy to credit some of our products, like our peat-free soil, for preserving Peatlands, which are the largest carbon sinks on earth. It’s also easy to credit some of our services, like installing regenerative landscapes, for sequestering carbon.

Yet, while these individual practices do have positive impacts, it would be misleading to say that our work is “complete”, for several reasons:

1) Carbon dioxide isn’t the only thing harming our planet. There are many other pollutants that are just as harmful.

2) Being neutral, aka creating no harm, isn’t good enough. We need to do better than no harm, Otherwise, we will always be fighting a losing battle. This is why we use regenerative practice over sustainable practice. Regeneration is about creating systems that reduce harms and produce benefits, instead of just reducing harm. You can read more about it in this blog post.

3) There’s no such thing as a completely beneficial product. Any product used inappropriately can be harmful for the people and the planet. For example, we sometimes recommend Neem Oil as a last resort pest control, if creating a pest-deterring regenerative landscape isn’t an option. Though Neem Oil is less harmful than conventional pesticides, it can still kill beneficial organisms. Thus for us, it’s more important to know when, where, and how to properly use certain products, instead of categorizing them as always good or bad. If there’s one thing that nature has taught us, it is that nothing is binary. There’s always more nuance and complexity.

4) Even if all of our products and services are carbon neutral / ecological / ethical, the larger system in which we operate is still not. Our city doesn’t have enough recycling facilities to recycle all of our waste. Most of our cars are still gas powered. Even electric cars are made possible because of destructive mining practices. And that’s just a few examples. Some people call this, “There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.” We agree, and we would add that capitalism is still a symptom for a deeper issue – a value system based in dominance and exploitation over people and nature that has taken over the world for 10,000 years [source].

We know this is a long-winded answer. We live in a complex and changing world with complex and changing problems. There’s no one-size-fit-all solution. It’s important for each of us to do what we can, but still recognize it’s never complete. All the labels and certifications won’t mean a thing if our larger system doesn’t align with our values. The particular value system we use is “Seek Truth <=> Nurture Life”. We follow this adaptive framework when making big decisions, in hope that this will continuously steer us to more ecological and ethical practices. You can read more about it in the next question.

The most important part of SymbiOp’s work, though not as visible yet, is our work to change our system. In addition to restoring natural ecosystems, we also aim to cultivate more regenerative social systems and value systems. Eventually, we would like to help create a network of regenerative organizations and communities, a new nurturance-based economy that will replace the old exploitative one.

Can you tell me more about SymbiOp’s value system, Seek Truth <=> Nurture Life?

Values are often nouns like expertise, accountability, compassion, equity, etc, which are all important. However, because they are nouns, they can mislead people into thinking that these values are fixed plateaus to reach, instead of continuous learning processes.

To account for that, we adopted a value system that is based on verbs instead of nouns. At its core, our value system is composed of two processes, Seek Truth and Nurture Life.

The process of Seek Truth means to continuously observe the world and understand all that happens in it. This includes external things like nature and society, but also internal things like like our thoughts and feelings. The modern scientific method is one tool we use to seek truth. We also use many other tools such as indigenous knowledge, nonbinary lens, mindfulness, etc. Many values can be derived from Seek Truth. For example, accountability is about seeking truth in the impacts of our actions. Expertise is about seeking truth in our skills.

The process of Nurture Life means to facilitate the propagation of living organisms and promote their well-being. This also includes facilitating the life nurturing ecosystems that already exist, and promoting our inner well-being and community well-being. Many values can be derived from Nurture Life. For example, equity is about nurturing a community that allows each individual to thrive despite their differences.

The double-ended arrow <=> symbolizes a feedback loop, i.e. how the two processes feed into each other. For example, we need to understand the truth of life in order to nurture it properly. Similarly, through nurturing life, our experience also inform us more truth about life. This feedback loop also reflects the need to periodically re-evaluate of how we use seek truth and nurture life.

Because of these interconnected processes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They make our value system more resilient and adaptive, in the same way that natural ecosystems have interconnected processes that make them more resilient too, as described in our blog post.

In fact, the evolution of life on earth mirrors the process of Seek Truth <=> Nurture Life. Organisms evolving the ability to sense and think is a form of truth seeking. Organisms have also evolved to nurture themselves, their kins, and other species. We didn’t invent this value system. We merely observed that it’s a process that’s been working for billions of years. Similarly, many spiritual practices around the world also mirrors Seek Truth <=> Nurture Life, but that’s a topic for another time.

Why do you have the pride flag / trans flag / nonbinary flag on your building”?

Many of our workers are queer (LGBTQ+). They feel proud of their identities, and we feel proud to represent them in an industry (plant nursery / landscaping) where queer people are often excluded from. The queer flags reflect this representation, and more importantly, our commitment to continuously make our space safer and more inclusive for queer people, be them our workers, customers, or neighbors.

What other historically-excluded identities do you represent other than queer?

Many of our workers experience physical and mental disabilities, who are often excluded this industry. Many of our workers are women, who are usually excluded from this industry too. We also represent people of color, indigenous people, immigrants, and working class families. Although some of these identities are not as large as our queer identity, they are equally important in how we conduct our equity and inclusion practices, as briefly answered in the next question.

What does it mean when you say “We strive to be inclusive, equitable, and compassionate”?

Being inclusive and equitable is more than just a token number or a percentage. It’s about applying our values into actions and practices. For SymbiOp, this practice is combination of seeking the truth of each individual and creating a community that nurtures life, where people can celebrate their differences and similarities, and receive what they need to heal their past and shape their future.

This requires an understanding that each person is unique and fluid – that their needs are different and can change with time. It also requires the understanding of interdependence – how we affect each other and how history and society affect us. This mean we have to routinely renew our thinking and practice to better serve the needs of our workers, customers, and the greater community.

Being compassionate isn’t a passive state of politeness, but rather an active process of supporting people through their struggles. It’s about listening to each other’s truth and understanding each other’s perspective. It’s about encouraging people to grow instead of punishing their imperfections. Sometimes that means being gentle with each other. Sometimes it means holding each other accountable.

SymbiOp has implemented many company policies to facilitate this inclusive, equitable, and compassionate practice. We are still a new business, so there are many things that we simply don’t have the resources to implement yet. This process is on-going and we are learning every day. In future blog posts, will describe in detail what policies worked for us and what didn’t, to serve as open-source knowledge for other value-aligned organizations and communities.

Your worker’s name tags say “They/Them”, “He/They”, “She/Her”, etc on them. What does it mean?

It means this worker would feel most respected to be called that pronoun. For example, if someone’s pronoun is “She/They”, using sentences like “She was so helpful” or “They were so helpful” shows that you respect who they are, while using sentences like “He was so helpful”, erases their identity.

We understand this practice can be difficult to get used to sometimes. Most of us have grown up in a not-so-inclusive culture that allows only two gender pronouns – he or she. Plus, the definitions of who counts as a he or she are also very rigid. It takes time and effort to break that old habit, much like it takes time to learn a new person’s name. We believe you can do it!

Also, it’s ok to make mistakes sometimes, as we all do. So don’t sweat it if you accidentally slip up and use the wrong pronoun. Just correct yourself casually and move on. Ultimately, SymbiOp is about creating more life nurturing spaces, where we respect each other, take care each other, and learn from each other.

Why do you have the Tibetan Prayer Flags on your building? (The smaller multi-color flags next to the pride flags.)

The reason behind this is personal, spiritual, historical, and educational.

Two of our founders (JT and Lotus) have been practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism for decades. The deep insight that Tibetan Buddhism has on non-duality and interdependence was what propelled them to further commit themselves to practice regenerative ecology and build communities/cooperatives, both of which are based on similar wisdoms. SymbiOp would not be where we are today without the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. We need to give credit where it’s due, in the same way that we credit much of our regenerative knowledge to the Indigenous communities.

Spiritually, each flag has the prayer “Om Mani Padme Hum” printed on them. This prayer isn’t to deities, but rather a mantra for the people and the planet. Om is the sacred sound of the universe, which symbolizes non-duality and interdependence. Mani means jewel, which symbolizes the middle way – the altruistic commitment to bring peace, compassion, and enlightenment to the world. Padme means the lotus plant, which symbolizes the enlightened mind arising amidst the suffering of samsara. Hum symbolizes the union of wisdom and practice. There are many other symbols on the flag that we may explore deeper in a future blog post. The flags are hang high up in windy places, much like on top of our building, where the wind will carry this blessing throughout the planet for the benefit of all beings.

Throughout history, the prayer flags have evolved through many forms. In modern history, it carries an extra meaning for Tibet, which was invaded by China in 1959. Thousands of Tibetans, including the 14th Dalai Lama, fled their homeland and lived in exile ever since. The flags are often made and sold by Tibetan refugee communities. They became part of the movement to spread Tibetan spirituality all over the world, to counter the active erasure going on in China. They are a symbol of solidarity with the Tibetan people against imperialism and colonialism.

The flags also presents an opportunity to educate the public about all of the above. We are very cognizant of how the meaning of the prayer flags have been diluted by the capitalist commodification and consumption in western countries. Because they are beautiful, some people might think of them or use them as decorations without knowing the spiritual and historical significance. There’s a difference between appreciation and appropriation. Appreciation starts with deep understanding and mindful practice. Appropriation only ends up hurting the culture by diluting its meaning. We can’t tell you what to do with your life, but we do urge you to learn these things before hanging up your own Tibetan prayer flags, so that you can explain the meanings properly to others, thus preserving the truth.

You can purchase such flags at two Portland shops owned by Tibetans – Tibet Spirit and Road to Tibet.

Is your garden shop dog / pet friendly?

Yes, as long as the pet is on a leash, or in a carrier, so that they cannot free roam. Please also be mindful of the mess that your pet may leave sometimes. Thank you!

Do you sell such and such product?

For your convenience, our garden shop website has a search feature that allows you to look up what we sell. It is updated daily. That being said, certainly feel free to call our garden shop and ask about our products too!

Owner Biographies

Gardeners · Artists · Scientists · Planet Stewards

System Engineer / Business Developer
(he/they)

As a kid, JT spent many hours learning about the earth and the universe, despite growing up in the concrete jungle of Shanghai, China. After moving to the United States and getting his degree in Physics, he dedicated his life in creating resilient systems, be them ecological systems, social systems, business systems, or computer systems. During his free time, JT likes to write essays and fictions, produce music, go camping, and practice Tibetan Buddhism. He credits Tibetan Buddhism for his initial understanding and commitment to interdependence and non-duality, which later on led him to study more regenerative practices and system science. Checkout his blog post detailing the founding of SymbiOp!

Nutmeg

Lead Landscape Designer
(she/her)

Born and raised on the west coast, Nutmeg has deep connections to the local ecosystems. Her passion drove her to study ecological landscape design and later on create her own landscaping business. She has also developed a line of sustainable herbal products using the plants she cultivated. During her free time, Nutmeg likes to tend her garden, cook, write music, and volunteer for social/environmental justice organizations.

Matt

Lead Landscape Designer
(he/him)

Before calling Portland home, Matt operated an ecological landscaping and nursery business on Vancouver Island, Canada that was featured in local publications. Though he started in traditional landscaping, he soon got tired of the unsustainable practices and toxic culture of that industry. As a member of the Metis Nation of BC, it became more and more important for him to reconnect with the indigenous side of his lineage and restore his relationship with the land. He studied from indigenous elders from all over the world, and has been practicing ecological landscaping ever since. During his free time, Matt enjoys exploring the nooks and crannies of new neighborhoods by bike and getting lost in the woods with his husband.

Lotus

Project Coordinator / Client Support
(she/her)

Lotus's relationship with nature started with teaching outdoor education to kids for many summers, helping them to connect to nature and understand their impact. She is passionate about building communities for the benefit of humans and nature. This is why outside of SymbiOp, she also serves on the boards of two community nonprofits in Portland. During her free time, Lotus likes to practice Tibetan Buddhism, read, write, and volunteer for animal shelters and social/environmental justice organizations.

Khalila

Project Coordinator / Corporate Administrator
(she/her)

Khalila is a Palestinian American, and is the first generation on her fathers side to be born in the United States. She has been gardening for years, but wasn't familiar with regenerative practices before SymbiOp. Incorporating these new practices into her own garden has been very rewarding. She believes in strengthening her community, whether through crisis counseling or trash cleanup. During her free time, she enjoys game nights with friends, bouldering, and having outdoor adventures with her child.

Prospective Owner Biographies

More coming soon!

Casey

Garden Shop Lead
(she/her)

Katherine

Shop Coordinator / Inventory Lead
(she/her)

Jonathan

Landscape Designer / Crew Lead
(he/him)

Jonathan has been loving native plants and regenerative eco-systems since hearing about "permaculture" in 2005 after moving to Portland from Virginia. After various training, he started his own Edible-forest-gardening business in 2012, which expanded to include Greywater systems before joining with SymbiOp. Jonathan holds a fascination with the intersection of human and plant worlds and the vital potency of all things water-related. He also co-stewards an intentional eco-village cooperative in SE Portland as his home for 11 years. In his free time, he loves communing with garden fairies and playing acoustic music with friends.

Kirk

Landscape Worker / Volunteer Lead
(he/him)

Kirk resides on the settled lands of the Chinook (Portland, OR). For the past 10 years, he did placemaking, affordable housing, reuse, and naturescaping work, especially for historically marginalized communities. He was also trained in fine art and art as social practice, and created safe space for queer and minority creatives, such as Latino Art Now! and Not Enough! When not working at SymbiOp, Kirk likes to volunteer his time and skill with local community non-profits such as Afro Village PDX, Tin Can Phone, Master Recyclers of Color, Sabin CDC, etc.