Gan Eden, the garden of Jerry and Mary Kern, is set within pine forests just 30 miles from Denver, Colorado. At an elevation of 6,200 feet, 21/2 acres of this 31/2 acre mountain property has been transformed into a landscape garden of memorable power. Work on the garden began in 1997 under the direction of Marpa & associates, a design and construction firm founded by Martin Mosko.  (More)

Flowers in Space
Inner Design
By MARPA
July - August 2006

Purpose of this Project: The owner of this splendid garden asked first to design a small courtyard garden to enhance the area flanking his remodeled home. When we inspected the site, we found the exposure, the snow and rain run-off patterns plus the lack of light, would in all prevent him from fulfilling his aim.

We proposed that the drainage ditch behind, would be transformed to a walkway deck in the courtyard that could lead into the new garden. The owner put on the spot and asked only to build something extremely attractive that would match very well the aesthetic look of the interior of his house sufficiently provided with artistic crafts bearing a Japanese profile. (more)

It Takes a Village
Colorado Home & Lifestyles
By Jennifer Jewell
April 2006

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes almost that to raise a garden on the scale and caliber of Mary Rossick Kern and Jerry Kern’s garden in Castle Pines. Set alongside the famous Castle Pines golf course, with views of the Rampart Range, the Kern garden, tended by a village of experts, has everything that makes gardening in Colorado divine.

Jerry Kern moved to Colorado from New York in 1998. After adding on to his existing home, he chose Martin Mosko, founder of Boulder-based Marpa Design Studio, (303) 442-5220, marpa.com, to create a garden. Known for his stunning,“contemplative designs,” Mosko believes that “gardens more fully engage all of a viewer’s senses than any other art form.” (more)

Contemplating... the Infinite
Landscape Architect
By Stephen Kelly
January 2006

Read the article here.

For 30 years, a Buddhist monk has brought peace to Colorado landscapes
The Daily Camera
By Sandra Fish, Camera Staff Writer
January 23, 2004

The soothing sounds of water trickling. The rough texture of rock, an integral part of Colorado. The fragrance of soil and flowers.

For 30 years, Martin Mosko has blended such elements to create sumptuous settings in gardens in Boulder and beyond through his landscape design and construction firm, Marpa & Associates.

But Mosko's blending of the elements goes beyond simple gardening. He came to Boulder in 1974, a disciple of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a founder of Naropa University. Trained as a painter at Yale University, Mosko went on a spiritual search and took up gardening at Soledad Mission in California. (more)

Prayer wheel begins to turn
The Wood River Journal
By Karen Bossick
September 14, 2005

With a prayer softly spoken in Tibetan, the Dalai Lama empowered the new Tibetan prayer wheel at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden Tuesday morning.

Followers believe the prayer wheel, which was a gift to the people of Sun Valley from the Dalai Lama, will now send out a million blessings and prayers for healing and compassion every time it turns.

Lamenting that he wasn't feeling well, the Tibetan religious leader arrived about an hour before he was scheduled to bless the wheel. (more)

Tranquil Earth
Luxe Magazine
By Ann Liebman

Martin Mosko created his first garden at the age of 26 beside a little pond on Boulder. "I planted a small flowering crab apple tree and placed little angelic-looking flowers around the pond," he recalls. "Then, as I gazed into the water, a bird flew into a nearby tree and started singing. The nurturing quality of cultivating this living space was magical to me." (more)*

* To view this article, you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download it here.

"A Garden Made for Meditating"
Sunset Magazine
June 1998

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When Jackie and Richard Wolber of Lakewood, Colorado, decided to transform a tennis court into a garden, they told landscape architect Martin Mosko, "We want a place for meditation." Mosko created a landscape boldly accented by sculptural stones and softened by a tapestry of flowering plants woven among dwarf aspens, hawthorns, maples, junipers, and spruces.

Using water as a unifying theme, Mosko laced the landscape with a recirculating stream that flows to a sunken garden, where a waterfall and pond contribute to a meditative mood. 'Tiny Rubies' dianthus and rose pink thrift ( Armeria maritima) brighten sunny parts of the garden. Bursts of color come from irises, daylilies, and yarrow.

"Rocky Start"
Better Homes & Gardens: Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living
Spring 1996

"When we started this garden, the only flower names I knew were Delphinium, daylily, and columbine," says Priscilla Baldwin. As the flagstone patio and wall of railroad ties in her landscape were replaced with tons of rock and a large pond, Priscilla became so enthralled that she went to work for her landscape architect, Martin Mosko. "My plan was just to do a few rocks and some water and be done with it."

Then she met Mosko. "Now I know saying 'just a few rocks' to Martin is a joke," she says. "He doesn't do things in a small way, and I became so fascinated with the whole process, I just kept saying yes to everything." (more)

"Peace Garden"
Denver Rocky Mountain News
April, 2000

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Most of us who dwell in the realm of the 14,000 foot peaks have likely never heard of White Tiger Mountain, Dragon Mountain, Turtle Mountain, and Phoenix Mountain.

They are small - none rises more than 15 feet above its surrounting terrain.

But to those fortunate enough to wander amid these flora-strewn, manmade mounds that create 6,000-square foot Valley Where the Devas Dance, the experience borders on magical. (Devas is Sanskrit for spirit.) (more)

Log Home
July, 2000

Stonework is where Martin Mosko excels. In many of his designs, foreground imitates background. His team brings in cranes to move enormous boulders around the property, creating small mountains that echo the structure of the surrounding Rockies.

"Serene Scene"
Los Angeles Times Magazine
Oct. 29, 2000

Jean and John Isaacson didn't want to drop a Japanese garden, stone by stone, plant by plant, into their Mandeville Canyon lot. Though the couple wanted a garden that would suit their 1960's Pacific Rim-style house, a strict adherence to one aesthetic has never been their style. Jean, a Japanese American, is from Hawaii, John grew up in Brazil. Oriana, their daughter, was born in Chile. So, rather than copy specific scenery, they sought a Japanese essence they had admired in Balinese gardens and in Hawaii and Brazil, where lacy bamboo groves are often charged with the wilder spirit of the tropics.

Bamboo, in fact, was already growing around the couple's house when they purchased it six years ago, along with a large multi-trunked sycamore, a few ferns and some camellias. There was a small koi pond below the living room, but an ugly spa and yards of deck all but canceled its effect. (more)