Joseph Marek

Santa Monica, California

Joseph Marek was first introduced to the Garden Conservancy in 2003 while sharing his garden in Santa Monica, California, through Garden Conservancy Open Days. He and his partner joined our Society of Fellows the same year. He has been the regional ambassador for Open Days in Los Angeles since 2007 and a member of our West Coast Council. Joseph was elected to our board of directors in 2015, has served on the board's Development and Preservation Committees, and now chairs the Open Days Committee.

Joseph has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Yale University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia. His firm, Joseph Marek Landscape Architecture, has been designing and building gardens for nearly 20 years throughout California. His design work is heavily influenced by his early exposure to gardens as a child and by his continuing travels to gardens around the country and the world. He always finds new inspiration on garden-study tours with the Society of Fellows. Joseph works on gardens of all sizes but finds particular enjoyment designing personal gardens for individuals and families. In these intimate spaces, every opinion matters and every detail counts.

Joseph is also a member of the board of trustees of Lotusland, the fantastical garden vision of Madame Ganna Walska in Montecito, California, and he encourages all to visit.

Joseph is an ardent advocate for organ donation. His partner, John Bernatz, was the recipient of a kidney donation in 2017 from an altruistic living donor. Both he and his donor are thriving today.

Joseph is also dedicated to celebrating diveristy and all the good that it brings—from the plant habitats in the gardens he creates to our society and nation as a whole.