Mark Bourne has been exploring landscape his whole life. Deeply rooted in a love for the natural environment, Mark’s interest is most often focused on creating gardens, but also incorporates other creative work, including photography, teaching, and writing.

Mark received his formal training in landscape design in Kyoto, as an apprentice to Kitayama Yasuo. Work-study completed while training with Mr. Kitayama included the creation of numerous new gardens, among them gardens at Kodaiji Zen Temple, the Kyoto-Florence sister city garden in the Giardina della Rosa, Florence, Italy, and work at the Katsura Detached Palace in Kyoto. His training also included pruning in the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Shugakuin Detached Palace, and Kenninji Zen Temple. As an apprentice he received recognition for his studies from the abbot of Kenninji, the Mayor of Kyoto, and the Kyoto Zoen Kumiai. Prior to apprenticing in Kyoto, Mark completed a degree in Antrhopology and Japanese literature, and this foundation continues to influence him.

In 1999 Mark returned to the San Francisco area, and immediately after that began to combine his Japanese training with his passion for the patterns of wilderness. He pioneered a style of using locally native plants in Japanese design, and continues to explore the potential of the Japanese tradition.