Lot size: 700 sq. ft. front garden and 280 sq. ft. parking strip, 95% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2008
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 2
This tranquil, shady garden, designed by Donna and installed by Donna and her husband, Jim Durkin, has come a long way from the days when the former tenants parked their cars on the weedy lawn. In its place Donna created a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant native plant garden that provides color, reflects the variety and randomness of nature, and is attractive throughout the year.
Other Garden Attractions
- Runoff from the roof is directed onto the gravel path, allowing water to percolate into the soil.
- Now that the natives are established, the front garden is watered once a month in the summer.
- The garden is bordered by an interesting collection of rocks, including flow banded rhyolite, quartzite, and basalt.
Gardening for Wildlife
Seeds, berries, pollen, nectar, shrubs, trees, and a bird bath attract a variety of winged creatures, including flocks of oak titmice (on the Audubon Society’s WatchList, meaning they are in need of immediate conservation help). Hummingbirds sip nectar from the pink flowering currant, hummingbird sage, and monkeyflower. Newts, happy in this shady haven, shelter under rocks. Plants are left to go to seed, providing food for birds.
