Other Garden Attractions
• Perennial seaside daisies, massed rosy buckwheats, and cheery yellow sneezeweed extend the bloom time.
• Tidy tips, baby blue eyes, penstemon, yarrow, and poppies provide spring color.
• Six inches of mulch finished off the lawn; white vinegar is used to spot-treat weeds.
• Sonoma and Montana field stones create a woodsy feel in the front garden; Three Rivers flagstone and Temescal fines enliven the narrow parking strip.

Gardening for Wildlife
California lilac attracts bees, monkeyflowers are hummingbird magnets, and butterflies love the buckwheats.

Garden Talks
11:00 “How to convert your lawn into a native garden” by Jillian Steinberger. Jillian will be at this garden from 10:00 – 1:00 to answer questions.

11:30 “The nuts and bolts of irrigating native plants” by Ken Foster of Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping

Showcase Feature

Elizabeth and her husband, Richard, native plant enthusiasts, designed and installed this garden over the past two decades. A colorful mix of natives and Mediterranean plants are found near the house. Bunchgrass meadows (California, red, and Idaho fescues, and deer and oat grass) border the path leading toward the stand of mature oaks and bays at the back of the lot. Riparian plants such as honeysuckle, grey rush, and ferns, have replaced the ivy that once covered the bank of Moraga Creek, which flows along the property line. Seating areas have been strategically placed throughout the garden; drop down in one and take a rest in this peaceful oasis.

Other Garden Attractions

• The columner fountain in the front garden provides the pleasant sound of falling water, attracting two-footed and winged visitors alike.
• Meandering, cobble-filled dry creek bed surrounded by native plants creates an inviting entrance to the back garden.
• A bog, planted with rushes, provides water for wildlife in the hot summer months.
• Whimsical sculptures abound.

Gardening for Wildlife

Forty species of birds, including quail, cedar waxwings, yellow-rumped warblers, acorn, downey, hairy, and Nuttal’s woodpeckers, and Cooper’s, red-shouldered, and red-tailed hawks, are frequently seen in or above the garden.  Great horned owls swoop overhead.  Bats flit by in the evening.  A barn owl box waits hopefully for inhabitants. Fox and skunks, king and garter snakes, and lizards pass through the garden.

Native Plants for Sale Elizabeth will sell native plants she has propagated; checks and cash only.

Showcase Feature

In the front garden the reduced lawn creates space for wide garden beds that contain a mixture of natives and drought-tolerant plants. In the back garden, a curving path leads past Buckwheat Island and Monkey Island—berms planted respectively with Santa Cruz Island, rosy, coastal, and Shasta buckwheats, and with orange, pink-yellow, and azalea-flowered monkeyflowers. Kat Weiss designed this attractive garden; Kat and Louann selected the more than eighty species of native plants, which were chosen for their tolerance of Livermore’s blistering summer heat.

Other Garden Attractions

• Are you interested in learning more about natives? Louann is the volunteer coordinator for Granada Native Gardens, a 1/3 acre native plant demonstration garden located near Stanley and Murietta in Livermore. She also teaches the spring Landscaping with Native Plants class at Los Positas College. Ask her for work party or class schedules.
• Take a gander at the two desert tortoises and koi pond.
• Mountain mahogany, lemonadeberry, elderberry, dogwood, and desert willow will form privacy screens when mature.
• Moss rocks provide visual interest.

Gardening for Wildlife

Western fence lizards bask on the boulders. A potpourri of sages (Bee’s Bliss, Los Angeles and Las Pilatas hummingbird, and Sonoma creeping) attract bees. Hummingbirds are drawn to the penstemons.

Garden Talks

11:00 and 2:00 “How to remove a lawn, control weeds, and maintain a native plant garden” by Louann Tung

Showcase Feature

Cecile and Harold have gardened this lot for more than half a century; over time the garden has been through many incarnations.  Cecile began replacing existing plants with natives about ten years ago. Prostrate manzanita now fills the front slope. Fuchsia, monekyflower, and seaside daisy provide a potpourri of color. Ferns flourish in the shade of a redwood. Five years ago Cecile and Harold’s son, Paul, who lives in in a home that connects to his parents’ lot, asked Brian Swope of Tierra Seca Landscape Design to create side and back gardens reminsicent of a native hillside as it might have been in 1700—but presented in a contemporary setting. The meadow that sweeps up the hill is accented by the curving lines of the garden, and is focused on an obelisk sculpture designed and built by Tierra Seca. Black slate surfaces provide a touch of elegance to the patio and walkway.

Other Garden Attractions

• Enjoy the magnificent view!
• Designer Brian Swope will be in the back garden throughout the day to answer questions.

Gardening for Wildlife

Plants of varying heights provide shelter for birds; currants and grapes provide berries, and native bunchgrasses provide seeds.

Garden Talks 12:00 “Sixty years of garden transformation” by Cecile Weaver. 3:00 “Native Plant Pitfalls: Common mistakes people make when installing and maintaining a native plant garden” by Brian Swope and Paul Weaver

Showcase Feature

Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds redesigned and installed this small, secluded garden in which existing wooden terraces and the original concrete steps were left in place, and a series of graceful stone terraces were added.  An attractive and inviting stone and brick path laid (incorporating old bricks and pavers already on the property), and two stacked stone planter beds constructed of Napa basalt and a mix of flagstone and recycled materials add solidity to the space.  Planted in these garden beds are an exuberant mixture of colorful natives—orange monkeyflowers and columbines, creamy yarrow and buckwheat, purple flax and penstemon, and blue- and yellow-eyed grass, among others. Karen’s favorite is western spice bush, with its wine-scented burgundy flowers.  Ask about the grey water system.

Other Garden Attractions

• A bunchgrass meadow containing California and Idaho fescues, and June-, needle-, and creeping bent grasses borders the curving walkway.
• Red- and yellow-twigged dogwoods, mallows, currants, and a madrone function as privacy screens.
• A Concord grape drapes happily over the arbor.
• Step up onto the spacious verandah and relax in the shade while enjoying a new perspective of this unique, creatively designed garden.
• Be prepared to walk up the steepish driveway and a set of stairs in order to reach this garden.

Gardening for Wildlife

During the winter months Appian Creek flows at the bottom of the property; the creek and thickets provide water and shelter for bats, finches, garter snakes, raccoons and deer.

Showcase Feature

This small front garden, designed by Rick Alatorre of Alatorre Garden Design, shows how even the most diminutive of spaces can be varied, beautiful, and attract winged visitors. The California lilac that graces the entranceway provides welcome greenery throughout the year. A vibrant medley of orange and yellow monkeyflowers, creamy yarrow, purple coyote mint, lavender seaside daisies, pink sea thrifts, and rosy buckwheats flourish in this sunny front garden.

Other Garden Attractions

• The compact back garden fulfills an assortment of functions: the mini lawn is just big enough for a child to play on; petite but prolific veggie, strawberry and herb boxes line the walkway; bountiful pink lady and Braeburn apple trees are tucked against the house.
• Low water consuming, low maintenance natives line the perimeter of the back garden and fill the one large corner. Rogers Red grape greens the fenceline.
• Existing concrete walk was reused in the new tasteful new path, which curves gracefully from the driveway, past the front steps, and around to the back garden.

Gardening for Wildlife

California towhees, goldfinches, black-headed phoebes, mourning doves and hummingbirds visit the garden.  Skippers and native bees adore the coyote mint.  Newts are found in damp places.

Showcase Feature

Neighbors report that Mary and Bob’s lawn was the most beautiful on the block; but all of that mowing, watering, and fertilizing, had gotten old.  After hearing Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds give a talk on gardening with natives, Mary and Bob were convinced. Pete’s crew turned the lawn upside-down (really!) and used it to create the undulating berms that provide the drainage that most natives need. In spring the nearly one hundred species of natives in this exuberant garden are a cheerful mixture of purple and lavender flax, coyote mint, and iris; pink and red clarkia and hummingbird sage; yellow tidy tips and lupine; orange monkeyflowers, and more. Mary and Bob love the variety of plants, the color, the long bloom season, and the natural look of their new garden.  They are delighted that the garden is easy to maintain; now, instead of spending weekends mowing, they can sit on the tumbled stone patio and enjoy the garden.

Other Garden Attractions

• Pete made the driftwood bench, birdbath, and the raised veggie beds, which are tucked into a sunny corner.
• The native side garden, and the shady back porch, with its collection of potted plants, will also be open for viewing.
• The garden is now watered once a week.  Watering will be reduced as the garden matures.

Gardening for Wildlife

Dutchman’s pipevine waits hopefully for a visit from the pipevine swallowtail butterfly.  Other butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds, and bees visit the garden.

Garden Talks – Pete Veilleux from East Bay Wilds will be at this garden from 10:00 – 1:00 to answer questions, and help you select plants.

Native Plants for Sale

East Bay Wilds will be selling natives; a wide variety of manzanitas will be on hand.

Showcase Feature

Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, and tired of grass and all that it entailed, Erik and Shellie hired Kelly Marshall of Kelly Marshall Garden Design to transform their garden.  The Jacobsons hike frequently, and wanted their garden to contain plants they were familiar with.  They also believed in the less-is-more approach; they were looking for a garden that “wasn’t a jungle” and that would fit in with the tidy appearance of their neighbors’ gardens. On the lower terrace of the front garden, grasses and rushes blend beautifully with rosy buckwheats. Shade-loving plants clearly love it in the cool and inviting side garden. In the back garden a berm bordered with river rock planted with bunchgrasses and containing a burbling fountain are the focal points.

Other Garden Attractions

• Manzanita and succulents spill out of the over-sized glazed pot in the front garden.
• Redbud, madrones, coffeeberries, and California lilac will provide structure when mature.
• The scent of the sages—California, white, and Bee’s Bliss—is lovely after spring rains.
• The boulders used to create the retaining wall were all found on site.
• Don’t miss the “before” photos!

Gardening for Wildlife

Cooper’s hawks, Nuttall’s woodpeckers, oak titmice, and white-crowned sparrows have been seen in, or above, the garden. Birds are attracted to the columner stone fountain in the back garden; when the water isn’t turned on they perch glumly nearby, waiting for the switch to be thrown. Ladybugs and bees are common sights.

Garden Talks

11:00 “When the front lawn has got to go:  How to get rid of it, and what to do with all that space when it’s gone” by Kelly Marshall

Showcase Feature

Once wall-to-wall lawn, this gently sloping corner lot garden now boasts wide, curving garden beds planted with a pleasing array of colorful natives which surround a native meadow. Liz Simpson, who designed the garden (it was installed by Liz and the homeowners) used her artistic training in what she refers to as “a creative collaboration with the plants.” Blue and purple baby blue eyes and sages are interspersed with the warmer reds, yellows, and oranges of fuchsia and monkeyflowers to create a riot of color that lasts most of the year. In order to bring in the “scent of California” coyote mint and sages were incorporated into this garden, which is much admired by the neighbors.

Other Garden Attractions

• The garden was sheet mulched (covered with overlapping sheets of cardboard and wood chips) to smother weeds.
• Bamboo sculptures support tomatoes and cucumbers; part of the former driveway has become an edible garden bed.

Gardening for Wildlife

The garden borders are planted with a diversity of bright flowers, which attract bees and butterflies.  Skinks breed in the sage; salamanders and Pacific chorus frogs reside happily here.  Hummingbirds are attracted to the fuchsia and monkeyflowers.  To leave seeds for the birds, minimal deadheading is done.  The gum plant attracts a variety of beneficial insects. The pond is a water source for wildlife—and a breeding place for damselflies, whose larvae climb up on the obelisk in the pond to emerge from their shells as winged creatures.

Showcase Feature

While visiting gardens on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Joanna and Andrew saw a garden created by Liz Simpson Garden Design, and knew that Liz was the one they wanted to work with to create a child-friendly discovery garden from their then concrete-and-grass back yard. Liz designed the garden, and provided guidance every step of the way; Andrew and Joanna did the work.  They removed the concrete, sheet-mulched the lawn (Interested in removing yours?  Just ask how!), created contours, and planted a vibrant mélange of plants selected from the chaparral, oak woodland, and grassland plant communities.

Other Garden Attractions

• Buckeyes, manzanitas, and California lilac anchor the garden.
• Curving wood chip paths (the mulch was delivered free by arborists) wend through the gentle slope.
• A small water-conserving red fescue meadow, bordered by cheerful native buttercups, offers a soft place for children to romp, and to enjoy the sights and scents of the garden.
• The prolific vegetable garden is located in a flat, sunny area.
• The designer, Liz Simpson, will be at this garden all day.

Gardening for Wildlife

To provide nectar and pollen for bees (carpenter, bumble, and honey), butterflies, and hummingbirds, plants that would provide a seasonal succession of blossoms for most of the year were selected. Deadheading is limited in order to leave the seeds for wildlife. Salamanders call this garden home.

Garden Talks

12:00 and 3:00 “How to interpret garden microclimates into a native plant community-inspired design” by Liz Simpson