Lot size: ¼ acre lot, 70% native in front, 50% in back
Garden Age: Back garden was installed in stages, beginning in 2005. Front garden was installed in the fall of 2007.
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 3
Showcase Feature: A delightful combination of native bunch-grasses and unrepressed native annuals creates a springtime splendor that beckons the family out to enjoy it. In the cool of the evening the children play on the rope swing or chase each other along the Three Rivers flagstone paths, while Kelly and Mike, enjoying cool breezes and the soothing sound of tumbling water, rest in one of the several strategically placed seating areas. Kelly, owner of Kelly Marshall Garden Design, designed this garden; Kelly and Mike installed it, along with the help of contractor Moises Garcia.
Other Garden Attractions:
- Don’t miss the living/green roof of the backyard play structure, planted with native perennials, wildflowers, and succulents.
- In the back garden water cascades down the slope and into the pond—which the children love to walk across. (Really—you’ll see!)
Gardening for Wildlife: The sound of splashing water, ample pond, and the diversity of seed-, berry-, and pollen-bearing plants attract a variety of wildlife. A bevy of quail forage happily in the back garden, keeping wary eyes out for the owls overhead, and the fox that occasionally drops by. Downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice, and chickadees frequent the garden. Bats swoop overhead in the evening, gnoshing on mosquitoes. To keep the birds safe, the family cat is kept indoors.
Garden Talk:
12:00 “A designer’s guide to selecting native plants for extreme heat, snow, and everything in-between” by Kelly Marshall
4:00 “How to transform your front garden into a place that is beautiful, water-conserving, and acceptable to the neighbors” by Kelly Marshall
Plants for Sale: GardenNatives will have native plants for sale; these will include many of the plants found in the Marshall/Weidner garden, as well as rare and unusual natives.
