Janette Bachman and Mary Pellerin's garden
Oakland
Garden Lot size: 700 sq. ft. front garden only on tour, 97% native
Years gardened at this location (Gardening Experience): Garden was installed in the fall of 2006.
Years on the "Bringing Back the Natives" Garden Tour: New this year!
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. The fairly blank slate allowed Liz Simpson, who designed the garden (it was installed by Liz and the homeowners) to use her artistic training in what she refers to as “a creative collaboration with the plants.” The lawn was reduced in size, and the blues and purples of sages, baby blue eyes, and birds eye gilia were interspersed with the warmer reds, yellows and oranges of poppies, fuchsia, and monkeyflowers to create a riot of color that lasts throughout 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:
- An existing obelisk was incorporated into the pond; rocks already on-site were used border the garden.
- Before work on the garden started it was “sheet mulched” (covered with overlapping sheets of cardboard and wood chips) in order to smother weeds.
Gardening for Wildlife: The garden borders are planted with a diversity of bright flowers, which attract bees and butterflies. Salamanders and Pacific chorus frogs reside happily here. Hummingbirds are attracted to the tubular red flowers of the native fuchsia and the vibrant orange monkeyflowers. In order to leave seeds for the birds minimal deadheading is done. The gum plant attracts a variety of beneficial insects. Unidentified caterpillars browse on the lupine. The pond is a water source for wildlife.