Lot size: 3,500 sq. ft. front garden, 80% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2017
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
NOTE: This garden is accessed via a flight of stairs, and has sloping ground and uneven steps. It should not be visited by those with balance issues.
Carolyn and Scott were ready to change out their lawn and brick patio for a garden that would have a natural look that better fit their Oakland hills location, and also provide food, shelter, and nesting areas for wildlife. The team at Mariposa Gardening & Design designed and installed this peaceful garden, which does just that. Bricks that from the former path and wall were repurposed to create gently sloping mounds, which soften the incline of the hill. A dry-stacked flagstone stairway wends through this inviting garden, from the meadow on the top of the sunny hillside down to the shady canopy of a stately redwood near the bottom. Meadow plants selected for their appeal to butterflies were chosen for the sunny areas.
Other Garden Attractions
• Toyon, coffeeberry, ironwood, wax myrtle¬¬¬ and other natives soften the fence line, and create a privacy screen from the street.
• A beautiful dry-stacked retaining wall, with an interesting built-in bench, creates an inviting seating area near the house.
• The slatted wood fence and gate evoke a sense of openness, while still separating the garden from the street.
• Shade-loving huckleberries, salal, Douglas iris, and woodland strawberry nestle around Adirondack chairs under the redwood.
Gardening for Wildlife
Orange poppies and pink rosy buckwheat brighten the garden in spring, attracting winged and two-legged visitors alike. The cream-colored clustered flowers of the yarrow are inviting landing pads for butterflies and moths, and the purple blue blossoms of the
California lilac draw in native bees.
Garden Talks
2:30 “Brick mounds, and how to build butterfly meadow gardens” by Andrea Hurd of Mariposa Gardening & Design
