Lot size: 550 sq. ft. front, 40 sq. ft. parking strip, 80 sq. ft. driveway planting, 2,120 sq. ft. back garden, 99% native

Garden Age: Garden was installed in stages, beginning in 2004

Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 4

Showcase Feature
Dappled sunlight filters through the branches of the large coast live oak trees in David’s garden; beneath the oaks and under a small bridge flows Blackberry Creek, a year-round stream fed by springs in the Berkeley hills. The oaks and bays are descendants of the groves of oak woodlands that once followed the course of many creeks from the East Bay hills to the Bay. This shady garden, initially designed by Michael Thilgen and the team at Four Dimensions Landscape in 2004 and recently renovated and reinvigorated by Rebecca Madrone of Bay Madrone Gardens, contains native plants from the riparian oak woodland plant community, relying on woodland shrubs and herbaceous plants for the shaded areas of the garden and native bunchgrasses and meadow flowers for the sunnier spots above the creek and in the front.

Other Garden Attractions
• 99% local native plants bring the flavor of the natural world into this garden.
• Check out the attractive driveway strip.
• Michael Thilgen will be at this garden from 10:00-1:00.
• Walk around the block to Delia and John Taylor’s garden.

Gardening for Wildlife
The combination of creek and native foliage attracts bird and insects. The diversity of local native plants such as hazelnut, snowberry, and ocean spray brings in birds such as chickadees, titmice, bushtits, Townsend’s warblers, towhees, hermit thrushes, and black phoebes. Bewick’s wrens began nesting here after the garden was transformed.

Garden Talk
11:00 “Choosing successful plants for your California native garden: Learn about beautiful, colorful and dependable selections that please the eye and enhance habitat” by Michael Thilgen

1:30 “Establishing a California native plant garden: The challenges – and rewards – of creating a sustainable native plant garden in an urban area during a time of drought” by Rebecca Madrone