Lot size: 1,200 sq. ft. front garden, 75% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in the spring of 2013
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Jing and David wanted a water-conserving, low-maintenance garden that consisted mostly of native plants. “We live in California, and it made sense to have plants that naturally belong here,“ says David. They also wanted a garden that would be attractive, modern, and harmonize with the lines of the house. Jonathon Espalin, from Calvin Craig Landscaping, was up to the challenge. Swaths of silver-blue ‘Canyon Prince’ wild rye flow across the garden; in late summer their stalks of wheat-colored flowers rise one to two feet above the foliage. Prostrate manzanita and strawberry function as groundcover. Other Garden
Attractions
• This garden is watered once every ten days in the summer. (Newly installed native gardens need to be watered in for the first two years. As this garden is heading into its third year, water will be reduced in the future.)
• Mulch and competitive plants keep weeds at bay; weeds that do sprout up are hand-pulled.
• A “Lose the Lawn, Grow a Garden” water-efficient landscape rebate from the Contra Costa Water District helped to pay for the garden transformation.
• The garden is watered by Netafim, a sturdy, water-conserving drip irrigation product.
Garden Talks
11:00 “How to lose your lawn, get a garden, and be paid for it, too! The CCWD’s Lawn-to-Garden rebate program explained” by Bob Eagle from the Contra Costa Water District 1:00 “Framing your ecosystems: How to integrate native plants into the built environment” by Jonathan Espalin
