Lot size: 400 sq. ft. Front garden and 1,440 sq. ft. back garden
Garden Age: Garden was installed in the fall of 2013, 99% native
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
The entire back yard was concrete; the front yard was grass. Joel wanted something more…natural. He saw host Mardi Mertens’ garden on the 2013 Tour—and “thought it was the most beautiful garden I had ever seen.” After the Tour Joel wrote a thank-you note to Mardi, and a partnership blossomed, as they designed and selected the plants for Joel’s new garden together. Mardi’s son, Evan, did the planting. (Visit Mardi’s Berkeley garden, as it is also on the Tour.)
Other Garden Attractions
- The attractive front garden contains a toyon and a Pacific wax myrtle, which soften the line of the porch and, in time, will screen the living room window.
- In spring a cheerful array of lupine, penstemon, monkeyflower, and sages brighten the front of the house. Cuttings from the fragrant yerba buena make a delicious mint tea.
- The gigantic concrete pad in the back garden has become a native bent grass (Agrostis pallens) lawn, with wide garden beds and gently curving edging.
- Roger’s Red grape, a bay tree, silktassel, manzanita, coffeeberry, and a spice bush will create natural screening around the perimeter of the back garden.
- Bountiful veggie boxes are tucked into sunny spots.
Gardening for Wildlife
An ecological wasteland before the native plants were installed, the garden now attracts native bees, butterflies, and birds, which are drawn to the diversity of plants and the variety of plant heights.
Garden Talks
12:00 “How to design a native plant garden yourself” by Joel Ginsberg
