Mardi Sicular-Mertens’ garden

Berkeley

Lot size: 1,000 sq. ft. front garden and 2,600 sq. ft. back garden, both 75% native

Garden Age: Garden was started in 2002, with most of the plants installed in 2019

Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:

Showcase Feature
In 2019 Mardi planted more than one hundred species of California natives in the garden she designed jointly with Andy Liu. In spring the front garden contains a heady mix of colorful flowers, including glossy, bright yellow buttercups, deep blue California lilac, purple Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’, and pink checkerbloom, among others. Behind the house is a shady woodland garden. Birds, native bees and butterflies find food, shelter, and nesting areas in this peaceful, wildlife-friendly haven.

Other Garden Attractions
• Between December and February the pink-to-cream colored blossoms of five types of manzanita delight nectaring bumblebees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
• Dutchman’s pipevine has been planted to attract the iridescent blue-black pipevine swallowtail butterfly; Dutchman’s pipevine is the only plant this beautiful butterfly will lay its eggs on.

Gardening for Wildlife
More than thirty species of birds have been seen in or above the garden. They are attracted to the sound of water dropping into four birdbaths, and also to the mature giant sequoia, Douglas fir and pine trees, the berry-bearing shrubs (toyon, manzanita, snowberry), and more. Host larval plants, on which butterflies and moths will lay their eggs, include wild cherry, currant, sagebrush, lupine, and manzanita, to name a few. The caterpillars on these plants provide food for baby birds, which must have caterpillars—thousands of them—while in the nest. (Baby birds do not eat seeds, berries, or sugar water: check out the many butterfly and moth host larval plants in this garden!)