Lot size: 3,000 sq. ft. front garden, 90% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in the fall of 2009
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
This sunny, low-maintenance garden was designed to be sustainable—planted with local native plants, watered once a month or less in the summer—and inspirational. Drop down onto the bench in front and enjoy the sound of water splashing over the moss rock boulders and into the pond. This garden begins blooming in winter, when the pink and cream, urn-shaped flowers of the gorgeous, mature manzanitas scattered throughout the gardens burst into flower. In spring and summer the delicate flowers of the soaproot bloom in the late afternoon and evening, delighting native bees and moths. A hedge of the evergreen coffeeberry softens the lines of the house, while the berries delight neighborhood birds. This garden was designed by Greer Alley of Greer Alley Landscape Design.
Other Garden Attractions
• The back garden, with its reduced lawn and scattering of native plants, will also be open.
• The reduced lawn in the back garden provides enough space for children to run wild on, while the wide, gracefully curving garden beds conserve water and the native plants in them provide habitat for wildlife.
Gardening for Wildlife
Hummingbirds regularly visit the penstemon, California fuchsias, and the manzanitas. Bees are attracted to the purple flowers of the sages and silver bush lupine. Juncos, finches, and mourning doves regularly visit the feeders in the back garden attract butterflies. Lizards bask contentedly on the rocks.
