Lot size: 1,050 sq. ft. front garden on tour, 80% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in the fall of 2008
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:
This shady garden started as solid lawn bisected by a straight concrete path. After Michelle took Glen Keator’s class on how to design a native plant garden, out went the lawn and in came the natives and Mediterranean climate drought-tolerant plants. Michelle’s goal was to “bring the garden into the living room.” In order to bring the outdoors inside, a beautiful glazed pot was turned into a burbling fountain and placed near the living room window, in one of the wide, curving garden beds. Shade-loving plants were planted next to the house; sturdy chaparral plants that needed more sun, such as penstemon and fuchsia, were placed closer to the sidewalk. Hardy coffeeberry was recently added along the fenceline. This attractive, low-maintenance garden was designed by Michelle; installation was a family affair.
- The spacious “flagstone” path is really the former driveway, cut, stained, and artfully laid by Kohi Moa of K. Construction.
- Don’t miss the “before” photos!
- In spring the garden is abloom with blue flax, orange poppies and monkeyflower, pink alum root, and cream-colored milkweed..
Gardening for Wildlife
Bees adore the lavender blossoms on the creeping sage and the sweetly scented, purple-blue flowers on the California lilac. Hummingbirds are drawn to the red, tubular blooms of the fuchsia and the electric blue petals of the penstemon. Butterflies love the large, cream-colored, nectar-filled landing pads (aka flowers) on the buckwheat. Narrow-leaf milkweed has been included in this garden, as milkweed is the only plant monarch butterflies can lay its eggs on, and narrow-leaf is locally native.
Keystone species (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants—in this garden include California lilac, manzanita, lupine, buckwheat, native strawberry, sage, and penstemon.
