Lot size: 2,000 sq. ft. front, 180 sq. ft. parking strip and 6,000 sq. ft. back gardens on the Tour, 70% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in stages, beginning in the 1990s
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:
Showcase Feature
Bob wanted his garden to be reflective of the natural world—and also a productive source of edibles. The most recent garden incarnation, designed and installed by Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds, is delightfully pleasing to wildlife and people alike. Nine types of manzanitas adorn the front garden, where their evergreen leaves and shiny mahogany colored bark keep the garden attractive throughout the year. Creamy and pink buckwheats, purple penstemons, and fire-engine red fuchsia brighten the walkway in spring and summer.
Other Garden Attractions
- In the back garden the gnarled remnants of an old orchard are reminiscent of the early fruit-growing days of Fruit Vale, as this area was called in the mid-1800s. Four kinds of heirloom apple tree, three types of pear, and two figs, among others, still bear fruit.
- Weeds are persistently pulled by hand; weedy areas are sheet mulched (meaning, covered with cardboard and wood chips, which kills weeds and improves the soil); and sprayed with vinegar. No herbicides are used in this—or any!—Tour garden.
Gardening for Wildlife
The manzanitas provide nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds. A large stand of narrow-leafed milkweed—the only plant on which monarch butterflies will lay their eggs—invites this lovely lepidopteran to visit. Warblers, and robins frequent the garden. Western fence lizards sun themselves on the rocks.
Video
“Gardening with California native plants: Bob Finkel’s garden, Oakland, California” by landscape designer Pete Veilleix
