Lot size: 400 sq. ft. front, 2,000 sq. ft. back garden, 90% native
Garden Age: The front garden was installed in 2005; the back in 2015
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
The small front garden, which contains a variety of elegant, mature manzanitas, was planted in 2005. The spacious and inviting back garden, designed and installed a decade later by Lois Simonds of Gardening by Nature’s Design, beautifully complements the 1910 Colonial Revival cottage. Artfully placed berms and gracefully curving pathways have transformed the former flat and open space to a landscape with focal points and privacy.
Other Garden Attractions
• Water from the house and garage downspouts was used to create a wetlands that contains rushes, sedges, and dogwoods. This rain garden will help to reduce flooding, replenish the groundwater, and protect the local creek from scouring.
• Warm breezes waft the scent of the fragrant Catalina currant through the garden.
• Designer Lois Simonds will be at this garden all day to answer questions.
Gardening for Wildlife
Did you know that our California coast live oak provides food, shelter, and nesting areas for more than one hundred species of birds that obtain food, shelter, and nesting areas in them? The oak in Wayne’s garden attracts its share of wildlife, from the hawks that soar above it, to the newts that dwell in the cool shade it provides. In summer a potpourri of colorful, water-conserving natives— purple coyote mint and Verbena lilacina de la Mina, pink rosy buckwheats, yellow sulphur buckwheat, and creamy St. Catherine’s lace—provide nectar and pollen to a plethora of petite, happy, native bees.
Garden Talks
11:00 “Designing with nature: creating wetlands using roof water, considering textures and colors of plants, working with the natural topography, and more” by Lois Simonds
