Lot size: 7,500 sq. ft. front garden and 3/4 acre back garden 95% natives
Garden Age: Front garden was planted in the fall of 2011; creek side and upland restoration began in 1990
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 6
Showcase Feature
For anyone interested in streamside or restoration gardening, this garden is a must-see. The Sorensons have spent the last thirty-five years restoring the creek side and adjacent uplands. The area was heavily grazed by cattle in the last century, so many exotics needed to be removed. Existing native plants were encouraged to proliferate and, using the Briones Park native plant list, native plants found in the same watershed were introduced. The garden now features about 150 species of local native plants, many purchased from Native Here Nursery in Berkeley. Others were grown from seed collected on-site.
Wear comfortable walking shoes; the bridge is narrow, and so are the trails, which wend up and down a slope.
Other Garden Attractions
• Two charming bridges, designed and made by Bob, span Lauterwasser Creek.
Gardening for Wildlife
Birds seen in the garden include Cooper’s hawks, cedar waxwings, Bullock’s orioles, quail, yellow-rumped warblers, northern flickers, Nuttall’s woodpeckers, red-breasted sapsuckers, and western screech owls. Ring-necked, gopher, valley garter, and rattlesnakes pass through. Newts breed in the pool just upstream of the bridge.
Special Events
10:00-4:00 Local bird experts Michael Strom and Karen Sorenson will be doing a 6 hour bird count on the day of the Tour! They will have a spotting scope set up and be available to answer your bird questions all day. Join them, and find out which birds you can attract to your own garden when you plant with California natives.
Talks in the Garden
10:00-2:00 Kasey Sorenson will play guitar and sing.
Amphibian, Reptiles, and Mammals seen in the garden
Exotic plants removed from the garden
Video
“Bringing nature home with local natives” by Bob Sorenson
