Lot size: 500 sq. ft. front and 1,500 sq. ft. back garden, 90% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in stages, beginning in the spring of 2016
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:
Showcase Feature
As a child working in his parents’ native plant garden, Scott was not drawn to the idea of gardening with nature. But as a new homeowner faced with a yard full of ice plant, roses and camellias, natives were what he chose for the garden he designed and installed—“Thanks, Mom!” This typically petite, densely planted and vibrantly colorful Albany garden contains a potpourri of natives. It is anchored by evergreen manzanita and California lilacs, sweetly scented by five types of sages (white, black, Cleveland, hummingbird, and California), and brightened by a plethora of wildflowers, particularly pink clarkia, orange poppies, and a variety of mostly-purple bulbs. In summer the white, red, and yellow buckwheat flowers fade slowly to a chocolate, or rust color, and the electric red fuchsias and yellow goldenrod put on one last show.
Other Garden Attractions
• Bring your children! They can crawl through the toddlers’ tunnel (planted with checkerbloom, with its inviting pink blossoms at the entrance) and play on the enviable play structure Scott designed and constructed.
• Stone outcrops and a dry-stacked stone retaining wall add to the natural feel of the garden.
• Scott uses a combination of drip irrigation and hand watering.
Gardening for Wildlife
Scott’s garden has something in bloom nearly all year, providing nectar and pollen for hummingbirds, butterflies and bees throughout the seasons. The colorfest begins in January when the manzanita blooms. Wildflowers and California lilac burst into color in spring, and the delectables for wildlife continue to be offered with the onset of flowers on buckwheats in the summer and fuchsia into the fall.
Keystone species (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants— in this garden include California lilac, manzanitas, sages, buckwheats (eight kinds!), native sunflower, currant, native strawberry, goldenrod, and penstemon.
Parking
Parking will be tight; do not block neighbors’ driveways.
