Showcase Feature Martha and Kerwin hadn't watered their lawns in two years; knew it was time to do something different—and did they! This garden was designed by Reka Foss, of Foss Garden Design. Roxy

Showcase Feature Jane, who had had enough of her “miserable excuse of a lawn,” wanted to “do the right thing” and provide habitat for wildlife, while also having a water-conserving garden. (And she got

Showcase Feature Tré, who has been attending the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour since it began in 2005, had long dreamed of having a native plant garden; now that the pines, weeping

Showcase Feature While on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Mike and Mardi visited the California Native Bee Garden in Berkeley—and were sold on the idea of creating habitat for bees in their

Showcase Feature The back garden was a large lawn; but the kids were grown, and Bill and Nancy thought it was time for a change. Alexandra Ashton, of Urban Flora Landscape Design, designed

Showcase Feature The kids were grown, the pool and small patches of lawn had outlived their usefulness, and Jeff and Kathleen were ready for a change. Specifically, they wanted an attractive garden that was

Showcase Feature The spectacular view across the valley and to the oak-covered hills in the distance is equaled by this beautiful back garden, a delightful combination of texture, form, and color, designed by the

Showcase Feature This large corner lot, once a humdrum hedge and large, water-consuming lawn, is now a dynamic garden that changes with the seasons, following the rhythms of the natural world. In December and

Showcase Feature Melinda Bandler’s back garden, designed by the team at Susan Friedman Landscape Architecture, is a delightful combination of texture, form, and color. Ribbons of purple-blue penstemon line the Wolf Creek flagstone path.

Showcase Feature Over the years Penny and Kathleen have removed forty Italian cypresses, junipers, lawn, failing retaining walls, a lot of concrete, and a sea of oxalis from their large corner lot. In their

Showcase Feature Dixie Finley’s front lawn was the first to be sheet mulched in a “How to remove your lawn (and get paid for it, too!)” workshop. A lawn conversion rebate from Zone 7

Showcase Feature Ann and Steve wanted a garden that would use less water than their large lawn required, be low maintenance, and have a natural look. So, they were very happy when, in May

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Kay and Ron stopped watering their large lawn and asked Roxy Wolosenko of Roxy Designs to design and install a water-conserving, low-maintenance garden

Showcase Feature Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour participant and volunteer Lori is a fifth generation Californian—so when she decided to sheet mulch the lawn during the drought, planting California natives was a given for

Showcase Feature In 1990 the front garden contained two rose bushes and hip-high weeds; the back yard was a sea of concrete. Merle loved to hike, and she wanted her garden to reflect

Showcase Feature Long-time Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour attendee Sally Mathews died in late 2018 after a 10-month battle with brain cancer; she loved watching the garden and birdlife evolve with the seasons

Showcase Feature Peggy had a vision for this garden, and that vision did not include the existing flat lawn, or the large brick patio that took up space under the redwood tree. Hauling in

Showcase Feature Nick and Liza’s 1920s house was constructed next to the former right-of-way to the Key Route System’s Underhill Station, which was located right behind what is now the Mealys’ home. In the

Showcase Feature Joanne and Scott’s back garden was “a disaster;”crowded with privets, a poorly placed crabapple, and a lot of oxalis. Happily, they found Michael Thilgen and the team at Four Dimensions Landscape Company,

Showcase Feature In 1893 a trolley line was built to carry picnickers (including Mark Twain) across Indian Gulch (named for the nearby seasonal Native American village) to the bucolic oak-bay woodland that blanketed the

Showcase Feature Sam, a native Californian, liked the aesthetic of California native plants; in order to get the garden he wanted he attended the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, took copious notes on

Address: 20095 Mission Blvd., Hayward, CA (at the Paradise Community Garden, located between Paradise Blvd and Hampton Road, in the Cherryland District.) Phone and text: (510) 502-0992 Hours: First Saturday of the month, 10:00

Showcase Feature Dimond Park features an extensive native plant garden containing more than fifty species of native plants, and an amazing creek restoration project. Some of the plants found in the demonstration garden are

Showcase Feature When Heather and her husband purchased this 1890 Queen Anne home in 2011, they wanted a low maintenance garden that conserved water. In came Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds, who designed

Showcase Feature Liz and Ed wanted to be free of the constant maintenance and cost of having a lawn, and the work and scratched hands that came from tending the roses. What they hoped

Showcase Feature Dave is the neighbor we all wish we had: affable, a good conversationalist—and a terrific gardener. Dave provides plants, seeds, advice, and inspiration to neighbors; he is why the Richmond Annex contains multiple

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Nancy and Robert sheetmulched their front lawn away, then designed their own native plant garden. Not satisfied with the result, three years later

Showcase Feature Hillside gardeners, this one's for you!  You won't need an oxygen tank to reach the bottom of this garden (maybe bring one for the trip back up), but you will need strong

Showcase Feature This sunny, low-maintenance garden was designed to be sustainable—planted with local native plants, watered once a month or less in the summer—and inspirational. Drop down onto the bench in front and enjoy

Showcase Feature Jing and David wanted a water-conserving, low-maintenance garden that consisted mostly of native plants. “We live in California, and it made sense to have plants that naturally belong here,“ says David. They

Showcase Feature Long-time Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour attendees Janis and Chris had had enough of the ivy, privets, lawn, and concrete.  Inspired by the Tour, they knew they wanted a native

Showcase Feature It's hard to believe that just a short while ago this garden was an enormous lawn—6,000 square feet of it, in fact.  Thanks to lawn and drip irrigation rebates from the East

Showcase Feature In a previous drought, unhappy with the amount of water it took to keep her crabgrass lawn green, Sandy just quit watering. Then, in 2009, tired of that brown-lawn look she

Showcase Feature The walk up this steep driveway leads to a grove of forty redwood and Sequoia trees and a delicious variety of shade-loving understory plants. This peaceful garden, designed by Judith Larner Lowry,