Showcase Feature When Randal and Azalea bought this house a few years ago the back garden consisted of many overgrown trees and shrubs, lawn, and bougainvillea. The Ong's wanted a garden that was more

Showcase Feature Louise was tired of watering, weeding, and mowing the lawn on her large, corner lot; she wanted a low maintenance, water-conserving garden that would attract bees, birds, and butterflies.  The resulting garden,

Showcase Feature For the first two years of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Peg was our volunteer webmaster. (Thanks again, Peg!) For some time after that Peg's inner native plant gardening

Showcase Feature The entire back yard was concrete; the front yard was grass.  Joel wanted something more…natural. He saw host Mardi Mertens' garden on the 2013 Tour—and "thought it was the most beautiful

28th Avenue at Foothill Blvd. (2777 Foothill, if using a GPS) in the Fruitvale District of Oakland Native Plant Sale Extravaganza Special!  Open on Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5, 2019 from

Showcase Feature This garden has something for everyone; interesting history, a restored creek, a mixture of native and Mediterranean plants, and whimsical sculptures. This beautiful oak woodland, once part of the 160 acre Papinta

Showcase Feature This inviting, cheerful, and peaceful garden is just what Jean, a birder, wanted—a garden that would attract wildlife and bloom throughout the year.  A gracefully meandering Arizona flagstone path wends through the

Showcase Feature You have to see this astounding transformation to believe it. Jonathan Espalin, from Calvin Craig Landscaping, designed the new garden, replacing the formerly lawn-centered landscape with lush, mostly native plantings.  In the

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, John and Fran asked Kat Weiss of Kat Weiss Landscape Design to make some changes to their garden, which was largely lawn.

Showcase Feature This garden has something for everyone; interesting history, a restored creek, a mixture of native and Mediterranean plants, and whimsical sculptures. This beautiful oak woodland, once part of the 160 acre Papinta Stock

Showcase Feature Carolee went to her first native plant sale in 2000—and she was hooked; native plants' value to wildlife, their drought-resistance, and the sense of place that natives provide enchanted her. Not

Showcase Feature Long-time Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour participants Terry and Dave knew what they wanted in a garden.  Shortly after purchasing the house Terry and Dave removed the dead lawn, junipers,

Showcase Feature Janis, a long-time Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour volunteer (and Alameda County Master Gardener) felt guilty about her water-guzzling lawn—and she didn't love the junipers and ivy, either.  Janis found Kat

Showcase Feature You have to see this astounding transformation to believe it. Jonathan Espalin, from Calvin Craig Landscaping, designed the new garden, replacing the formerly lawn-centered landscape with lush, mostly native plantings.  In the

Showcase Feature It was with fortitude that Judy and Rod faced their challenges: ivy, a steep slope, a lot of shade, and the need to remove nineteen trees, including acacias, eucalyptus, and cedars. The

Showcase Feature Carrie wanted a low maintenance and water-conserving garden with a casual look; something that seemed like it belonged in a native oak forest.  The team at Four Dimensions Landscape Company, which

Showcase Feature Undaunted by the waist-deep sea of ivy in her front garden (well, maybe a little), Jessica removed it by hand. (No pesticides are used in this—or any—Tour garden.) The extremely drought-tolerant garden

Showcase Feature Until 2013, the sloping front garden was a sea of juniper, and the back garden was a "jungle of ivy, bamboo, and assorted trees." This did not mesh with Joel and Seibi’s

Showcase Feature Kate was inspired by Judith Lowry's books; when a couple of citrus trees in the driveway garden (yes, you heard it right, a driveway garden!) needed replacing, native plants were what she

Showcase Feature Got a small lot? Want a vibrant, low-maintenance, water-conserving, attractive garden? If so, this is the garden for you. Sharon wanted an English cottage garden, where flowers were "falling all over

Showcase Feature Penny, long the head propagator of California native plants for sale at the U.C. Botanical Garden, had wanted a beautiful native plant garden for some time—and, with design help and installation from

Showcase Feature Elisa and her husband are the second owners of their 100 year old home. The first owner had a small front garden that consisted of roses, smelled like creosote, and was mulched

101 Golf Course Road, Berkeley (510) 549 0211 http://nativeherenursery.org/   Hours Tuesday 12:00-3:00, Friday 9:00-12:00, Saturday 10:00-2:00   Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Special! Shop during the Tour’s Native Plant Sale Extravaganza, when

Showcase Feature Irene and Michael’s garden, formerly juniper, gravel, and pine needles, and shaded by large Monterey pines, was redesigned and installed by Rosemary Zappulla of Wild Rose Gardens Sustainable Landscaping. Irene and Michael

Showcase Feature The mature oaks in this woodsy neighborhood called out for natives, and they are what Susan requested when the mass of tangled foliage that was the front garden was being redesigned by

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour (and tired of paying to have her lawn mowed), Beth hired Four Dimensions Landscape Company to design and install a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance garden.

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Bill and Linda went looking for a designer who could bring new life to their rosemary-engulfed, steep (20 to 30 degree!) hillside. Rick

Showcase Feature The showstopper here is the back garden, where water from the jacuzzi spills over a Three Rivers flagstone rock lip and into the inviting swimming pool, which is ideally situated to

Showcase Feature Darcy, "sick of mowing," wanted something different. She attended the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour several times, found Livermore's own Kat Weiss, of Kat Weiss Landscape Design, and . .

Showcase Feature Hannah and George didn't love the overgrown, pokey Southwestern-style garden that came with their newly purchased home. Shortly after moving in they hired Kat Weiss, of Kat Weiss Landscape Design, who designed

Showcase Feature Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Debby and John asked Kelly Marshall of Kelly Marshall Garden Design to remove their tired lawn and agapanthus, and the eighty-foot redwood

Showcase Feature This small garden, initially designed and installed by Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds, and reimagined over the years by Nita, consisted of pyracantha, sculpted junipers, and crabgrass before its transformation. Nita

Showcase Feature This former tired lawn, with its 7% slope, was not only uninspiring; it also funneled rainwater back toward the house. In addition to wanting their drainage problem solved, Nancy and David

Showcase Feature Christine designed and installed this intimate, charming, and child-friendly garden. Bunch grasses, snowberry, Douglas iris and hummingbird sage blanket the garden in a simple, recurring plant palette. The airy gazebo, which is