Lot size: 260 sq. ft. front, 200 sq. ft., side, 180 sq. ft. parking strip, 2,400 sq. ft. back, 98% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in stages, beginning in 2004
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
This charming, peaceful garden was created to provide habitat for wildlife. Large, blue black iridescent pipevine swallowtail butterflies lay their bright orange eggs on the Dutchman’s pipevine—the only plant they can reproduce on: look for their black and red caterpillars in the back garden. Monarch butterflies lay eggs on the narrow leaf milkweed—this is the only plant they can lay their eggs on: can you spot their black, white, and yellow caterpillars? The yampah meadow in the back garden invites swallowtail butterflies to lay their eggs there—can you see any of the green and black swallowtail caterpillars? (Yampah is one of the host plants for the beautiful yellow and black anise swallowtail butterfly—try growing yampah, instead of invasive, non-native fennel, to attract these butterflies to your garden.)
The front garden was designed decades ago by Glen Schneider—note the super-tall California lilac in front of the house, which Glen chose. The back garden was designed in 2019 by Todd Gilens of Todd Gilens Design, and installed by Todd and Carol.
Other Garden Attractions
• Check out Carol’s “aromatherapy” chair: see if you can catch the scents of the native mock orange, hummingbird sage, and yerba buena, and also the pineapple sage and rose.
• This 100-year-old house was once the home of Wiley Manuel, the first African American to serve on California’s Supreme Court.
• Take a seat near the pond and relax near the splashing waterfall; you won’t want to leave.
Gardening for Wildlife
Four bird baths (one with a solar-powered bubbler), and two small ponds—one with a small waterfall—attract a variety of birds, and also diminutive, green Pacific chorus frogs. In late winter and early spring the male frogs sing to entice mates and protect their territory (you can hear their song here.)
A variety of birds are attracted to the sound of falling water, and also to the thicket of densely-planted shrubs—which not only gives birds safe places to rest and nest, but also functions as a privacy screen. Hummingbirds have nested right outside of Carol’s kitchen window. 
Brush and wood piles are home to small creatures like salamanders, spiders, and various insects seeking cool, shady places to rest. Carol leaves the leaves, as they are food and shelter for butterflies, beetles, bees, moths, and more. (Did you know that most butterflies and moths overwinter in leaf litter? Don’t throw them in your green waste bin! Leave the leaves to sustain the natural web of life.)
Carol’s cats are kept indoors to keep them, and the birds, safe.
Garden Talks
10:30 “Working with an existing garden” Designer/builder Todd Gilens will talk about choosing what to keep—and how to change—an already-established garden.
12:00 “The point of a garden is to be wonderful!” by Carol Thornton
“I used to worry about having the perfect garden, for me and for wildlife, but I’ve slowly let go of trying for perfection and of owning this space. I feel now that it belongs to all the creatures that call it home and those that are just passing through, not to me. My job is just to tend with a light hand. I’ve found that the letting go of control allows the wonder to take hold, and a deeper connection to the natural world is developing.
Another aspect I think about are the stories that our gardens hold. Mine has quite a few—Cooper’s hawk visits, a dead crow adventure, and cops and robbers—come to this talk and hear all about them!”
Keystone species (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants— in this garden include holly leaf cherry, coast live oak, currant, gooseberry, serviceberry, manzanita, box elder, mountain mahogany, California rose, sage, creek dogwood, ocean spray, native strawberry, twinberry, honeysuckle, buckwheat, snowberry, and penstemon.
Green Home Features
A heat pump both heats and cools the house, and Carol cooks on an induction range. A passive hot water heater is located on the roof.
At least partially wheelchair accessible? Yes
