Lot size: 1160 sq. ft. front, 100 sq. ft. side, 80% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2016
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 2
Showcase Feature
This mature garden, designed by Sandra Nevala-Lee, owner of Green Thumb Works, was formerly lawn, on both terraced levels. Sandra and students from San Lorenzo high sheet mulched the lawn away. In its place Sandra chose a pleasing variety of prostrate to mid-sized manzanitas—‘Emerald Carpet’, ‘John Dourly’, ‘Howard McMinn’, ‘Carmel Sur’, and ‘Point Reyes’—and interspersed them with yarrow, irises, coyote mint, blue-eyed grass, sages, and more.
This beautiful garden requires just a few hours of maintenance a month.
Other Garden Attractions
• With their shiny red-to-cinnamon colored bark and evergreen leaves, manzanitas are lovely year-round. In winter and early spring their clusters of delicate, urn-shaped cream-to-pink flowers are a delightful sight to us, and they provide nectar and pollen to hummingbirds and bees when little else is blooming.
• Hummingbird sage flourishes in shady areas of the garden.
Gardening for Wildlife
Hummingbirds, finches, mourning doves, bluebirds frequent the garden. Cooper’s hawks watch the avian action below with interest.
Keystone species in this garden (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants—in this garden include California lilac, manzanita, sages, and buckwheats.
Green Home Features
Steve and Cecelia started their Green Home journey in 2017 by replacing most of the windows in their 1973 home with Simonton DayLight Max 7300 windows. These windows are energy efficient and have helped reduce their household energy bill.
In 2021 they installed solar panels and a battery. The 10.08kW solar system includes 28 Panasonic EVPV360 solar panels and an Enphase Exchange 10 battery backup. The solar panels have all but eliminated their electric bill, and the 10kW battery has given them both grid independence and peace of mind from the uncertainty of power outages. These panels produce more electricity between April and September than the family uses, with the excess energy sent to the grid. East Bay Community Energy credits them for this excess energy which covers the cost of any additional electricity they use during the winter months.
For the solar installation they received a 26% tax credit for the cost of both 
the panels themselves, and also for the installation. A PG&E program refunded practically the full cost of the battery. (The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, tax credit for installing solar panels is now 30%.)
In 2021 they purchased an electric car. Thanks to the solar panels, Steve and Cecelia now pay nothing to keep their car running! “During last year’s gas price spikes we were glad to be insulated from those high gas prices,” said Steve.
Their anticipated future projects include evaluating their attic insulation and installing an HVAC heat pump system to replace their gas heater.
Garden Talks
11:00 “California wildflowers in the native plant garden” by Linda Peach, Eden Garden Club and 100K Trees Hayward core group member
Ask a Designer
Do you have questions about native plant selection, layout, lawn conversion or any other aspect of landscape design?
Sandra Nevala-Lee (greenthumbworks.net) will be on-site at Cecelia and Steve’s garden to provide helpful information and guidance. Bring a list of questions and photos of your garden area to help guide your private consultation.
Cost: $25 for a 30 minute consultation. Proceeds will be donated to support Bringing Back The Natives Garden Tour.
Use this easy scheduling link to reserve your time. Make your $25 payment here with your credit card or PayPal, or Venmo @BringingBackTheNativesthen e-mail Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net and let her know your payment was to reserve a consultation with Sandra.
