John Muir National Historic Site
Martinez
Lot size: 1,500 sq. ft. garden at visitor’s center, 100% native
Garden Age: Native garden was installed in the fall of 2007.
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New This Year!
Showcase feature: On Earth Day in 2007 volunteers and Park staffer Lucy Lawless eyed the sterile lawn and exotics growing in front of the visitor’s center; realizing that this landscape was not reflective of John Muir’s life-long passion for natural habitats, they hatched a plan to create a garden that was. In August of that year (who says government can’t move fast?!), the lawn was torn out, and the transformation began. The resulting vibrant, low-maintenance garden was designed by Greg Wolford of Californica Landscapes; it is maintained by Greg, volunteers from the California Native Plant Society, and Master Gardeners. In spring a variety of wildflowers, including Chinese houses, lupine, and baby blue-eyes brighten the garden; summer finds three kinds of buckwheats in bloom (rosy, Santa Cruz Island, and our local naked buckwheat). Show your garden guide for free admission to the site!
Other garden attractions:
- Bring your children! Children’s activities include: Making Native Plant Journals and a native plant scavenger hunt.
- The transformed garden has been a real water savings for the park.
- Restrooms are available!
Gardening for Wildlife: Where natives bloom, wildlife follows! Even in this new garden native bees, butterflies, and ladybugs have already made their appearance. Berry-bearing trees and shrubs, such as toyon, elderberry, and manzanita, will attract birds as the garden matures.
Garden Talks: 3:00 “Creating the new California garden using drought-tolerant native plants” by Greg Wolford