Judy Adler’s Garden
Walnut Creek
Gardening experience: from childhood
Years gardened at this location: 26 years
Garden size: 1/2 acre
Showcase feature: This eclectic garden, designed by Ron Lutsko of Lutsko Associates, embodies the principles of LifeGarden, a nonprofit cofounded by Judy. The garden — part farm, part wildlife habitat, and part serene resting place — is an Eden of California natives and other Mediterranean plants, fruit trees, and herbs. Note the manzanita hedge bordering the driveway and the collection of natives near the pond.
Judy is president of LifeGarden, Inc., a Contra Costa-based nonprofit educational organization that promotes sustainable land use and ecology education. Its website, LifeGarden.org, offers information about numerous projects, publications, events, and opportunities to volunteer.
Read more about Judy Adler’s advocacy, education, and community action work at her website, DiabloNature.org.
Other garden attractions:
- Bring your water conservation questions! The Contra Costa Water District
will provide Contra Costa residents with free Waterwise Gardening CD-roms,
and staff will answer water conservation questions throughout the day. - Bring your composting questions, too! A “Home Composting for Busy People”
display will be staffed with friendly composting experts. - More than 350 species of plants are included in this garden, though
there was not a plant on the site when the house was built. - Ask about starting school salad bars or sustainable agriculture, and
check out the collection of books and magazines for native plant lovers,
farmers, and gardeners.
Gardening for Wildlife: Native plants invite wildlife into the garden, where they pollinate more than 30 species of fruit trees and accompanying herbs, berries, and nuts. The manzanita hedge provides shelter for a flock of quail. Woodpeckers, flickers, yellow-rumped warblers, bush tits, Bewick’s wrens, and black-headed phoebes are some of the winged inhabitants of this garden. Brush piles are created here and there to provide shelter for wildlife, and, later, excellent mulch.
Garden Talks: 2:00 “Pollinators Here, Pollinators There: Increasing Fruit Production by Gardening with Native Plants” by Judy Adler
Plants for sale: Native plants and organic edibles will be available for sale. Pots and flats will be given away for use in school or community gardens.