Lot size: 2,400 sq. ft. front garden, 99% native

Garden Age: Garden was installed in spring of 2024

Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!

Showcase Feature
This colorful, charming, gently sloping garden, which was designed by Reka Foss of Foss Garden Design, has something in flower almost all year long. The three varieties of manzanitas (‘Austin Griffiths’, ‘Paradise’, and ‘Wayside’) are the first to bloom in late winter or early spring, their cream-to-pink colored blossoms delighting bees and hummingbirds. A little later in spring the groundcover California lilac, ‘Centennial,’ puts forth cobalt blue flowers, which rub shoulders with the cheerful blue-violet blossoms of the blue-eyed grass. Hardy ‘Pigeon Point’ coyote brush ground cover blooms in late summer. In the fall purple coyote mint, lavender verbena ‘De La Mina’, pink and white yarrow, fire engine red fuchsia, and orange and yellow monkeyflowers brighten the garden.

Other Garden Attractions
• A rain garden lined with California lilac, monkeyflower, verbena ‘De La Mina’ and river rock collects water from the roof and retains it onsite, thus keeping the garden green longer, helping to replenish the aquifer, and protecting the local creek from scouring.
• Boulders provide visual interest, and places on which lizards can rest.

Gardening for Wildlife
Though new, this garden has already attracted birds, bees, and fence lizards. Hummingbirds sip nectar from penstemon and California fuchsia.

Keystone species (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants— in this garden include California lilac, manzanita, coyote brush, and penstemon.

At least partially wheelchair accessible? Yes.