Lot size: 28,000 square feet, 90% native
Garden Age: The native plant garden has been installed in stages, beginning in 2002.
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 8
Note: This hillside garden is accessed via a narrow, sloping path. Watch your step. This garden is not for those with balance issues.
Showcase Feature
The local native plants in this large garden have created a wildlife haven. Jeff, interested in what the landscape was like prior to the arrival of Europeans, wanted a garden that was on the wild side, didn’t need much attention, and would attract birds, native bees and butterflies. Four-legged friends love this garden as well. Adorable, big eared, tree-climbing, rodent and fruit-consuming gray foxes frolic in the garden, foraging for manzanita berries, watched over from above by soaring hawks. The garden was designed by Glen Schneider and installed by Glen and Jeff.
Other Garden Attractions
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• Calling all rock hounds and roller coaster lovers! Check out the rocks Jeff has collected from throughout the Western States, and the fully operational roller coaster in the back garden.
• Fruit tree lovers should not miss Jeff’s home orchard, with its apple, plum, pear, apricot, and pomegranate trees.
• Only new plants, edibles, and plants near the pond receive supplemental water in the spring and summer; the rest of the garden is not watered at all.
• The front and back gardens consisted of lawn, ivy, and juniper prior to the conversion
• Jeff and Kim own The Pedaler bike shop, in El Sobrante—stop by and peruse the native plant garden at the store!
Gardening for Wildlife
The local native plants provide a haven for wildlife, as do the pond and birdbath. Boulders create shelter for the smaller creatures. Pacific chorus frogs, fence and alligator lizards, salamanders, ring-neck, gopher and king snakes, kestrels, and bats are occasionally seen in or around the garden. More commonly seen are a plethora of bees and butterflies, finches, and hummingbirds.
Garden Talks
11:00 and 2:00 “Weed mitigation strategies” by Jeff Jerge
