Lot size: 2,700 sq. ft. front garden, 60% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2020
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
Until 2020, this large corner lot was landscaped with a large lawn bordered by non-native ornamentals. Tired of the water, chemicals, and time the lawn required and with a desire to garden for bees, butterflies and birds, the Collins’ were ready for a change.
The new garden was designed by Reka Foss, owner of Foss Garden Design, who used the lawn to create large, undulating mounds that provide both visual interest and the drainage that most natives need. This garden-in-transition is gradually replacing some of the remaining non-native ornamentals with native plants that support native wildlife.
Evergreen manzanitas, California lilac, low-growing coyote brush (‘Pigeon Point’), and penstemon keep the garden looking lush year-round.
A nearly $1,000 rebate from the Contra Costa Water District helped pay for the transformation.
Other Garden Attractions
• An attractive dry creek bed lined with cobble of varying sizes retains rainwater onsite, keeping the garden green longer, allowing water to seep into the aquifer, and protecting the local creek from scouring.
• The Collins’ water bill dropped dramatically when the lawn was removed and replaced with water-conserving natives that do well in Walnut Creek’s hot, dry summers.
• A Hydrawise Smart Controller ensures the garden is watered when needed.
• Dry-stacked moss rock boulders, bordered by a cheerful array of Mendocino reed grass, function as a retaining wall and, scattered throughout the garden, give a natural feel to the landscape.
• Find out how you can receive a rebate of up to $2,000 to remove and replace your lawn with a water-wise garden! At this garden, flyers will be available with information on the Contra Costa Water District’s Lawn to Garden Rebate and free Landscape Design Assistance Program. If you include 70% or more natives in your plan you can have your own garden on the Tour!
• Designer Reka Foss will be at the garden all day to answer questions.
Gardening for Wildlife
Three types of manzanita—‘Carmel Sur’, ‘Emerald Carpet’, and ‘Paradise’—provide nectar and pollen for hummingbirds and bees in winter and early spring, when few other sources are available. Buckwheats and ‘Bee’s Bliss” sage attract bees. Milkweed—the only plant monarch butterflies can lay their eggs on—was planted to provide places on which this endangered butterfly can lay its eggs.
Keystone species (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants— in this garden include fuchsia flowering gooseberry, California lilac, manzanitas, sage, and penstemon.
Green Home Features
Nancy and Bryan installed solar panels about 2007; the panels paid themselves off long ago in PG&E bill savings and have reduced the Collins’ electricity bill since then. Nancy and Bryan, who own two electric vehicles, don’t pay for gas, as their their cars are charged at home.
