Nancy Wenninger’s garden 🐦

Walnut Creek

Lot Size: 2/3 acre, 80% native

Garden Age: Garden was installed in stages, beginning in 2010

Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:

Showcase Feature

This beautiful garden was created to provide food, shelter, and nesting areas for birds—and has it! More than eighty species of birds have been drawn in by the butterfly and moth attracting plants (which produce the caterpillars that almost all baby birds must have while in the nest), water features, and the bounty of nectar, seed, and fruit-bearing native plants. The sloping front garden, browsed by deer, contains plants that have survived their grazing. The inviting, sunny side patio is replete with wildflowers and happy bumblebees; take a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs and enjoy the view.

Nancy’s steep back garden has undergone a transition from shade to sunny habitat after the removal of several large old Monterey pines. New plantings complement the pondless waterfall, which acts as a bird magnet and provides a tranquil sound. Nancy says that she “prefers the subtle tastefulness of natives,” as opposed to introduced plants. And she loves the wildlife habitat natives provide – check out the eighty-seven species of bird she has seen in or above her garden!

Other Garden Attractions

• No pesticides are used in this (or any Tour) garden! Nancy relies on the birds to keep pests under control.

• The junipers that were removed found second lives adorning the rustic fence.

Gardening for Wildlife
Numerous plants that attract caterpillar-producing butterflies and moths—without which there would be no baby birds—can be found in this garden. These lepidopteran-friendly plants include oaks, maples, currants, native rose and strawberry, manzanitas, California lilac, ocean spray, sages, and more. As the seasons turn, downy and Nuttall’s woodpeckers, bluebirds, sapsuckers, flickers, and varied, Swainson’s and hermit thrushes flit through the garden. In the evenings western screech owls call from their perches in the tall trees.