Lot size: 6,000 sq. ft. back garden on tour, 90% native

Garden Age: Garden was installed in the winter of 2007

Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 5

Showcase Feature

Prior to its transformation the upper two-thirds of this spacious back garden was weeds and juniper, and a place Natalie never went. Inspired by the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Natalie looked for a designer who would create a native water-conserving garden that provided habitat for wildlife and found Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds, who was up to the challenge. Swaths of annual wildflowers put on a beautiful show from mid-winter through fall. In spring, a cheerful sea of poppies and Douglas iris, drifts of pink clarkias, white Matilija poppies, yellow meadowfoam, creamy yarrow, and purple seaside daisies fill the slope. The upper garden is accessed through a bright red French double-door gate draped with California honeysuckle. Mature Louis Edmonds manzanitas reach high above the deergrass, in front of a small forest of toyon, California lilac, western redbud, and quailbush.

Other Garden Attractions

• Buckeyes, oaks, bigleaf maples, a large sycamore, and a pacific madrone provide shade; coffeeberry, California lilac, and manzanita provide structure and greenery throughout the year.
• Come see which tree has grown from a little sapling to a 40 foot tall, 30 foot wide shade tree in just seven years!
• This garden receives only occasional water.

Gardening for Wildlife

Butterflies and native bees delight in the numerous large patches of flowering natives, as do a variety of birds.