Lot size: 350 sq. ft. front garden, 75% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2010
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:
New this year!
Showcase Feature Rollin, an entomologist, spends some of his free time taking insect photos. Many of his bee photos are used for Dr. Frankie’s fabulous bee garden (which is also on the Tour), so it wasn’t surprising when Rollin and Pam decided to abolish their front lawn they wanted to create a great bee garden in its place. Rollin found Rick Alatorre of Alatorre Garden Design on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour’s website, gave him a general list of the plants to be included, and Rick designed and installed this cheerful garden. Bright yellow sulphur buckwheats mingle with the pinks of its cousin, rosy buckwheat; buoyant assemblages of checkerbloom, penstemon, and gilia are massed around moss rock boulders, and prolifically blooming orange and red monkeyflowers brighten the fenceline.
Other Garden Attractions
- Raised planting beds provide the drainage that most natives need.
- California lilac and redbud in the parking strip, now small, will provide structure when mature.
- Rainwater collected from downspouts is used to water the garden.
Gardening for Wildlife
It’s all about bees! The former lawn wasn’t a bee magnet, but the new garden, while dimuntive, has already attracted yellow-faced, carpenter, bumble, honey, and sweat bees, including one species that hadn’t yet been seen in the California Native Bee garden! Garden Talks 12:00 and 3:00 “How to attract native bees” by Rollin Coville Plant list
