Lot size: 2,500 sq. ft. front garden, 90% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2015
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour:
When John and Stephanie stopped watering their water-guzzling front lawn it looked “terrible.” In its place they wanted an attractive and sustainable garden that had a manicured look, and would be able to tolerate future droughts. Kat Weiss, of Kat Weiss Landscape Design, designed just that, and these hardworking homeowners sheet mulched, graded, laid the flagstone, built the sinuous dry stacked Utah Sunrise retaining walls, installed the drip irrigation, and planted. The result is a show-stopping elegant, spare, and modern garden that is sure to resonate with those seeking an alternative to the cottage garden style. The decomposed granite is Sierra ginger fines, which contrasts beautifully with the varying shades of greens in the five types of manzanitas, two kinds of California lilac, and the softer gray greens of the sages and fuchsias.
• A $750 rebate was provided by Cal Water. Water use has dropped 60 to 70% since the garden was transformed.
• The semi-circular fire pit was incorporated into the front garden to make it easier to share homemade wine at impromptu gatherings with neighbors.
• Four 55-gallon rain barrels help keep the garden green longer; they are located in the back yard. Ask Stephanie if you would like to see these.
• A variety of fruit trees—Violette de Bordeaux fig, Granny Smith apple, persimmon, and a pear—were incorporated into the design.
Gardening for Wildlife
Bumble and carpenter bees and butterflies are attracted to the rosy buckwheats and California lilac. Hummingbirds are drawn to the fuchsias. Blue-bellied western fence lizards sun themselves on the boulders, when not noshing on mosquitoes, ants, and spiders.
Keystone species in this garden (watch this talk by Doug Tallamy!)
Keystone species—our own, local ecological powerhouse plants— in this garden include include manzanitas, California lilacs, buckwheats, and penstemon.
Green Home Features
Stephanie and John have a 7.1-kilowatt solar panel system. They also have a Tesla (which Stephanie reports “we LOVE”). Their total PG&E bill last year (and this included the cost of charging their car, since they are not buying gas) was $290.
