Lot size: 1,500 sq. ft. front garden, 90% native
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 2015
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase Feature
Tré, who has been attending the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour since it began in 2005, had long dreamed of having a native plant garden; now that the pines, weeping willow, ivy, roses, and lawn are all things of the past, her dream has come true. This exuberant garden, which was designed and installed by Alexandra Ashton of Urban Flora Landscape Design, blends beautifully with the mature oaks, Catalina ironwood trees, forty-year-old manzanitas, and the coast silk tassel Tré planted many years ago. In spring, the lavenders, purples , and blues of the Douglas iris, phacelia, lilac verbena, sages, penstemon, flax, and blue-eyed grass provide a delightful contrast with the oranges of the native poppy, our state flower, the lush green leaves of four types of manzanita, and the wheat-colored flowers of the Mendocino reed grass.
Other Garden Attractions
- Raised beds provide the drainage most native plants need.
- A wood chip path creates a natural, woodsy feel.
- This garden is open to grazing by deer; what’s left is what our nibbly, four-legged friends don’t eat.
- Moss rock boulders create visual interest and provide places for lizards to both sun and shelter themselves.
- Designer Alexandra Ashton will be at this garden from 10:00-12:00.
Gardening for Wildlife
A shallow birdbath, in addition to the nectar and pollen providing plants, attracts birds and bees.
