Genevieve Prlain's Garden
Orinda
Gardening experience: Total 50+ years at this location
Garden size: 1/3 acre
Showcase feature: This garden has it all: mixed borders, island beds, ornamental shrubs, a creek, redwood understory, butterfly plants, and more. Gen’s garden, which she and a friend designed and installed, is a mix of natives and Mediterranean plants—about half and half. In the sunny front garden, manzanita functions as an evergreen groundcover. On the side is a large Dutchman’s pipevine, the only food source for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly. For a decade, all of the neighborhood children have raised swallowtails. In the peaceful, shady, back garden, dappled sunlight filters through oaks, buckeyes, big leaf maple, and a stately grove of redwoods in a park-like setting. An expansive deck and several attractive seating areas invite guests to linger and enjoy this serene outdoor living area.
Other garden attractions:
- Wide, gracefully curving garden beds reduce the size of the front lawn; zero lawn in back.
- Weeds are pulled by hand.
- Gravel paths allow stormwater to drain naturally into the soil and creek.
Gardening for wildlife: The mature trees, berries, plants of varying heights and textures, nesting areas, nectar plants, and bird bath, which offer shelter, cover and water, have encouraged chestnut-backed chickadees, Western flycatchers, black phoebes, titmice, finches, and robins to nest in the garden. Orioles, cedar waxwings, grosbeaks, creepers, flycatchers, quail, nuthatches, and Cooper’s hawks, among other winged creatures, have also been spotted. Hoary bats nest in the redwood trees. In order to keep her avian visitors safe, Gen keeps her cat indoors. Coyotes yip and howl near the creek.
