Jan Enderle's Garden
Pleasant Hill
Gardening experience: 30 years
Experience at this location: The garden was installed 6 years ago
Garden size: 4,000 square feet
Showcase feature: A graceful pond and waterfall attract wildlife and enchant visitors. The charming small side garden, planted under the shade of a large valley oak, contains a variety of natives, including Douglas iris, coral bells, native grape, California fescue, Dutchman’s pipevine, and fragrant coyote mint. Every inch of the postage stamp-sized back garden is used. The flagstone path, Cold Water Canyon stone retaining wall, waterfall, and pond were designed and installed by Ron DeGeorge of Vortex Water; the rest of the garden was designed and installed by Jan. The small front lawn was removed this year and replaced with a native wildflower meadow.
Other garden attractions:
- Leaf litter is left as mulch in order to feed the soil, which, as Jan says, is as alive as the rest of the garden.
- Wide garden beds wrap around the reduced rear lawn.
- Edibles are scattered throughout the garden.
Gardening for Wildlife: In order to invite wildlife into the garden, seeds are left to ripen on plants, and in winter, the gardener puts out hummingbird and seed feeders. The pond and waterfall attract a variety of wildlife; the shelf with shallow water is particularly inviting to the birds as they can bathe and drink while being protected from predators. The hedgerow along the rear fence is a haven for hummingbirds, ruby-throated kinglets, hermit thrushes, and woodpeckers. Toads, lizards, monarch butterflies, and dragonflies are frequently seen. Jan is particularly fond of the paper wasps that nest in the eaves as wasps are a great bug patrol, hunting for aphids in the garden.