Mary Lu and Bob Burchard’s garden
Martinez
Lot size: ¾ acre, 60% natives
Garden Age: Native garden was installed in stages, beginning in 2001.
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 2
Showcase feature: This garden, which brims with an eclectic mix of natives, colorful ornamentals, fruit trees, and vegetables, shows how native plants can be incorporated with Mediterranean plants and edibles to create a diverse, vibrant, and attractive wildlife habitat. Avid gardening enthusiasts and plant collectors Mary Lu and Bob, who designed and installed the garden, have included whimsical artistic touches, such as the fire extinguisher art piece entitled “Garden Girl,” and the burbling solar-powered fish fountain. A variety of seating areas offer views of this low-water use haven.
Other garden attractions:
- Dense plantings discourage weeds. The ones that get through are hand-pulled or torched.
- Certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat Garden.
Gardening for Wildlife: The diversity of plants makes this garden a sanctuary for wildlife. Orioles and a barn owl nest in the fan palm trees (which are native to the deserts of southeastern California). Other avian visitors include cedar waxwings, evening grosbeaks, quail, acorn woodpeckers, and red-winged blackbirds. Titmice, hummingbirds, gold-finches, and orioles frequent feeders set up just for them. The birds love the birdbath, which is constantly refreshed by a drip system. Ladybugs and green lace-wings (both of which adore snacking on aphids) lay eggs here, much to the delight of the gardeners. Pacific chorus frogs, lizards, and snakes also call the garden home.