Michael Graf's garden

El Cerrito

Garden Lot size:1/10th acre; back garden only is on the tour, 80% native

Garden Age  Native garden was planted in stages, beginning in 2000

Years on the "Bringing Back the Natives" Garden Tour: 5 years

Showcase Feature
An area formerly containing only exotics has been turned into a
charming native plant garden.  Wide, mounded raised beds that contain
local natives, as well as natives from throughout California, wrap
around a reduced lawn.  Artistically-placed boulders are pleasing to
the eye, and provide nooks and crannies for critters.
 
Other Garden Attractions
  • Bring your copy of Plants of the Tahoe Basin, and ask Michael Graf, the author, to sign it.
  • Don't miss this collection of native bulbs, which includes several species of Allium, Tritelia, Brodiaea, and Calochortus.
  • Dutchman's pipevine, virgin’s bower, and California grape create a screen along the fence.

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    Gardening for Wildlife:
    The diversity of natives attracts flocks of birds, including white-
    and golden-crowned sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers, kinglets, scrub
    jays, towhees, and sparrows.  Bees love the California lilac, bee plant, penstemon and annual wildflower species, and hummingbirds are attracted to the black, purple, white- and hummingbird sages, as well as bush monkeyflowers and Channel Island snapdragon.

    Plant list

    More photos