Ann and Ed Severs' garden
Livermore
Garden Lot size: 2,500 square foot front garden only is on the tour
Years gardened at this location (Gardening Experience): Native garden was planted in 2003; 100% natives
Years on the "Bringing Back the Natives" Garden Tour: 5
Showcase feature: The plants in this garden, which are mostly local natives, were collected off nearby Mines Road and grown in Livermore by Mines Road Natives Nursery. Undulating berms provide drainage for chaparral plants, which are separated from a sedge meadow by a dry creek bed containing mixed cobbles and boulders. The garden, certified as a Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and beloved by the neighborhood children, was designed and installed by Alrie Middlebrook of Middlebrook Gardens.
Other garden attractions:
- Plants receive no summer water.
- The original garden—lawn, juniper and ivy—was demolished. Check out the “before“ photos.
- A dandy binder of information on the native plants in the garden has been compiled by Anne; ask her if you are interested in seeing this.
Gardening for Wildlife: Native nectar, pollen, fruit, nut and seed producing plants, such as monkeyflower, coyote mint, manzanita, California fuschia, wooly blue curls, sage, and buckwheat provide food, shelter, and nesting areas for wildlife. Quail parents stroll through the garden with their chicks. Butterflies and bumblebees adore the coyote mint. Hummingbirds are attracted to the sage, monkeyflower, fuschia, and Keckelia. Songbirds and spiders are among the other happy residents in this garden.