Pat and Lisa Sotelo's garden
Brentwood
Garden Lot size: 700 sq. ft. front garden only on tour; 90% native
Years gardened at this location (Gardening Experience):The garden was planted in March of 2007.
Years on the "Bringing Back the Natives" Garden Tour: New this year!
Showcase feature: Pat and Lisa’s goals were to have a more beautiful, low maintenance garden (the front was wall-to-wall lawn), and to reduce their water costs. Kat Weiss of Kat Weiss Landscape Design was hired to design this compact garden and position the plants. Staunch do-it-your-selfers Pat and Lisa did the rest of the work—they covered the lawn with cardboard and wood chips, created the berms, chose and positioned the boulders, and installed the drip system. Water will be reduced once the plants are established.
Other garden attractions:
- Pat loves the textures and colors of the natives, and also the fact that the garden now attracts more in the way of wildlife than it did previously.
- Large ceramic pots provide visual interest.
- Many of the plants are locally native; these were purchased from Mines Road Natives.
Gardening for Wildlife: White-crowned song sparrows have been seen in the garden recently; they had never been spotted out front when the lawn was there. Hummingbirds and native bees love the fuchsia, and a family of mockingbirds call the garden home. Flycatchers perch on the tall grasses, and dart off from there to catch insects on the wing. Skippers sip nectar from the colorful flowers.
Garden Talks: 11:00 and 2:00 “How to remove a lawn and install a native plant garden yourself” by Pat Sotelo