© Saxon Holt Photography
Roy and Carolyn West’s garden
Berkeley
Lot size: 5,000 square feet
Garden Age: Garden was installed in 1993. 85% native
Years on the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour: 3
Showcase feature: On the street side, a masterfully designed rock garden integrated above the original stone wall provides the perfect setting for manzanitas and other natives that require sharp drainage in order to flourish in our area. The rock garden replaces a lawn that had been sliced by red cement walkways and adorned with four junipers pruned into balls. Included in this collector's garden, which was designed by David Bigham and is maintained by Pete Veilleux of East Bay Wilds, are many varieties of manzanita and other small shrubs, California lilac, buckwheat, and a pair of rare mountain mahogany trees from the Channel Islands (grown from cuttings collected in a garden). The back garden, designed "to allow a child to run amuck in it," contains a brick patio framed by a low stone wall, a lawn (no herbicides used here!) surrounded by a wide border of natives, and a selection of roses.
© Saxon Holt Photography
Other garden attractions:
- A ring of valley oaks is gradually providing much-needed shade for the patio and lawn.
- Lawn receives organic mulch once a year.
- Ask Roy about his volunteer activities with Calflora and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), particularly as a plant sale volunteer.
- The California Native Plant Society will be selling native plant reference books and posters.
© Saxon Holt Photography
Gardening for Wildlife: For a month in summer the front garden soaproot meadow is glorious, with clouds of orchid-like flowers covered with delighted bumblebees. Several species of salamanders are at home in the garden, as are numerous species of butterflies and bees.
Garden Talks: 12:00 and 3:00 “How to water efficiently: Conserving water in your garden” by Tom Bressan, owner of The Urban Farmer Store.