While this garden is open all year round, visiting it during the tour day provides an opportunity to ask the docents about any particularly interesting plants or features.

Address: 221 Bryant Ave, Mountain View (click the address to show it on a map).

Directions: From El Camino Real, turn onto Grant Rd and continue for about 1.5 miles, then turn left onto Bryant Ave. The destination will be the fourth building on the right. Use the church parking lot.

Showcase Features: It all started with a grant from the water district in 2011, to replace the front lawn with water conserving native plants. Then, WOW! natives everywhere, wildlife, vegetable gardens, composting, a worm bin, a Bee Garden, a fruit tree orchard, and a high school class learning gardening skills. Not only has the original plant list grown as more areas come under cultivation, but also awareness of how the plant communities work together at this location. As the liquid amber trees have matured, the shade is denser in some areas and water is less available to other plants. Some plants have been relocated to receive more light and the change is observable. Spice bush, carpenteria, evergreen currant, hummingbird sage, Anchor Bay ceanothus, dogwood, Desert Willow, keckiella, Stachys bullata, and Dutchman's Pipe Vine are among our newer additions to the garden. We keep learning from this garden! We hope you will, too.

Other Garden Attractions: A large bubbling and splashing fountain attracts many birds, and nearby benches and sitting rocks are perfect spots for viewing them. The long bloom season of the natives that were chosen for this garden is enjoyed by neighbors, passersby, and church attendees. The Santa Clara Valley Water District lawn replacement rebate program was used to help fund the new landscaping. Two new native trees are from Mtn.View Arbor Day forest restoration. This garden is a Green Garden of Mountain View.

Gardening for Wildlife: For the birds, nearby trees offer shelter and nesting spaces, the fountain offers water. Lizards enjoy the rocks and walls, and native bees, honey bees, and other pollinators are found among the flowers massed for them in front and in the Bee Garden in back.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 7

Garden Size: 2350 sq ft

Designer: Stephanie Morris
Installer: Vidal Landscaping

Click here to display the plant list in a printer-friendly format.