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Showcase Features: From the front yard's old landscape, only a southern magnolia street tree and a mature Japanese maple have been retained; everything else was replanted with California natives. The inviting front yard features an open design, with well-spaced plants. A storm-water pervious, slate/gray pebble step stone path leads to the front entrance, along the front of the house, and across the parking strip. On the right-hand side of the yard, a dry creek is channeling storm water from 2 downspouts into the garden, and is enhanced with Blonde Ambition blue grama grass, Calistoga California fuchsia and Winnifred Gilman sage. Under the shade of the Japanese maple, several clumps of Canyon Snow iris and blue-eyed grass can be found. The left-hand side of the front yard features three big clumps of deer grass and a young coast live oak underplanted with hummingbird sage, as a focal point. Under the oak is a small green bench for resting and enjoying the garden. Skylark Ceanothus is used as an informal hedge, while Carmel Sur manzanita edges the garden bed, accented by small rocks, blue-eyed grass, elegant Clarkias, and blue-eyed grass. A pink honeysuckle vine on the left, and a golden currant on the right are being trained on the fence. The parking strip has been updated with a young blue oak on the left, and the 2 street trees (oak and magnolia) are underplanted with Idaho fescue, CA buckwheat, Firecracker Island snapdragon, and Blue Springs foothill penstemon.

Other Garden Attractions: The entire yard was originally mulched with wood chips obtained by shredding the wood of the four large non-native trees that were removed for the installation of the new landscape. During the dry months, gray water from 2 showers and 3 sinks, on the right side of the house, is used to irrigate 3 fruit trees. In the back yard, the laundry-to-landscape gray water system is utilized on the left side of the house, which irrigates appropriate plantings of CA mock orange, western spicebush, mugwort, CA gray rush, western columbine, and a Walker Ridge grape vine, trained on the pergola swing. In 2019, a sand dune sedge meadow was installed from plugs into the sheet mulch by the homeowners and the designer. The meadow is accented by CA gray rush, Nutka reed grass, and a stone lantern. Two meandering step stone paths weave through meadow toward an inviting set of Adirondack chairs and a sliced tree trunk table, offering respite and a place to enjoy the wildlife. Fieldstone-edged, slightly raised beds, retained from the original landscape, are populated with a variety of shrubs and perennials: snowberry, toyon, Eve Case coffeeberry, and a newly added hollyleaf cherry, alternating with Old La Rochette and Island alum root, Douglas iris and hummingbird sage. A young valley oak, planted in 2018, will provide afternoon shade on the west side of the home. The focal point of the back patio is a young western redbud, underplanted with Valley Violet ceanothus, red flowered buckwheat, CA poppies, and 2 newly added deer grass. A Louis Edmunds manzanita and 2 mountain mahogany, underplanted by Point St. George aster, will offer screening in the right corner of the back yard. In the right side-yard, 3 Tilden Park ninebark are trained on the fence. Under them, Sonoma Coast yarrow enjoys the sun, and wild ginger the shady spots.

Gardening for Wildlife: A bird bath, 3 CA oaks (blue, valley and coast live), and many native shrubs attract insects and birds to the garden; in particular, CA fuchsias and sages attract hummingbirds during their long blooming season; these will be aided by snapdragon bushes, once they mature. Bees and butterflies are attracted to ceanothus, coffeeberry, CA asters, and long-blooming buckwheat flowers.

❀ Plants Available: Donors to CNPS will each receive a CA native plant propagated from the owners' garden (while supplies last).

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 7

Garden Size: 4350 sq.ft

Designer: Agi Kehoe Landscaping
Installer: EarthCare Landscaping

Click here to display the plant list in a printer-friendly format (from year 2024).