Photography by R. A. Urrutia, ©2012, raurrutia@me.com.

Showcase Features: This stunning landscape showcases a hillside setting for several young black oaks under planted with a variety of native plants. This garden is a wonderful example of spacing with mature size in mind without sacrificing garden beauty in its youth. It also illustrates a successful hillside planting strategy that takes into account sun exposure and erosion prevention.

Other Garden Attractions: Approaching the house, a prominently featured Dr. Hurd manzanita is surrounded by Bee's Bliss sage, manzanita groundcover, deergrass, California fuchsia, fescue, and artfully placed boulders. Along a driveway of permeable Eco-stone pavers fuchsia, Bee's Bliss sage, fescue, and sedge plantings abound. The rear garden is designed to attract birds. Behind an existing screen of non-native shrubs, a new hedgerow of elderberries, toyons, wild lilacs, and lemonade berries has been planted. Once this is mature, the non-native shrubs will be removed and replaced with lower-growing natives. Previously planted with non-native acacias, the western slope of the property is now graced with wild lilac, hollyleaf cherry, coyote brush, elderberry, and coffeeberry, punctuated by two young (non-native) arbutus 'Marina' trees.

Gardening for Wildlife: Nectar plants, berry-bearing shrubs, birdbath, and a brush pile attract many wildlife visitors including hummingbirds, jays, bumblebees and mockingbirds to this beautiful garden.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 5

Garden Size: 20000 sq ft

Designer: Stephanie Morris
Installer: Manuel Ramos, C. Ramos Landscaping

Click here to download the plant list in PDF format (from year 2010).