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: 76 Race St., San Jose (click the address to show it on a map).

Directions: From 880, take exit 2 for the Alameda toward San Jose. After 1.2 miles, turn onto Race St. In .1 mile you will reach 76 Race St. on the left.

Showcase Features: This nursery and educational center has a mix of beautifully grown native plants and edibles. The centerpiece of the space is a butterfly-shaped raised bed. It is planted with a red fescue lawn mix mixed with butterfly-friendly flowers. Permeable gravel and concrete are used as paths and driveways.

Other Garden Attractions: The perimeter of the garden has mature native shrubs that have grown to amazing sizes. Some outstanding specimens include a large island mallow shrub (Lavatera assurgentiflora) that provides colorful pink blooms for much of the year, along with fragrant purple lilac verbena and coffeeberry. A fremontia is espaliered against the fence.

Gardening for Wildlife: This urban site was formerly a concrete parking lot. Wildlife is attracted with several water features, greywater/constructed wetland, pond, shrub cover, oak trees, sycamore, elderberry. Visitors include song birds, birds of prey, urban birds, hummingbirds, native bees, praying mantis, butterflies, ants, lizards, tree frogs.

☺ Garden Talk: 12PM: Top 10 steps for success: designing, building, and managing a native garden.

❀ Plants Available: On tour day, ELSEE Plant Nursery will conduct a plant sale at this garden. 20% of the proceeds will benefit the Going Native Garden Tour. Please pay with cash or check.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 12

Garden Size: 11,300 sq ft

Designer: Alrie Middlebrook, Middlebrook Gardens
Installer: Middlebrook Gardens

Click here to display the plant list in a printer-friendly format (from year 2011).