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Showcase Features: A specimen Ceanothus 'Julia Phelps' greets the visitor to this richly planted garden that is being gradually converted from a traditional, mostly non-native garden to a drought-tolerant, mostly-native garden. The owner sees the garden as a canvas for creative expression as the loving attention lavished on this garden clearly shows.

Other Garden Attractions: In the sunny areas of the front garden, 7 types of buckwheats, a low-growing variety of Oregon grape, a mountain mahogany pruned as a tree, and a Baccharis ground cover are celebrated. In part shade, a white-flowering currant, a honeysuckle vine on a trellis, and several Heuchera maxima plants accent the walkway to the front door.
Among the plants nurtured in the back garden are 'Sunset' and 'John Dourley' manzanitas, a dark green manzanita ground cover named 'Radiant', a huge, pink-flowering chaparral currant, and a mature hollyleaf cherry tree. Along the fence, the cherry tree with a desert willow and several ceanothus will grow to provide an effective privacy screen. This fall and winter, small grasses and perennials were planted to create a backyard mini-meadow. The rains should give them a quick start!

Gardening for Wildlife: Four bird feeders, dense ground cover, a large oak, and a growing collection of buckwheats and other natives provide food and shelter.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 16

Garden Size: 4800

Designer: Carolyn Ordonez; Homeowner (plant selection and placement)
Installer: Dale von Dohren
Acknowledgements:Special thanks to Juanita Salisbury for donating native CA seeds and seedlings to add variety to our garden, as well as for watering young plants as needed several times when we were away. Special thanks as well to Jeff Scroggin, owner of Garden-Bud, for his professional fine-gardening and pruning as well as advice for several years as the garden has developed.

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