Native plant enthusiasts toured two San Anselmo gardens on Saturday, May 24. Less than one mile apart, the gardens were quite different in location, plants, and topography. The tour was organized by subscribers to the native plant email group of Marin CNPS.
Harold’s Garden
Harold Hirsch started his garden 20 years ago. It is on a steep hill, much of it in the understory of mature coast live oak trees. “My goal has been restoration of my yard with mostly local plants,” he says. Harold relies on rainwater to irrigate his garden. His main task is to pull out weeds, but plants are otherwise largely left to their own. The westward facing front yard gets afternoon sun, and supports toyon, buckeye, California fescue, and sticky monkeyflower. Ribbon clarkia has insinuated itself in the cracks between paving stones in both front and backyard. The backyard is a steep hill with shade-loving plants like polypody ferns, manroot, hummingbird sage, and snowberry.
Harold says, “Every year and every season are different. My pink honeysuckle on my arbor is putting on one of the best shows in years.” In recent years his biggest challenge was to cull several treasured plants that were too close to his house, in response to fire safety concerns.
San Anselmo Garden Tours 1 Paul Barnett
San Anselmo Garden Tours 2 Paul Barnett
Oriana’s Garden
The garden of Oriana Bleecher was quite different. It is on a flat double lot with more sun. She waters with drip irrigation. She began converting it to native plants just 3 years ago, planting over sheet-mulched lawns and gradually removing the plants that came with the house. Oriana says, “Some areas I am happy with; some are clearly in progress; some I still have no clear vision for.”
The front yard was in riotous full bloom with California phacelia, clarkia, Hooker’s evening primrose, and a few non-natives that she has found difficult to completely suppress. She has planted a variety of perennials on the rest of the lot, including blue elderberry, coffeeberry, beaked hazelnut, pink flowering current, mock orange, yerba buena, and red stemmed (red osier) dogwood. Mature coast live oaks and magnolias overstory some parts of the yard.
She asked for suggestions on what to plant to replace a hedge of privets in a shady area that borders her front yard. Attendees suggested coffee berry, silk tassel plant, or mountain mahogany. Oriana has helped with restoration of natives on her parents’ farm in the Central Valley. “Here I have quite a bit more control,” she says, but acknowledges the effects of a flock of laying hens, two children, and a partner who has planted fruit trees.
Tours of native plant gardens in Marin are ongoing. To enroll in the Marin native gardening email group, send an email message to marinnativegardening+subscribe@groups.io.