In this hands-on workshop we’ll start at a Livermore garden that currently has a lawn, but won’t when we are through with it! We will be sheet mulching—and we’ll work here until everyone has had a chance to cut back turf, shovel compost, lay cardboard, and spread woodchips.

After shaking the woodchips off our pants we’ll fast forward six months, and visit Kat and Eric Weiss’ garden, which is in the process of being constructed. Dry-stacked boulder walls are being built to create a sense of place and circulation around the garden. When it is planted, the garden will contain native grasses, shrubs, perennials, and even a few fruit trees. Planting in this soil is nearly impossible so the design must incorporate mounds and retaining walls. We will discuss what had to happen step-by-step to get the garden to this point in the its transformation: how the irrigation was altered; what was recycled and what was not; what plants were selected; and how to go about next steps, such as planting.

Fast forward several years; we’ll visit Janis Turner’s garden, which was once lawn, but has been transformed into a water-conserving, pesticide-free native habitat for wildlife. Learn about how the design process was thought through, why these plants were selected for this garden, which plants and garden features attract wildlife, and more.

A program of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour.

Location: Livermore, California. Additional details are provided upon registration.

Fee: $30