Nature Gone Wild


Local Gardeners Transform Yards into Urban Retreats


John Chilson
Photo by Tamara Shulman

Imagine a backyard garden with winding paths that curve through lush plants and vegetables, an abundance of raised vegetable beds, fruit trees and grapevines, California natives and assorted exotics.
    That’s local resident Terrel Brand and his wife Gillian Garro’s backyard in a nutshell. Their garden, which they’ve worked on for almost two decades, is designed so they can wander around, giving the feeling like they’re going through different places. Their garden is also one of many on display during the second annual Bay-Friendly Garden Tour, a one-day free, self-guided tour May 15.
    They were chosen, of course, since they employ Bay-friendly techniques in their garden.

 

 Living the Bay-Friendly Life


    What exactly is Bay-friendly gardening? Bay-friendly gardening encourages local residents to use native and Mediterranean drought-tolerant plants, use less water, avoid chemicals and compost kitchen trimmings and plant debris. Supporters of Bay-friendly gardening say it doesn’t advocate a particular style of gardening, either, and can be employed for a wide variety of projects, including backyard wildlife gardens, native plant communities, vegetable gardens and flower beds.
    “Bay-friendly gardening means simplifying garden care, reducing chores and using as few resources—from water to fertilizer—as possible,” says Jeanne Nader of the Bay-Friendly Gardening program.
    Bay-friendly gardeners work with nature to reduce waste and prevent unnecessary pollution of the San Francisco Bay. “Because it emphasizes natural gardening techniques, Bay-friendly gardening offers a way to make our communities healthier, safer places,” adds Nader.

A Gardener’s Philosophy


    With practically no exceptions, Brand and his wife manage pests or weeds organically, without the use of chemicals. They also have a fairly low water-use garden.
    They try to minimize the amount of hard surface for paths in the garden, using gravel as an alternative. “Basically all the paths are gravel, which lets rainwater soak into the ground instead of washing off and making its way into storm sewers,” Brand says. They also do a lot of composting.
    Another facet of Bay-friendly gardening is exporting less green waste and plant debris to local landfills. Most gardeners on the tour keep the green waste in their gardens, mostly by composting or mulching. “It comes back to water usage,” says Brand. “The more you water, the more plants grow; the more productive they are, the more you have to clip off and do something with it,” he says.

Backyard Getaway


    “When I look out in our yard I see a big tall redwood in my neighbor’s yard—that’s also part of my landscape. There are trees visible in just about every direction so I’m not trying to screen them out,” Brand says.
    A lot of their planting defines spaces within their yard. “The trees and plants we grow aren’t necessarily screening out areas that are outside of our yard, but providing a screen within the yard to divide the space and create private corners.”
    Brand’s garden, along with 35 diverse private and public Bay-friendly gardens clustered throughout Alameda County, will be on display May 15 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the Bay-Friendly Garden Tour. Native plants and compost bins can be purchased at select sites that day. Though the one-day, self-guided tour requires registration, it is free, along with a tour book and entrance into a drawing to win gardening tools. Register online at www.bayfriendly.org for the tour by May 2 or call (510) 444-SOIL (7645) for more information.