The 2015 Going Native Garden Tour

Such a wonderful sight to see visitors admiring your work

We recently opened up our gardens to the public as part of the 12th annual Going Native Garden Tour www.gngt.org, a celebration of California native plants in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. This was our second year on the tour, and once again we were the only San Mateo representative. This may change for next year, however, as several folks from surrounding neighborhoods expressed an interest in participating in the near future. 

Over the course of six hours, we received 117 visitors, up from 100 last year. California's current drought crisis could be responsible for the increased traffic, as people begin to consider drought tolerant alternatives to their lawns. There were lots of questions about the best way to remove a lawn and I detailed my experiences converting our front and backyards from crab grass into thriving native landscapes. Sheet mulching worked extremely well for us and I will continue to advocate this method of lawn removal. One day I hope to create a blog post `explaining the sheet mulching process.

A view of the front yard during the Garden Tour

Feedback from visitors was overwhelmingly positive. It is extremely gratifying to hear kind words from so many strangers. As a novice gardener, I am often filled with doubt and insecurity. Encouraging words go a long way in bolstering confidence and providing the drive to continue advocating for native gardening. 

A special thanks to all those friends and family that helped make this possible; especially my wife for sacrificing her Sunday and for her daily encouragement. 

My lovely wife and biggest supporter