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AN ALMANAC, MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE AND PALO ALTO WEEKLY PUBLICATION

East meets West inMountain View I Page 4

Second-story addition fitsMenlo Park streetscapePage 10

Creating a really greenhome I Page 22

HOME+GARDEN

SPRING 2011

HONORING TRADITION IN PALO ALTO | PAGE 4

DESIGNER CREATES OWN LOS ALTOS DREAM KITCHEN | PAGE 12

TUCKED AWAY, BUT WITH A VIEW IN WOODSIDE | PAGE 16

TWO

KITCHENS,TWO

GOALSIN MOUNTAIN VIEWPAGE 22

AN ALMANAC, MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE AND PALO ALTO WEEKLY PUBLICATION

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3/32home+garden design | SPRING 2011 3

STAFF

CONTENTS

4 BACK TO BASICSHonoring a traditional home in the modern era

12NO PLACE LIKE HOME Designer returns to childhood home to create dream kitchen

16 TUCKED AWAY, BUT WITH A VIEW Eco-friendly remodel maximizes space of Woodside cabin

22TWO KITCHENS, TWO GOALSNeighbors share meals, thoughts on parallel projects

28GOING NATIVE IN THE GARDEN:ONE PLANT AT A TIMEAmicable companion-planting can cut back on water use overall

Publisher: William S. Johnson

Editor: Jocelyn Dong

Home & Garden Design Editor: Carol Blitzer

Art Director: Diane Haas

Writers: Carol Blitzer, Julie Orr, Emma

Trotter

Photographers: Nathanael Bennett, Dasja

Dolan, Dave Edwards

Vice President Sales/Marketing:

Walter Kupiec

Advertising Sales: Janice Hoogner

Embarcadero Media(The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Palo Alto Weekly)

#AMBRIDGE!VE0ALO!LTO#!s

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

#OPYRIGHTBY%MBARCADERO-EDIA!LLRIGHTSRESERVED

Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

Coast Side AssociatesConstruction and Management

123 Ocean Blvd. Half Moon BayCalifornia 94019

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HOME+GARDEN

SPRING 2011

10

16

4

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H O M E + G A R D E N D E S I G N

BACKTO BASICSHonoring a traditional home in the modern era

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by Carol Blitzer / photos by Dasja Dolan

Sandra Tucher and her husband Christopherloved their new home on the edge ofProfessorville, but hated what previous own-

ers had done to it over time.It was really odd, she says, noting that the fact

that it was so ugly meant there wasnt that muchcompetition in 2004 for the 1920s home.

What was so odd? The gold spray-painted door-knobs, the added molding that kept the bathroomdoor from closing, a funky kitchen with a jutting-out window, the outdoor cement stairway that ledto a third-floor unit.

The previous owners did a lot to make it sale-able, which we had to rip out, she says.

But once they acquired the house, the Tuchersset about turning it into a family-friendly home,

while honoring the architectural traditions. Oftenthat meant simplifying what was added.

They hired local architect Joe Gutierrez, whohelped us get the most out of it but not violatethe integrity of the house, Tucher says.

Ultimately, they pared the 3,900-square-foothouse down by about 300 square feet.

In the kitchen, for instance, the half-hexagonalcontinued on next page

The exterior front of the traditional home (facingpage, left) was largely unchanged. Above, the third-floor attic has evolved to homework central, as wellas the home office and family room. Left, Arches werereplicated throughout the house.

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jutting window was pulled back toa straight line, with a cross beamadded to support the exterior wall.

No upper cabinets obscure theclean lines above the two sepa-rated sinks; commonly used items

are stored in drawers or in a fewshallow cabinets. Some things arestored in a small pantry or in the

basement.Tucher pored over books, seek-

ing information on what wouldbe appropriate for a 1920s house.Thats how she ended up with

classic white marble counter tops,quarter-sawn oak lower cabinets

with no toe kicks and white subwaytiles in the bathrooms.

When we first got (the marblecounter), we got stains on it,Tucher says, recalling an incidentinvolving Wiener schnitzel andolive oil. Be we never stained itsince.

You can roll pizza dough. ... Itsvery practical, she says.

Her minimalist look extends tothe SubZero refrigerator, with itsclear glass door that lets you assess

what you want before you open thedoor, as well as stainless-steel sinks.

Tucher chose an all-gas four-burner Wolf range with a griddle(the dual-fuel was clunkier) anda two-drawer Fisher Paykel dish-

washer. The family mostly uses thetop drawer.

The dining room was unchanged,but molding was replicated andused in the kitchen to tie the roomstogether.

continued from previous page

continued on page 8

One wall of the kitchen was straightened out and upper cabinets removed tocreate clean lines. The white marble counter tops fit the 1920s style and makea good place to roll out pizza dough.

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In the living room, new tallFrench doors and windows opento the backyard. The only otherchange was adding a new gas fire-place.

A bathroom became a walk-

in closet, and a small closet wasturned into a bath, complete with

black-and-white f loor tile in abasket-weave pattern, a simple sinkand a large shower with white sub-

way tiles.I like the cleanness of it; its easy

to wipe down, keep clean, she says.Some odd little touches remain

from the original house, although

they arent always used: The doorto the old laundry chute is in a hall(but leads nowhere): In a row ofhallway doors, the first couple arereally for style.

Tucher says the second story wasa disaster area with its odd bal-cony, stairs and a door. Today thatspace is a bathroom with periodpieces. I was salvage queen. Ifound lots of old stuff, re-nickled

fixtures, she says.The steep stairway was redone

and leads into what was probablythe original attic. After punchingout dormers to bring in light on

the second side, and adding beamsfor support, the space is now usedas a family room, a second officespace and what Tucher refers to ashomework central for their threechildren. The whole space wasinsulated and the ceiling opened,

with arched shapes echoing otherarches in the house.

We didnt want new shapes, sheadds. We tried to repeat angles,nothing new. Sometimes we went

backwards to capture what washere.

The whole area had to be re-joisted the bath, laundry room,landing. We needed more cross

beams, she says.Once the house was shipshape,the family turned to the landscape.They added a vegetable gardenand a circular patio with a firepit.Because of the large trees, includingtwo oaks and three redwoods, nograss would grow, so they put downredwood mulch.

Its really peaceful out here, she

continued from page 6

continued on page 10

Sandra Tucher searched high andlow for bathroom fixtures that fit theera of the house. She ended up witha marble sink supported by metallegs, and black-and-white floor tiles.

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says, glancing at the white-flowering dogwood.Theres just one major project left: replacing the origi-

nal garage.The garage is falling apart, but until we get the kids

college expenses figured out we wont be making anyrepairs, she says.

Resources:

Architect: Joseph Gutierrez, Architectural Alliance,Sunnyvale, 408-530-1738Landscape designer: Steve Witte, Jim Lord Landscaping,Redwood City, 650-299-1003Favorite salvage spots: Ohmega Salvage, 2407 San PabloAve., Berkeley, 510-204-0767; Urban Ore, 900 MurraySt., Berkeley, 510-841-7283; Wholehouse BuildingSupply, 1955 Pulgas Road, East Palo Alto, 650-328-8731,[email protected] of project:Make a family-friendly, simple, traditional home

Unanticipated issues:Needed to add supporting cross beam in kitchen

Year house built:1926

Size of home, lot:Was 3,916 sq ft, taken down to 3,647 sq fton a 15,000-sq-ft lot

Time to complete:About a year


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by Carol Blitzer / photos byNathanael Bennett Photography

Even as a kid growing up in

the middle of Los Altos, AmyFischer knew the yellow flow-ered wallpaper in the kitchen was

just wrong.By the time she was in high

school and working at the localwallpaper store, Cudahys, her par-ents indulged her need to changetheir dcor, one room at a time.The first: swapping the yellow flow-

ers for a sophisticated border at theceiling.

After her mom died in 2008,

Amy and her husband, Dan,and their two children moved inwith her dad. He soon gave herfree rein to change anything she

wanted. After selling their house inSunnyvale, the Fischers poured theprofits (and more) into upgradingthe two bathrooms, adding a sunroom/exercise area off the master

bedroom, replacing the landscaping

and completely redoing the kitchen.Because she worked with Owen

Signature Homes, she was able toserve as her own general contractor,hiring subcontractors that she hadalready worked with and knew well.They gave me a little extra timeand care and attention, she says.

Fischer started with an image ofwhat she wanted to turn the 1970skitchen (think large white tiles,

dark grout) into, without pushingout any walls. Her first thought wasa classic, all-white look. But, herhusband favored the antique glazedcabinets hed seen in one of her ear-lier projects.

The color scheme was ultimatelydetermined by discovery of aBrazilian granite. I wanted some-thing Ive never seen, says Fischer,

whos seen a lot of counter tops.This looked like artwork!

Then she worked her way downher personal wish list: sPOLISHEDMARBLEMICROMOSAICsquares as a backsplash behindthe f luted, apron-front sink andViking Professional range, as wellas around the eating alcove;

No place like homeInterior designer returns to childhood home to create dream kitchen


Hammered-steel pans and utensils, above, hang above the Viking Professional range, just below the custom decorativehood. Nearby is a decorative plate rack, open pull-out drawers for pots and pans, and open pull-out baskets for storingfruit. The octagonal table, below, echoes the angles of the eating alcove. The backsplash marble mosaic continuesaround the windows, which are covered in plantation shutters.

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Year house built:1950s

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Like any self-respectingProhibition-era drink-ing cabin, the one tucked

away down a long driveway offLa Honda Road in Woodside isalmost impossible to find withoutknowing where to look.

We like it that way, say own-ers Bob Smith, a director of tech-nology services at Stanford, andGaylon Polatti, an editor at Yahoo.

Originally intended as a placeSan Franciscans could spend aweekend drinking in secret, the

remodeled home now serves as ahideaway for two tech-savvy andeco-friendly residents.

Except for linear red accents,the exterior remains unremark-able, blending almost seamlesslyinto its wooded surroundings.

What the outside of the houselooked like was a very secondaryconsideration, Smith says. Wewanted to enhance the livabilityof the place.

Inside, a mudroom entrancegives way to an airy living room/

kitchedows.and lithere i

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TUCKED AWAY, BUT WITH A

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area lit by clerestory win-Doors lead to the bedroomrary. At 1,100 square feet

snt room for much else.one aspect of the house

changed during the remod-e floor-to-ceiling green-

window facing down thee.s was our favorite parthouse, says Smith, whot the cabin 24 years ago and

tinkering almost imme-continued on next page

A floor-to-ceiling greenhouse window, left, looks out onto the redwoods; theliving room segues into a dining area, above, and kitchen, below, where muchattention was given to green features, from paint color to the EnergyStardishwasher.

ew

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diately. A leak in the bedroommotivated the full remodel.

Smith and Polatti rented aneighbors house during con-struction, which lasted sevenmonths and was completed lateJanuary of last year.

It was nice, Smith says. We

were three doors away.This proximity proved impor-

tant, as Smith and Polatti hada hands-on role in many of thedesign decisions. The guidingprinciple was integration withenvironmental surroundings.

Smith picked out LED lightsthat use much less energy than

even compact fluorescents andare guaranteed to last 30 years.Polatti and a friend picked outpaint for the creamy yellow ceil-ing and peach walls in the bed-room.

I wanted the wall in the kitch-

en to be green to match whatsoutside, he adds. Speaking ofgreen, the room features a com-pact EnergyStar dishwasher andinduction stovetop.

Their eco-friendly commitmentwas recently acknowledged whenHammerschmidt Construction,contractor for the remodel, wonthe 2011 National Association

of the Remodeling Industry(NARI) Silicon Valley ChapterJudges Choice Award for GreenRemodeling.

But not everything went offwithout a hitch.

Theres a lot of enthusiasm forgreen buildings, but its not yetthe case where (all) contractorsknow what theyre doing, Smith



The cabin exterior nearly blends into the woods, except for the red front door.

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says. In particular, the couple had trouble withthe installation of their heat pump it requireda smarter thermostat than less efficient units.Resolving this issue took nine months.

It would be hard to ignore environmental concerns

when wilderness is practical ly right outside. Smithand Polatti receive visits from raccoons, squirrels,deer, owls and other birds and even the occasionalmountain lion. These creatures thrive in the wood-land environment that needs no landscaper.

My gardens been here for 20,000 years, Smithsays.

Polatti is adding touches of his own nativeplants only.

Mostly ferns, leopard lilies and huckleberries,

he says. The redwood forest is not big on floweringplants.A love of nature is in Smiths blood. From a very

young age, he and his family spent time at a cabinin the Sierras. He has always enjoyed being in thetrees space, and the house is designed and fur-nished with a somewhat Appalachian f lavor, hesays.

Dont worry, none of us has a banjo, Polattiadds.

What they do have are beautifully polished wood

floors, artfully mismatched wooden and leatherfurniture, a guitar and speakers, some glass piecesand other one-of-a-kind artwork that speaks to thesensibilities of both writer and engineer.

Now that the remodel is complete, Smith andPolatti intend to settle in for the long haul.

Were more than satisfied, Polatti says. Thisplace is just perfect.

Resources:

Architect: Chip Jessup, M. Design Architects, LosAltos, 650-565-9036, www.mdesignsarchitects.comBuilding contractor: Lynn Hammerschmidt,Hammerschmidt Construction, Inc., Los Altos,650-948-4200, www.hammerschmidtinc.comLighting: Liteline Illuminations, Los Gatos,408-399-9000, www.halogenlighting.comWoodwork: Marcus Jones, Made in Pescadero,650-879-9128, www.madeinpescadero.com

Goal of project:

Whole house remodel to maximize light, viewsUnanticipated issues:Difficult to install, service energy-efficient heat pump,lighting

Year house built :1930

Size of home, lot:1,100 sq ft, 2/5 of an acre

Time to complete:7 months


The new shower features Grohe shower head, valve andshower arm, white ceramic tile with green glass-tile accentand dark-gray slate tile shower pan.

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by Carol Blitzer /

photos by Dasja Dolan

Most evenings lastsummer MarkBubert and Joe

Commendatore, next-doorneighbors in Mountain ViewsGemello area, could be found

barbecuing on their backpatios. Neither had a function-ing kitchen, so theyd cobbletogether meals and comparenotes on their projects.

Bubert, a butcher withDittmers Gourmet Meats inMountain View, had livedin his mid-50s tract homesince 2002 but had never fullyenjoyed the kitchen.

My oven didnt work foryears, he says.

And the galley-like kitchen

with a wall separating it fromthe dining room simply didnt

work for the garrulous Bubert.I love to talk, and I work

with the food industry, butthere was no way I could talk

while cooking, he says.He started upgrading his

kitchen by stockpiling newstainless-steel appliances: afour-burner Thermador cook-top, range and dishwasher,Bosch double-door refrigera-tor and a Vent-A-Hood rangehood.

Then he started thinkingabout what he really wantedin his new kitchen: more stor-age space, better lighting andaccess to the dining room.

TWOKITCHENS,GOALS

Neighbors share meals, thoughts onparallel projects

Above, The Commendatores wanted to

maximize what they could get in their updatedkitchen; they re-used most of their cabinets,added new appliances, white subway tile for thebacksplash, honed granite for the counter tops,and, below, a tile panel trim over the cooktop.On the cover: Mark Bubert opened up his kitchento the dining area, and added interior-lit cherrycabinets, with Rainforest Green polished marblecounters contrasted with pale green glass squaresin the backsplash. The green rustic slate tile floorties it all together. Photograph by Dasja Dolan.

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His first choice was cherry cabi-nets, interior-lit with glass fronts onthe uppers. Then his fianc choserainforest green polished marble forthe counter tops and a green rusticslate tile for the floor. The back-splash coordinates in pale green,glass squares.

If it was me, itd be all beige andblack, Bubert says.

Storage is enhanced with pull-outrecycle bins and spice rack, as wellas a drop-down iPod holder with akitchen timer and a lazy Susan thatgives him access to a deep corner.

Although Bubert worked without

a designer, he did spend a lot of timeat Home & Garden shows, lookingfor gadgets and ideas. Among hisfavorites is a spigot over the cooktopand instant hot water for makingcoffee with his French press.

Ive got twice as much storagespace now, he says. He also gaineda few inches of space by replacinghis plaster walls with drywall.

While he was at it, he replaced theold popcorn ceilings in the livingroom with drywall and changed outa sliding door for an arch.

Pleased as punch with the out-come, Bubert wouldnt change athing. It came out better than I

expected, he says, not long afterinviting his neighbors over to enjoy.

Buberts neighbor Commendatoreand his wife, Sonia, were also living

with a 1950s kitchen since 1999. Butafter their daughter came along last

year, they gave some serious thoughtto bringing it into the 21st century.

The Commendatores also have

Among Mark Buberts favorite features in his new kitchen is a spigot over thecooktop, as well as the earth tones and green counters, backsplash and floor.

continued on next page

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a home in Tahoe. While decidingwhere they would ultimately live,they figured theyd need a morepresentable kitchen before theycould consider selling the house.

And their odd-sized oven died.Commendatore says their goalwas to get as much value for theleast invested, which meant heserved as his own general contrac-tor and did his own demolition including removing floors, countertops and stripping wallpaper.

Beginning a year ago, he replacedthe appliances, meeting the sizerequirements with a new GE oven

and gas cooktop, microwave,side-by-side refrigerator and aKitchenAid dishwasher.

We used the original boxes for99 percent (of the cabinets), hesays, hiring a cabinet-maker tocreate new soft-close drawers anddoors. He figures it would have cost$7,000 to replace the cabinets com-pletely, and he paid $2,200 for the

new drawers and doors.

A window over the sink wasclosed up. Today one looks at a tilepattern while working at the doublestainless-steel sink.

After researching in stores mainlyin Santa Clara, he chose absolute-

black, honed granite for the counter

tops and white subway tiles for thebacksplash. The floors are large,mottled brown Italian limestonetiles, set in a herringbone pattern.

Lighting in both the kitchen andthe living/dining areas was updated

with recessed cams.The couple drew a lot on friends

in the trades, who moonlighted ontheir small job, charging them for

time and materials. That tendedto stretch out the length of the job.While his neighbor completed hisproject in about eight weeks, theCommendatores kitchen tookmore than twice that.

Commendatore says he saw thekitchen remodel as a learning expe-rience, since he and his wife planto build a house in Tahoe. He esti-mates it took him four solid days to

do the demolition and probably 40hours of research to identify appli-ances and materials.

In the end, he says they createda kitchen that people would enjoy

working in.If we were staying here forever,

we might have done somethingdifferent, with a bigger budget,Commendatore says. But, he says,We went a long way with it.

Kitchen No. 1:

Resources:

Building contractor: AlanKuykendall, Kuykendall Electric,Milpitas, 408-262-3715

Granite: All Natural Stone, SanJose, 408-544-9600, www.allnatu-ralstone.comGoal of project:Create a social kitchen and updateappliances

Unanticipated issues:None

Year home built:1954



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Size of home:About 1,800 sq ft

Time to complete:About 7.5 weeks

Budget:$36,000, not including appliancesKitchen No. 2:

Resources:

Plumbing: Barron Park Plumbing, 650-948-7160, www.barronparksupply.comGranite: All Natural Stone, San Jose, 408-544-9600,

www.allnaturalstone.comGranite fabrication: Avalos Marble & Granite - Tile,Inc., Santa Clara, 408-980-0055, www.avalosmarble.comCabinet maker: Richard Fischer, Eldorado Cabinets,

916-425-5900, edcabinets.comContractor/craftsman: Shaun Mcderment, 650-222-5894Tile installation: De Anza Tile, 650-424-1072, www.deanzatile.com


Goal of project:Modernize a 1950s smallgalley kitchen

Unanticipated issues:None

Year home built:1954

Size of home:About 1,800 sq ft

Time to complete:About 4 months

Budget:$11,000, not includingappliances

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So you have heard about theadvantages of native plants,

but arent inclined to startover in your entire garden? ThatsOK; you can still enjoy the benefitseven if you introduce natives into

your garden slowly.Once you see that you can lower

your water usage and maintenancetime, while attracting beneficialinsects, bees and butterflies, you

will start to understand what all thetalk is about.

To begin, choose an area of yourexisting garden that has similar sunand irrigation needs to the native

you have in mind. Good plantplacement takes many require-ments into consideration, but

lets use sun orientation as a basicguideline. Full sun: Our native Buckwheatadds texture, color and attracts

butterflies into your garden. For aspace less than 3 feet wide, try RedBuckwheat, Erigonum grande rube-scens, or for a small yellow mound,use Shasta Sulphur Buckwheat, E.umbellatum.

If you like long-lasting purpleflowers, try Verbena. With a hintof spicy, clove-like fragrance, youll

want to place this in an area youwalk by to enjoy the scent. Verbenalilacinagrows about 3 feet tall and4 feet wide in the garden, but canalso be kept smaller in a container. Partial sun/shade: For succulentlovers, try Chalk Dudleya, Dudleya

pulverulenta, nestled among rocks.

It has spectacular stalks of redflowers that contrast nicely with itssilvery rosette shape. The commonname is also Live Forever becausethey are amazingly resilient, mak-ing them perfect for beginners.

To give a garden structure andyear-round appeal, nothing beatsManzanita. Although most are

slow growing, the trade off is that

they are long lived, have beautifulauburn bark and provide valuablewinter nectar to hummingbirds.Manzanitas love full sun but willtolerate partial shade. For a shrubthat can get about 6 feet tall, tryArctostaphylos Howard McMinnor A. edmunsiifor a low ground-cover. It is tempting to over waterthis plant since some of their leavesmay brown naturally. To avoid too

much irrigation, plant a few sac-rificial annuals next to your newManzanita and when the annualsshow the first sign of leaf wilt, thats

your cue to water. Dry shade: Many people haveconcerns about planting aroundoak trees and for good reason.Oaks do not tolerate summer irri-gation, so its especially important

to select natives that are acclimatedto this particular hydrozone. Onceestablished, you can reduce or stopirrigation. As a tip, if you install

your oak understory in the fallbefore the rains, youll have oneseason of free irrigation under

your belt.Coral Bells or Heuchera are an

excellent choice for dry-shade

groundcover and will take yourbreath away when planted in largemasses. There are many wonderfulhybrids of Heuchera to try. For aneasy-growing choice, use HeucheraWendywith its green leaves, pur-ple veining and tall flower spikes.This evergreen perennial can also

be enjoyed in shady planters or

window boxes and will attracthummingbirds.

Our Coastal Wood Fern,Dryoperteris arguta, is one of thefew ferns that is both drought-tolerant and evergreen. Since itcan withstand root competition,its suitable for under trees such asoak, bay and pine. To keep its lush,

Going native in the garden:one plant at a time

Amicable companion-planting can cut back on water use overall

by Julie Orr, APLD

Above, Once this home had a totally non-native garden, but over 30 years andmultiple landscaping updates, the garden evolved to all natives. Below, ShastaSulphur Buckwheat, California Poppy and Rogers Red California Grape can all beenjoyed in a full sun garden.

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home+garden design | SPRING 2011 29

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green appearance, simply remove older fronds as theybrown.

Now that you have a few ideas, try them out and see ifyou can measure the difference between your native andnon-native plants. You may even wish to keep a garden

journal and note how many hummingbirds, bees andbutterflies you can count or how your irrigation usage

changes over the years.Also, see for yourself if you are spending less time onmaintenance. No plant is maintenance free. Gardenmaintenance is not just pruning and deadheading, butalso fertilizing and removing pests. Many natives willappreciate a bit of organic compost from time to timeand should be fairly pest-free. If pests do arrive, you cantry biological controls like praying mantises or organicsprays.

When in doubt, hire an expert. Sometimes a shortconsultation with a professional landscape designer will

get you over your initial hurdles and youll be goingnative in no time.

Note: For free garden ideas and inspiration visit theGoing Native Garden Tour on Sunday, April 17. Forinformation, visit www.GoingNativeGardenTour.org.

Julie Orr is a landscape designer and member of theAssociation of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD)and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), whospecializes in designing waterwise, low-maintenancelandscapes, including California native gardens. Call

650-468-8020 or visit www.julieorrdesign.com.

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