Community Services goes native for garden project

The grounds of West Valley Community Services got spruced up on Feb. 15, though no spruce was used in the planting of a waterefficient garden in front of the WVCS building on Vista Drive in Cupertino.

The planting was done courtesy of Water Efficient Gardens, a start-up founded by Cupertino resident Shelkie Tao, who said she undertook the project because she supports the WVCS mission to “unite the community to fight hunger and homelessness” in Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and West San Jose.

Tao was aided by some of her classmates in the horticultural program at Foothill College, and by student volunteers from the Cupertino Union School District. Before putting any California native plants in the ground, the group dug a ditch from a nearby rainspout to the garden plot to capture runoff for watering purposes. Then they planted manzanita and ceanothus, provided by Larry Voss of Linda Vista Natives in Saratoga.

“Once they’re established, they won’t need much watering,” Tao said.

The last step was to lay down river rocks on the plot to help the soil hold moisture.

While the WVCS project is in a public space, Tao said the main thrust of her business is to help homeowners convert their lawns to native plant gardens.

“The trend is there,” she added. “It could just use some momentum.”

For more information, visit Water Efficient Gardens at https://waterefficientgardens.com or Linda

Vista Natives at lindavistanatives.com.

Contact Anne Gelhaus at 408-200-1051.

PHOTO BY ANNE GELHAUS Diquon Gong, left, and another volunteer help lay down river rocks in a native garden she and several volunteers planted Feb. 15at West Valley Community Services. Gong is a student in Foothill College’s horticultural program along with project leader Shelkie Tao, founder of Water Efficient Gardens in Cupertino.