Garden History
The Nipomo Native Garden project began in 1994, when a group of citizens proposed to the county parks department a plan to preserve an orphaned 12 acre parcel of county land that was slated to be sold. This weed-choked, gopher-riddled site, located at the intersection of Pomeroy and Camino Caballo, was turned over to the NNG by the SLO County Parks Department in an “adopt a park” arrangement under the non-profit umbrella of “San Luis Obispo Pathways Openspace and Trails” (SLOPOST). Design, initial irrigation and plantings began in 1995 and continued to expand annually. In 1998 the NNG was officially placed on the County Parks Master Plan. In the year 2000, Nipomo Native Garden finalized and adopted the guidelines of a renewable lease agreement with SLO County.
The NNG’s specific restoration efforts include the plant communities that are native to the Nipomo mesa dune complex: oak woodland, maritime chaparral, manzanita, coastal sage scrub, coastal dune scrub, riparian/wetland, and grassland. These have been planted in an associative framework that mirrors their natural relationships. Currently the oak woodland, maritime chaparral and manzanita plantings are nearly complete. NNG has done this using specific plants that have been propagated from local specimens to honor and preserve the local genetic history. By using careful siting, irrigation and even heavy equipment when necessary, the NNG will be creating recovery sites for local endangered species such as wetlands plants, native grasses, etc. Examples of these include Gambel’s watercress, marsh sandwort, Nipomo mesa lupine, Pismo clarkia, silver dune lupine, desert almond, and others.
NNG contracted with Monty Holden to laser dig the wetland bog shape. The bottom is level so any “water table” we create will be distributed evenly.
First we dug a circumferential trench to bury and lock the edge of the liners. Then we layered 10 sheets of black 6 mil polyethylelne (20' x 100' each) crisscrossing and overlapping so that it’s about 4 layers in most places.
Finally the bulldozer replaced the dirt with the previous existing contour. Since the bottom is flat, this resulted in a gradient of dirt thickness of about 4 to 7 feet.
