Gardens are more than pretty flowers, shady benches and gurgling fountains. They are living,
breathing eco-systems that not only nurture us, they provide habitat to a wide variety of
interconnected wildlife. We encourage wildlife to make Gamble Garden their home in Palo Alto; beneficial
insects and bug-eating birds help us to control plant pest populations, and bees, butterflies,
flower flies, and hummingbirds all help with the important job of pollination.
So we’ve decided to make a garden specifically for our pollinators. The Pollinator Garden will
be replacing the California Garden (just inside the fence from the Embarcadero parking lot)
which, after the big Picnic Oak came down, is getting way too much sun. We’ll move many of
those shade-loving plants to new homes, amend the soil and add some berms to increase the
drainage. After planting a wide variety of perennials and shrubs that will attract bees,
butterflies and hummingbirds, we’ll add some engaging, interpretive signage to inform our
visitors, young and old, about the wonders of nature.
And of course there will be plenty of pretty flowers, shady benches and perhaps a gurgling fountain, too.