Showcase Features: Explore pathways to admire more than 100 species of native perennials and annual wildflowers. Hacienda's one-acre Outdoor Classroom showcases the native plant communities of the Santa Clara Valley and surrounding foothills. Discover a diversity of plants living in the redwoods, valley grasslands, oak woodland, chaparral and riparian zone. Two ponds connected by a flowing stream represent Santa Clara Valley's Guadalupe River watershed and attract local wildlife.

Other Garden Attractions: Hacienda students provide visitors with an orientation tour to the various plant communities they study in the Outdoor Classroom. Look for special garden beds that attract butterflies with nectar producing flowers and larval food plants for the caterpillar offspring. Visitors can also see the school's compost bins, bat house, pomegranate tree, and some class's vegetable gardens.

Gardening for Wildlife: This is a wildlife habitat garden. Hummingbirds, bushtits and mallard ducks nest each year. Cooper's hawks, black phoebes, egrets and belted kingfishers are annual visitors. Turtles, crayfish and mosquitofish inhabit the ponds.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 42

Garden Size: One acre

Designer: Hacienda teachers
Installer: Hacienda School Community volunteers

Click here to display the plant list in a printer-friendly format (from year 2012).