While this garden is open all year round, visiting it during the tour day provides an opportunity to ask the docents about any particularly interesting plants or features.

Address: Jeffrey Fontana Park, San Jose (click the address to show it on a map).

Directions: From Highway 85, take the Almaden Expwy exit and go on Almaden Expwy south for about 1.25 miles and turn right onto McAbee Rd. After about 1/3 of a mile, turn right onto Golden Oak Way. The native plantings are on the right of the Golden Oak Way. Continue on Golden Oak Way, turn left onto Castello Dr, right onto Salvatore Dr, and right onto Oakglen Way. Once Oakglen Way turns left, more native plantings are alongside it, on the right.

Showcase Features: Showcase feature: The highlight of this park is the fact that so many organizations and volunteers work together to incorporate native vegetation. These groups include The City of San Jose, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the restoration committee itself, Boy Scout Troop 262, The South Hills Community Church, Our City Forest, The Audubon Society, Citrix Corporation, and a variety of neighborhood volunteers.

Other Garden Attractions: Jeffrey Fontana Park runs east to west and is located under large PG&E electrical lines. In 2009 in an effort to ensure the safety and reliability of the power transmission system, PG&E enacted a program of selective tree removal throughout the parks. The Martin-Fontana Parks Association (MFPA) restoration committee was established at this time to fight removal of park trees and to develop and initiate plans to plant trees and vegetation as mitigation for those trees that were to be removed. The park is divided into three sections: 1) Fontana East between Almaden Expressway and Golf Creek 2) Fontana Middle between Golf Creek and McAbee Road 3) Fontana West between McAbee Road and Meridian Avenue

Gardening for Wildlife: The native plantings attract many native insects and birds. Nesting boxes have encouraged the Bluebirds to settle in the park with help from The Audubon Society, and the birds are now seen regularly.

Years of CA Native Gardening at this Location: 2

Garden Size: 5500 sq ft

Designer: Patrick Pizzo, Dave Poschel and Larry Sasscer
Installer: Designers and Martin-Fontana Park Association Members

Click here to display the plant list in a printer-friendly format.