When asked about his first garden, Larry Vierheilig

didn/t skip a beat 77 age 12, in his back yard, a begonia from seed, and, yes, it bloomed beautifully.

What started as a childhood hobby with a pile of dirt, has now become a life of passion for the retired aerospace engineer. And the pile of dirt has grown to the 12 acres of the Nipomo Native Garden. where Larry is volunteer caretaker of a patch of the mesa near the Nipomo Community Park that aims to replicate the diverse habitats of the Central Coast.

Nipomo Native Garden began in earnest as a conservation effort 10 years ago when local lovers of nature stood up to protect the plot of land from development, but the vision for the garden has grown considerably since Larry took over leadership.

"I just sort of love to garden and I like native plants," said Larry on a recent walk through the garden. "If I was in Costa Rica, I/d like Costa Rican native plants … It/s that these plants have adapted themselves especially for this environment and the pollinators and predators that live in this environment."

For instance, the landscape even colors itself according to evolutionary logic, explained Larry. Ever wonder why plants that make their home in Mediterranean climates like the Central Coast/s all take on the same shade of dusty, silvered green?

Nature (and Larry) has an answer. In order to not lose winter/s wet days to the winter/s sunny days, most of the leaves of native plants develop tiny hairs and ridges that capture and shade water to prevent evaporation. This extra fuzz and texture softens what otherwise might be a more brilliant shade of green.

The mild Mediterranean climate also accounts for the fact that just about every time of year produces fruit and flowers, from the many varieties of hardy Manzanita in the winter to the delicate poppies of spring and summer.

Larry, 64, and his wife Laurie, 65, became active with Nipomo Native Garden in 1997 after moving from Southern California.

Like the blooming Manzanita lining the walkways through the garden, the couple has managed to adapt themselves perfectly to their environment, contributing landscaping advice to local beautification projects and championing the rural setting they call home.

In November Larry was elected for a second term as director of the Nipomo Community Services District; his fellow board members elected him president.

To both his position on the NCSD and his gardening, Larry brings a constitution easily amused by the quirks of nature and a judgment guided by the laws of nature. To the NCSD/s Web site, www.nipomocsd.com, he recently added 13 pages of information on native plants, hopeful that landscaping education will lead to water conservation.

"I think the more educated you are in ecology, the more likely you are to make wise decisions when tough water-related issues come up," said Laurie, who shares her husband/s passion for native plants.

Compared to the typical flower or vegetable garden, native plants are relatively low maintenance, needing little water or attention. But most amateur gardeners are discouraged by a lack of knowledge and accessibility of plants, said Larry.

To that end the Native Garden offers an annual plant sale and is using a long-term grant from the Unocal oil spill settlement money to increase the garden/s educational and outreach efforts.

The San Luis Obispo County Land Conservancy is helping coordinate more community involvement by inviting Nipomo High School/s Key Club to regularly volunteer at the garden and training docents. Eventually, the caretakers would like to see a visitor/s center, educational kiosks lining the pathways and a small exhibit of home gardening possibilities.

The couple and the handful of volunteers who dig alongside them during Saturday work parties, are busy filling out their miniaturized version of Central Coast nature. With equestrian paths and walkways as the ordering force, each habitat is carefully laid out as they appear in nature 77 oak wood, grasslands, coastal sage brush, wetlands, maritime chaparral and coastal dune shrub.

It is a work in progress, one easily frustrated by weeds and soil lacking in certain nutrients because of years without natural vegetation.

Larry calls it "a labor of love."

The labor does not come without its rewards, apparent from one of Laurie/s favorite garden stories. Immediately after they had finished planting the wetlands, Laurie noticed a long-billed curlew stopped at their small pond for an extended six-day stay on its migration south.

"We had just put (the wetlands) in and immediately these shoreline birds come in," said Laurie. "I mean, what an omen 77 if you build it they will come."

WALK OR WORK

Nipomo Native Garden holds work parties the first Saturday of every month, but those interested in volunteering are encouraged to call and double-check times at 929-6710.

For a stroll through the garden, take Pomeroy Road past Nipomo Community Park, take a left at Camino Caballo, park soon afterwards and walk on up.

PLANT YOUR OWN

Though the time has come and gone for the season/s native planting, Larry Vierheilig suggested that the hour is right for planning next year/s garden.

Here are some steps and considerations on the road to your own native garden from Nipomo/s own indigenous plant guru:

* You have to feed your soil before it can feed your plants. Making your own compost can be fairly simple. Clear instructions can be found at www.ecoslo.org. Or just go down to your local nursery and buy good organic material to mix into the area/s sandy soils.

* A list of native plants can be found at www.nipomocsd.com. An important consideration is space. Many of the bushes that grow so well in the wild can easily take over a small garden so do some careful planning first.

* Remember that every garden is unique 77 "Practical knowledge comes from observation and experience," explained Larry. "Botanical knowledge comes from books. It/s better to take a book with a grain of salt and just experiment, finding out what/s good for your soil, your area and so forth."

* Staff writer Kirsten Flagg can be reached at 739-2206 or kflagg@pulitzer.net.