Tag Archives: California Native Plants

Design trends

Planting for Wildlife

Ribes King Edward VII – Pink flowering currant are a favorite of hummingbirds.

I confess, I’m a lazy gardener. In July, my idea of working in the garden consists of removing seed pods from the fuchsias and trimming a few parsley and basil sprigs for dinner. I don’t have to spray for harmful insects and diseases because the birds and other creatures I encourage in my garden provide natural pest control. Having wildlife in the garden saves me time and money, too. I have a tiny garden now on Boulder Creek but attracting wildlife is just as much fun.

A wildlife garden doesn’t have to be messy. It just requires the right balance between form and function. Areas close to the house can look more refined because they get more attention. Spots farther away from the house can be a little more relaxed because they are seen at a distance.

Plant in layers, providing a canopy or tree layer, a shrub layer and a ground cover layer. This provides the greatest range of sheltering, feeding and nesting sites for birds and other creatures. Towhees, black-headed juncos and robins like to stick to the shrub layer but are frequently found foraging in leaf litter on the ground where they find insects for food. Warblers and chickadees tend to search for insects in the canopy layer.

Many native plants provide essential food and foraging areas for wildlife. Plants from similar climates like the Mediterranean region also have benefits for wildlife.

Coffeeberry are a favorite for many birds. This native grows in full sun or partial shade and isn’t fussy about soil. Established plants need no irrigation but will accept regular gardening watering unlike many other natives. They make up for small inconspicuous flowers with large berries than turn from green to red to black as they ripen. Use this 4-8 ft. shrub for your middle layer.

If it’s summer color you’re after, look to vitex agnus-castus. This large shrub can be trained as a multi-stemmed small shade tree if you like. Fragrant lavender-blue flower spikes cover this plant summer to fall. Even the leaves are aromatic with handsome lacy, fanlike leaflets. Vitex thrives in heat with moderate water and is deer resistant.

Pacific Was Myrtle (myrica californica) makes a great screening plant and the
berries are loved by warblers.

Pacific wax myrtle is another shrub to use in your middle layer as a screen. This 10 ft evergreen can also be trained as a small 30 ft tree. It’s one of the best looking native plants for the garden with aromatic glossy dark green leaves. Clusters of tiny berries are a favorite food source for several species of birds, especially warblers.

Other natives for the middle layer include Howard McMinn manzanita, Ray Harman ceanothus, bush anemone, western redbud, snowberry, pink-flowering currant and philadelphus. Native plants for the ground cover layer would also include Emerald Carpet manzanita and Yankee Point ceanothus.

You don’t need a lot of land or a huge garden to use the layering principal. Even the smallest yard can have all three layers that offer beauty and shade for us and nesting sites, food and foraging areas for wildlife.

Design trends

Gardens Change with Time

Whether you want them to or not all gardens change with time. It?s part of nature that the fittest survive. Possibly you have different ideas of what you want your garden to look like but it?s hard to fool Mother Nature. Several years ago I had the opportunity to visit a special garden in the Gilroy area that has evolved with time. This garden of California native plants truly demonstrates how nature can decide the best plants for birds, butterflies, wildlife and people.

It was one of those classic mild autumn days when several fellow landscape designer friends and I were treated to a tour by the enthusiastic owner of 14 acres of land. Located at the base of Mount Madonna the property is called Casa Dos Rios. Jean Myers, the owner, loves to share her property and especially the journey that has transformed it from a formal landscape with lots of lawn to the present truly native wild garden. She loves that the landscape now supports all sorts of wildlife including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects and fish.

A few of the native plantings have been more successful than she would have liked. Jean laughed as she pointed out the California rose thicket that has taken over the entry garden. She wishes she had planted the native wood rose instead which doesn?t spread as much. Her new plan is to remove the wild rose to make room for other native plants that aren?t so aggressive.

At this time of year a native garden is at rest. There was a quietness to the landscape as the wind blew the grasses. Deer grass has naturalized in garage swaths. Originally, Jean planted many varieties of native grasses and some still remain but the deer grass have been particularly successful. Jean explained that this grass was used for making baskets by the Ohlone Indians that used to live in the area. To keep this grass fresh looking she cuts them back to 6 inches from the ground in late winter.

California aster are butterfly and pollinator magnets

The California aster was still blooming along the path as we made our way to the frog pond. This plant is well liked by the native moths and butterflies, Jean said, as it provides a late source of nectar. The lavender flowers make perfect landing pads. The two species of butterfly weed bloomed earlier in the season and had already spread their seed for next year.

The frog pond consists of basalt columns that drip water into a deep pool filled with rocks that cools the water in the heat of the summer. Jean said the area is usually alive with birds but they were keeping their distance during our visit. Lots of time for them to bathe later when we weren?t invading their space. She said Pacific tree frogs and Western toads call the area home, too.

This ground cover is fire wise native and has high quality nectar favored by hummingbirds

Another late blooming plant, the California fuchsia, covered a slope alongside massive granite boulders. You could barely see the foliage through the hundreds of flowers of this red blooming variety. These plants spread easily and with a bit of late winter pruning look great late into the season.

Native iris tolerates sandy, clay and serpentine soils and seasonal flooding

Jean loves all her native plants. From the butterfly garden to the bog garden she had a story to tell about each area. In the spring, Jean said, the native iris steal the show. She rounded up 600 of these from nurseries all over California when the garden was first planted. Grouping each type together she says was half the fun to keep the colors pure in each stand. I was amazed to see them in areas of full sun as well as part shade locations.

We picked late blackberries and raspberries as we walked around this amazing 14 acre property that benefits all wildlife. She is an avid birder and she and her husband manage two creeks, the Uvas and the Little Arthur that support hundreds more bird species, including bluebirds, swallows and owls. ?There?s so much for them to eat here.? said Myers. She lets nature feed and attract all the native wildlife that visits.

It was a privilege to listen to Jean share her enthusiasm for gardening with California natives that attract wildlife and conserve water. I left with my pockets filled with seeds from native wild grape and clematis so I was hoping to always have a bit of Casa Dos Rios in my own garden.

California Native Plants, drought tolerant groundcovers, erosion control, erosion control on slopes

Groundcover on Slopes

California native ceanothus goundcover

Now that we?ve had a bit of rain – and I?ll admit .37 inches is not much to write home about – it?s time to get serious about planting groundcover to protect that valuable soil on your slope.

Living ground covers add beauty to the garden while holding the soil in place and preventing erosion. They contribute to soil health by encouraging microorganisms. A garden wouldn?t thrive as well without groundcovers.

There are many attractive plants that work well for erosion control. Often they need to adapt to shallow, poor soil and cope with less than ideal conditions all while putting down dense, strong roots. California natives are among those well suited to this job.

Calycanthus occidentalis

Common native shrubs that fit the bill include ceanothus and manzanita of all types. Ceanothus maritimus, ?Heart?s Desire?, ?Valley Violet? and ?Anchor Bay? are good groundcover that are not attractive to deer. Spicebush (calycanthus occidentalis) has fragrant flowers in late spring blooming well into summer with a spicy fragrance. The foliage is aromatic when crushed and changes from a spring green color to pale golden in autumn. Decorative woody fruits last into winter making this shrub attractive year round. It thrives with infrequent to moderate watering. Combine with coffeeberry and deer grass in sunnier spots or with Douglas iris and giant chain fern in shaded spots below trees. All these plants have deep roots and control erosion.

King Edward VII Flowering Currant

Flowering Currant (ribes sanguinem) is another show stopper capable of controlling erosion. In the spring the long, flower clusters of this deciduous shrub will dominate your garden. Choose from white flowering ‘White Icicle’ or ?Barrie Coate” and ‘King Edward VII’ with spectacular deep red flower clusters. ‘Spring Showers’ has 8 inch long pink clusters. Grow in full sun to partial shade. This California native requires little water once established and is a valuable nectar source for hummingbirds.

Some other good California native shrubs for erosion control are western redbud, mountain mahogany, western mock orange, lemonade berry, toyon, matilija poppy, western elderberry (sambucus nigra and mexicana) and baccharis.

Bush poppy

Bush poppy (dendromecon rigid) is another native found right here in our area and needs no irrigation at all once established. Beautiful bright yellow, poppy-like flowers cover the plant in spring. They can be propagated from cuttings taken in summer and are pest and disease free.

Common Snowberry or Creeping Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) will hold the soil on steep banks. This native tolerates poor soil, lower light and general neglect. Evergreen Currant (ribes viburnifolium) and creeping mahonia also tolerate shady conditions.

Smaller natives that put down deep roots are yarrow, coast aster, California fuchsia, wild grape, mimulus, buckwheat, wild rose and salvias including ?Bees Bliss?.

Low water-use non-native ground covers like cistus salviifolius, grevillea lanigera, rosemany prostratus, rubus pentalabous, correa and sarcococcas are also good low-water choices.

Remember when setting plants on a steep slope to arrange them in staggered rows. Make an individual terrace for each plant and create a basin or low spot behind each one – not around the stem – to catch water. Set the crowns of the plants high so they won’t become saturated and rot after watering and make sure mulch does not build up around the stem.

It’s time to enjoy the fall weather and cover that ground before winter.