- Author: Mandy Salm
- Editor: Kamille Hammerstrom
Springtime means my favorite flower, the simple but abundant and beautiful Eschscholzia californica or California poppy is in full, glorious bloom. Belonging to the papaveraceae family, this flowering plant is native to the US and Mexico and can be found growing from southern Washington down to Baja. Usually considered an annual, there is often a second bloom in autumn. The flower loves open, grassy areas such as the arid grasslands of California's intermontane valleys or seaside meadows. In proper conditions it can be grown as a perennial, developing a deep-rooted, thick orange taproot (which the gophers in my yard find rather tasty).
These easy-going, drought tolerant plants sport soft fern-like blue-green foliage and...
- Author: Kamille Hammerstrom
- Contributor: Native Plant Subject Group
Most of the plants used in our gardens and landscapes do not harm or invade wild areas, but there are some species that have that potential. These plants, known as invasive species, can create monocultures, crowding out native plant communities (for example, yellow star-thistle), increase the danger of fires (e.g. Mediterranean grasses) and coastal erosion (ice plant, yuck!), and clog waterways (such as Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla), among other negative impacts.
It's important for us to do our part by avoiding the planting of species that may easily escape cultivation into nearby wild areas. In many cases it is possible to achieve a very similar look with native and non-invasive species. Here are a few suggestions for...
- Author: Ed Morrow
Looking for some good ideas for Christmas gifts for gardening friends and family? These are the three best books to keep within reach if you are a California native plant gardener.
Marjorie G. Schmidt's Growing California Native...
- Author: Kamille Hammerstrom
- Contributor: Native Plant Subject Group
Eriogonum is the buckwheat genus, one of the largest in California, with over 125 species. With so many species to choose from, you are sure to find one for your garden!
Native buckwheats come in both annual and perennial forms. They are some of the most popular nectar sources for butterflies and beneficial insects. The flowers last a long time, turning a rusty orange or chocolate brown (depending on the species) when the seed heads develop in the fall, so they add interest to the garden in all seasons. Buckwheats are very drought tolerant and some species can even handle salt spray.
All the buckwheats have dense terminal clusters of flowers at the tips of the branches, so what looks like a...
- Author: Kamille Hammerstrom
I recently read a Houzz article by Benjamin Vogt entitled 4 Tips for Designing a Wildlife-Friendly Small Garden. It's a useful article, and I'd encourage you to read it, but I thought it might be nice to take it one step further and recommend some California native plants that could be used in such a design.
The take-home point of the article is that a small garden can become a home to many species of wildlife and when there are other small gardens nearby, they become part of a larger habitat corridor for wildlife to live and travel through. As many of you may know,...
