RESOURCES FOR GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS
PLACES TO SEE NATIVE PLANTS
● Native gardens at Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, 1036 W. Main Street, Grass Valley
● Sac. Valley Native Plant Garden Tour. April 18-19. Free. Register and get map at: www.sacvalleycnps.org/fairsevents/gardens-gone-native
● UC Davis Arboretum. Native plant sections. arboretum.ucdavis.edu/places-to-see
NATIVE PLANT SALES
● Master Gardeners of Nevada County Spring Plant Sale. May 9. Some native plants. ncmg.ucanr.edu
● Redbud Chapter of CNPS Spring Native Plant Sale, online April 11. https://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/plant-sale-spring/
● Plant sales of other CNPS chapters, e.g., Sacramento Valley, Wednesdays 10-11. Cash or cash.
● UC Davis Arboretum Public Plant Sales. April 11. Some native plants.
BOOKS *Starred books are particularly helpful for finding “the right plant for the right place.”
*Bornstein, Carol, David Fross and Bart O’Brien. California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma
Press, 2005. Photos and descriptions of many native species and varieties. Lists for specific
needs, such as under oaks. Also Reimagining the California Lawn. Cachuma Press, 2011.
Frankie, Gordon W., Robbin W. Thorp, Rollin E. Coville, and Barbara Ertter. California Bees & Blooms:
A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists. Heyday: Berkeley, CA. California’s multiple types of bees,
their natural enemies, and plant profiles for many of California’s best bee attractants, including
their flowering season.
Keator, Glenn and Alrie Middlebrook, Designing California Native Gardens. University of California
Press, 2007. Uses the plant-community approach to design artful, ecological gardens. Includes
where to see and buy.
*Nevada County Master Gardeners. Western Nevada County Gardening Guide. 2020 Edition. All about
gardening in the Sierra foothills, with good chapters on native plants and on soils.
Popper, Helen. California Native Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide. University of California Press,
2012. Like chatting with an experienced gardener, with many hints for the ongoing care of
plants.
*Redbud Chapter, California Native Plant Society. Trees and Shrubs of Nevada and Placer Counties,
California. Redbud Chapter, 2014. Comprehensive text and definitive photos for plant
identification. Helpful comments on each plant and its needs. Also Wildflowers of Nevada and
Placer Counties, California. Redbud Chapter, 2017. A comprehensive guide to local wildflowers,
including IDs and where to see.
*Rubin, Greg, and Warren, Lucy. The Drought-Defying California Garden: 230 Native Plants for a Lush,
Low-Water Landscape. Timber Press. 2016. How to establish and maintain 230 native plants in
the garden.
Schmidt, Marjorie G. and Katherine Greenberg. Growing California Native Plants. University of
California Press, Second Edition, 2012. Growing & propagating natives.
Tallamy, Douglas W. Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. Timber
Press, 2007. An entomologist, the author explains the importance of native plants versus exotic
plants for our ecosystem. Includes plant lists for specific geographical areas in the United States.
Also Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. Timber Press,
2020. Turn yards into wildlife habitats.
WEBSITES, BLOG POSTS AND ARTICLES *Starred sites are good places to start.
*California Native Plant Society (CNPS). http://www.cnps.org/
● *Calscape. https://calscape.org/. Search for native plants by location and by name. Get
description, water and light needs, natural setting and landscaping information. Good info
on plant communities. From CNPS.
● *Calscape Garden Planner. https://gardenplanner.calscape.org/ Find the perfect native
plants for your garden in just four questions. Based on the CNPS Calscape app.
*Redbud Chapter of CNPS. https://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/ Local chapter of the CA Native Plant
Society for Nevada and Placer Counties; find info to download, especially under “Gardening.”
● Special Native Landscape Planting Guide for Nevada & Placer Counties.
http://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/03/redbud-cnps-native-landscape-planting-guide.pdf
● Native Gardening Inspiration - Local Native Plants for Local Plant Communities. List of many
common local natives, noted by plant community and arranged by vertical layer in the
landscape.
● “The ‘Big 43’ for Nevada and Placer Counties.” Local natives that have evolved with
beneficials and are specifically adapted to our climate and soils.
http://chapters.cnps.org/redbud/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/03/43-local-native-plants-for-pollinators.pdf
Calflora. http://www.calflora.org/. See a plant’s distribution in California and location suitability. ID
photos.