Close up and personal with some California Native Plants

So many Californians are still under the misguided impression that in order to have a drought tolerant garden you need to have rocks and cacti. And I won't even comment on people outside of the state that still insist the entire state is, and always was, a desert.

In my area, Coastal Sage Shrub is what was here before we brought in all of the grasses for cattle and then replaced those with homes featuring big box store generic plants, most of which require copious amounts of water to maintain. Eight years ago we hired California's Own Native Landscape Design to rip out most of that and replace it with native plants. BEST DECISION EVER!

Our water bills are minimal compared to my neighbors since I water the natives once ever 2-4 weeks in the summer time. I will admit, right now things look a bit tired out there, but it is summer here which is the "dormant" period for most native plants. Leaves have yellowed and dropped and there is minimal growth.

But there are still plenty of blooms throughout the yard.

This Ceanothus should actually be dormant like the rest of its brethren in the yard. This is a great example of micro-climates. This one is located in a rather shady spot next to the neighbor's lawn, so it gets some supplemental watering. All of the rest bloomed months ago and are now dormant.

Corethrogyne filaginifolia Silver Carpet – California aster

Erigeron glaucus x Wayne Roderick Daisy (the flowers look similar to the one above, but the plants are totally different).

Solidago californica - California Goldenrod

Salvia Bee's Bliss - California sage Bee's Bliss (and hummingbird's bliss too!)

Zauschneria,California fuchsia (hummingbirds love this one too!)

Chitalpa x tashkentensis 'pink dawn'

Fallugia paradoxa, Apache Plume. One of my favorites, the delicate white blooms turn into the plumes (kind of like a dandelion).

If you want to see more photos of my California Native Plants throughout the growing season CLICK HERE.

If you would like to plant some of these beauties in your yard I highly recommend The California Native Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring Its Beauty and Balance by Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren. (disclosure: that is an affiliate link, I get a few pennies if you order through the link). The book does a great job of explaining what California used to look like, why we need to rethink our current fire prevention strategy and more importantly gives you plenty of ideas of design and plant selection.