Tom Karwin, On Gardening | Adding California native plants to the garden

Gardening involves a short list of objectives: landscape beauty, drought tolerance, fire resistance (for vulnerable areas), and the enjoyment of gardening. Today’s column focuses on the benefits of gardening with California native plants, which can build upon other objectives.

California Spicebush +Calycanthus occidentalis+. This is a large, upright-rounded, thicket-forming, multi-stemmed, suckering, deciduous shrub that features fragrant dark red to purplish-brown, waterlily-like flowers 2-3 inches wide with thin tepals from late spring to early fall, This shrub typically grows to 6-12 feet tall and as wide. (Courtesy Paul Chesler) — California Spicebush (Calycanthus occidentalis). This is a large, upright-rounded, thicket-forming, multi-stemmed, suckering, deciduous shrub that features fragrant dark red to purplish-brown, waterlily-like flowers 2-3 inches wide with thin tepals from late spring to early fall, This shrub typically grows to 6-12 feet tall and as wide. (Courtesy Paul Chesler)

California’s recent legislation (AB 1573) to encourage including California native plants in landscapes was inspired in part by Bloom! California, a project of the California Native Plant Society, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The project (bloomcalifornia.org) summarizes the benefits of growing native plants:

• Bring California’s unique beauty into your garden.

• Create a habitat for butterflies, birds and bees.

• Restore nature in the urban landscape.

• Support water conservation, garden without added fertilizers or pesticides, and even sequester carbon!

We have addressed these reasons in previous columns and added the view that gardening with nature makes gardening easier and results in greater success.

Those added benefits apply when gardening with California native plants from your local area because those have evolved in the unique conditions of your garden environment. They also apply when gardening with the full range of plants.

The images in today’s column feature California native plants that you could include in your garden. These images, provided by members of the local California Native Plant Society, represent selected categories of landscape plants.

A garden setting with an abundance of California native plants, Buckwheat +Eriogonum+ plants that flower from summer into early fall. (Courtesy Jackie Pascoe) — A garden setting with an abundance of California native plants, Buckwheat (Eriogonum) plants that flower from summer into early fall. (Courtesy Jackie Pascoe)

Here are ideas for gardening with California native plants, with both short-range and long-range planning approaches in mind.

Viewing California native plant collections

An outstanding opportunity for studying these plants in private gardens is “Bring Back the Natives,” an annual tour of 55 residential gardens that feature California native plants. The gardens are in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, within a day trip from the Monterey Bay area. The 2023 tour happened in May, so you might mark your calendar in anticipation of next year’s event. The organizers of this event also provided an online option in April for those who choose not to travel. For info: visit www.bringingbackthenatives.net/.

California’s public gardens offer excellent resources for seeing options for garden development and studying California native plants. These public gardens typically include a retail plant store that includes California native plants.

• UC Santa Cruz Arboretum &Botanical Garden: arboretum.ucsc.edu/

• UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley: botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/

• Huntington Botanical Gardens (San Marino): huntington.org/

• Regional Parks Botanic Garden (Berkeley): nativeplants.org/

• Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (Santa Barbara: sbbotanicgarden.org/explore/sections/

• Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (Fort Bragg): www.gardenbythesea.org/collections/native-plants/

Planning a garden with California native plants

While some gardeners have chosen to devote their entire landscape to California native plants, others either include these plants within a particular bed or area of the garden or mix them with non-native (“exotic”) plants. The benefit of these plants to wildlife suggests including about 25% of these plants in your garden.

Western Azalea +Rhododendron occidentale+. This is one of two deciduous Rhododendron species native to western North America. It is a shrub capable of growing to 10 feet tall, and could reach 15 feet. The flower color varies from white to pink, often with a yellow blotch. It is most often found in moist forested areas. It needs some sun for good flower production but also likes some high shade such as the edge of a woodland. (Courtesy Paul Chesler) — Western Azalea (Rhododendron occidentale). This is one of two deciduous Rhododendron species native to western North America. It is a shrub capable of growing to 10 feet tall, and could reach 15 feet. The flower color varies from white to pink, often with a yellow blotch. It is most often found in moist forested areas. It needs some sun for good flower production but also likes some high shade such as the edge of a woodland. (Courtesy Paul Chesler)

The CalScape website (CalScape.org) is a good place for garden planning. At this website, pull down the “Design & Inspiration” menu and select “Planting Guide.” This section provides basic info on the subject.

The next visit to this site is “Design & Inspiration/California Garden Planner,” which invites selecting native plants by your region, objectives, garden exposure and priorities. This section accesses a large database of California native plants. My quick search produced categorized lists of 613 plants native to Santa Cruz County and 774 plants native to Monterey County. The lists probably overlap.

Another useful site for garden planning is the California Native Plant Society’s “California Native Plant Design Basics: (www.cnps.org/gardening/native-design-basics). This site includes articles and video recordings on basic ideas.

Finding California native plants for the garden

Excellent local opportunities for acquiring these plants: the annual fall plant sale of the Santa Cruz County California Native Plant Society, which we featured in our previous column. Plan for next year’s sale and mark your calendar.

Retail garden centers, without exception, offer at least a few California native plants. The Bloom! California project reportedly encouraged a doubling of the inventories of these plants.

Still, there are many nurseries that cultivate these plants. The plants might be available for purchase in-person, or by mail order (check specific nurseries). Some nurseries are limited to wholesale purchases, so home gardeners might need to buy through a landscape contractor, licensed gardener, or local garden center.

Red-flowered Buckwheat +Eriogonum grande var. rubescens+. This rare native perennial herb is endemic to three of the northern Channel Islands +San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz+ but is now widely planted on the mainland. It is a mat-forming plant producing tall, stout flower clusters of white, pink, or red flowers. The inflorescence rises as much as 12 inches above the leaves. Its long bloom time in summer makes it popular with pollinators, especially butterflies. (Courtesy Paul Chesler) — Red-flowered Buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens). This rare native perennial herb is endemic to three of the northern Channel Islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz) but is now widely planted on the mainland. It is a mat-forming plant producing tall, stout flower clusters of white, pink, or red flowers. The inflorescence rises as much as 12 inches above the leaves. Its long bloom time in summer makes it popular with pollinators, especially butterflies. (Courtesy Paul Chesler)

Information on nurseries that grow California native plants is available from at least the following sources. As you collect California native plants for your garden, you might want to include some uncommon plants that require searching for sources. Some of the nurseries included in these lists offer the more rare options.

• Bloom! California: bloomcalifornia.org/nurseries/

• CalScape: calscape.org/plant_nursery.php

• CNPS, Santa Clara Chapter: www.cnps-scv.org/gardening/39-gardening-with-natives/356-where-to-buy-native-plants

Nurseries that specialize in California native plants or seeds include the following:

• Yerba Buena Nursery (Moss Landing): www.yerbabuenanursery.com/

• Las Pilatas Nursery (Santa Margarita): www.laspilitas.com/

• Theodore Payne Foundation (Sun Valley): theodorepayne.org/

• Seedhunt (Watsonville): http://www.seedhunt.com/

This is not a complete list of specialized nurseries. See the nursery lists above for additional options. In fact, it is likely that all plant nurseries include a selection of California native plants.

Enjoy the fall planting season and your garden development!

Tom Karwin is a past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a past president and Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and active with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/ . For garden coaching info and an archive of On Gardening columns, visit ongardening.com for earlier columns or visit www.santacruzsentinel.com/ and search for “Karwin” for more recent columns. Email comments or questions to gardening@karwin.com.