Native Gardener’s Corner Member’s Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Guest Author Dan Songster, former OCCNPS President, compiled this article from local native plant experts about California native plants that are particularly impressive this year. He asked:

With each year being different in our gardens, what native plant has done surprisingly well for you this year?

Robin Huber-“No question, my Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) is thriving this year. It has been a very slow grower, but blooms reliably and modestly every spring. But this year it exploded with flowers, easily doubling its usual display. Mine is the selection with the darkish wine-colored bloom, not the “stock” white with pink accents, so it doesn’t pop the way the whites do.”

Laura Camp-“My best surprise this year is Eriophyllum confertiflorum, or golden yarrow. Both plants are two years old, and one came up from seed. They may have exploded a bit due to good rain, but they are blooming now, and it’s really rewarding to see this colorful local native attract pollinators, shelter birds, and brighten up the garden. It has a long bloom season, and blends so well with its companions in my garden, wooly blue-curls, wishbone bush, coastal sage brush, mugwort and Dudleyas.”

Ron Vanderhoff-“I’ll say Malacothamnus clementinus, the San Clemente Island Bushmallow. In 1977 there were fewer than 50 plants in the world, all in one small patch on San Clemente Island. Today there are thousands, thanks to a very effective recovery plan. I planted one in my garden eleven years ago. It’s now one of my favorite plants. It’s a huge, solid mound of flowers and soft green leaves, 6 feet high and at least 8 feet wide. And it seems to flower almost all year. Native pollinators love it, and so do I. Fifty years ago, it almost disappeared. So glad it didn’t.”

Nancy Harris-“One surprise! We have a Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia californica) that was planted next to our pergola and ignored for years. Finally, my husband tied it to the pergola’s post and it took off.  I just found the first flower on it this weekend and voila! Looks just like a pipe.”

Elizabeth Wallace-“The many Chaparral Mallows (Malacothamnus fasiculatus) at Vera’s Gardens in Trabuco Canyon started blooming early in April and are still going strong. Native bees just love these plants with their pink flowers.”

Mark Sugars-“It is my impression that this is a particularly good year for poppies. Not in my yard because I no longer have any poppies in the ground around my house (it just worked out that way!), but all around So Cal, the ‘hills are poppin’ with poppies. Dendromecon in the California Botanic Garden in Claremont, Romneya in the nature parks of Orange County, and Eschscholzia are all over the place.”

Tina Cremer-“My Abutilon palmeri, Palmer’s Indian Mallow. Even though I planted it in a true partial shade environment it has done well and grown to about 4’ x 4’, stretching for more sun.”

Curt Craft-“The Dendromecon harfordii, Channel Islands Tree Poppy in my garden has done an amazing job of putting out many flowers. After a hard pruning earlier in the year, I wasn’t sure I would get much out of it. It has been blooming now for about two months now and looks fantastic.”

Dan Songster-“At the Golden West College Native Garden in Huntington Beach, we have had success with starting new Manzanitas, while our Pitcher Sage and various Currants are very vigorous. One surprise for us has been how much growth and blooming has occurred on our Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis) normally a rather restrained plant only offering 3 or 4 blooms, this year it is covered. Also, reminded by Robin Huber’s comment, our Desert Willow is going crazy with blooms about 2 months early. At home, my Foothill Penstemon had an uncommonly long bloom and is still going. My containers of Dudleya, Monardella, Manzanita, and even Trichostema lanatum are enjoying life!”

Question for our July/August 2026 newsletter is:  “If you could make one wish about what gardening with native plants would be like in a perfect world, what would it be?”