Category: White Sage
-
White Saging
I’ve met several people recently who believe that burning white sage smudge sticks will remove evil spirits from their house. Yesterday, someone told me that she burned white sage for cleansing her house, but it didn’t work. I suggested that she might consider planting a white sage and caring for it as a more healing…
-
White Sage is Wild
When I first began gardening with California native plants thirty years ago, I was often unsuccessful. I planted my new native plants in flat planters next to my grass lawn. I overwatered and wondered why the plants weren’t surviving. Even poppy seeds didn’t grow. But one of the plants that survived my beginning native plant…
-
Why White Sage?
White sage, also known as Sacred Sage, is a sacred plant to Indigenous Peoples, used ceremonially for prayer. White sage is special because it grows only in Southern California and in Northern Baja California. It grows nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, current television shows and movies have popularized sage smudging as a quick and…
-
A Sage in Every Garden Coming Soon
The Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) is partnering with Roger’s Gardens this fall to distribute 2,000 four-inch White Sage (Salvia apiana) plants to Orange County homeowners. The campaign begins November 2022 and extends through February 2023. A Sage in Every Garden is modeled after the 2019 buckwheat giveaway campaign. OCCNPS…
-
Elegant Shrubs for the Garden
Today’s post features California native shrubs that are “front-yard natives” because they look good year-round, are easy to care for, HOA’s love them, and they are evergreen. Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos species) are great in front-garden landscapes because they are leafy evergreen plants with bell-shaped blossoms that support native bumblebees and other wildlife. ‘Sunset’ manzanitas are medium-sized…
-
My Interview with the LA Times
Jeanette Marantos, garden reporter for the LA Times, called me in mid-February as I was returning home from a landscape restoration project I work on in Trabuco Canyon. Marantos asked me to provide a short list of the best native plants Southern Californians can plant in their home landscapes, and also why it is important…