Tag: butterflies
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More Fab Front-Yard Natives
Let’s explore a few more “front-yard” California natives that are HOA-approved, evergreen, and are pleasing to the eye no matter what the season. The California lilac (Ceanothus sp.) is a must-have native plant for every front landscape. This gorgeous shrub blooms in the spring with soft, fragrant flowers. When not in bloom, the shrub has…
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Designing a California Native Garden
Today I am highlighting a few California native plants that provide a formal foundation for a home landscape. Planting a California native garden is a beautiful solution for the state’s water challenges because native plants reduce water consumption while also supporting nature. If you have space in your home landscape, a Coast Live Oak (Quercus…
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Why Native Plants Matter
California native plants can be a little tricky for the inexperienced gardener, and if you live in central and north Orange County, they can be hard to find. So why bother planting native plants in your garden? Because wildlife, butterflies, and native bumblebees are absolutely dependent upon local native plants for food and shelter, and…
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Spring to Life
We have had less rainfall than normal in Southern California, so what is a plant to do? Bloom anyway.
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Flowers in Bloom as Summer Wanes
Spring in southern California is the biggest and showiest blooming season for native plants. Poppies, verbenas, and penstemons are strutting their stuff after a cool, rainy winter. But by late summer, the plants are pulling back, waiting out the long dry season and protecting themselves from the 90 degree days. How do our pollinators, birds,…
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Buckwheats Around Town
A Buckwheat in Every Garden was created with the hope that sharing a free native plant with gardeners would help improve habitat for birds and pollinators in home landscapes throughout Orange County. We recently reached out to people who picked up a free buckwheat to see how their new buckwheat plant is growing. Here’s a…
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Buckwheat in Winter
Pictured here is a large expanse of California buckwheat growing healthy and wild in O’Neill Park in November, just before the rainy season began. Notice how the flowers have turned a rusty reddish brown as this shrub reflects the changing seasons. The buckwheat flower is turning to seed as winter approaches. California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)…
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Restored Habitat at Shipley Supports Wildlife
I took advantage of the break in the rain last weekend to visit Shipley Nature Center for their A Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway in Huntington Beach. The 18-acre Shipley Nature Center is a California native botanical area and wetland. The centerpiece of the gardens is a fresh water pond surrounded by various California native habitat…
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More Buckwheat, More Butterflies
When you plant California buckwheat in your home landscape, you bring immediate relief to butterflies and other pollinators searching for nectar and shelter. California buckwheats flower for months, enrich the soil with their tiny leaves, are easy to grow, and are evergreen. Buckwheat is a foundation plant for any garden. The California Native Plant Society…
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Buckwheat with a Side of Natives
The Shipley Nature Center of Huntington Beach is partnering with STEMscopes students to host the final Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway of 2019. The December 7th Shipley Nature Center buckwheat giveaway is especially exciting because along with the 200 buckwheat plants being distributed for free, Shipley will offer 70 additional California native plants for sale.…
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Buckwheat Giveaway in Dana Point
The city of Dana Point is partnering with the Orange County chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) on an ambitious 200-plant Buckwheat in Every Garden giveaway this Friday, November 15 at the Dana Point Community Center. OCCNPS and the city of Dana Point will give away 200 four-inch ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat plants from 9 a.m. to…
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How the Buckwheat Campaign Began
The idea for A Buckwheat in Every Garden was hatched in July 2019 when board members of the California Native Plant Society, Orange County chapter (OCCNPS) met for their annual strategy meeting. The goal of the campaign: To encourage Orange County homeowners to install California native plants in their home landscapes to support healthy urban environments.…