Tag: native plants
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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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Planting a Seasonal Meadow
Last December 2021, we created a seasonal meadow of local grasses and wildflowers that would provide beauty, color, and life after winter rains in a 12,000 square-foot park space at Vera’s Gardens.
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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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Summer Buckwheat Blooms Bright
It is July, the height of summer in Southern California, and buckwheats are blooming with thousands of showy white flowers. I took a walk this morning at my favorite local park, O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon. Many of the spring-blooming plants are hunkering down in the 90-degree heat, but California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) is […]
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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 […]
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Bring More Hummingbirds, Orioles, and Warblers to Your Home
How can you get more birds visiting your garden? Go to Audubon’s guide for plants that attract birds. When you click on this link, you will be directed to the Audubon Society database that recommends plants that help birds thrive where you live. Enter your 5-digit zip code and explore the best plants for birds in your […]
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Where Do Western Monarchs Spend the Spring?
Despite the fact that Western Monarch butterflies are universally loved, their numbers have plummeted in recent years. What can you do to help? Join the Western Monarch Mystery Challenge–a campaign created to increase awareness of locations where Western Monarchs spend the spring in California after leaving their coastal California overwintering sites. If you see a […]
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Saying Good Bye to a Billion Birds
Did you know that in 2016, North America had more than a billion fewer breeding birds than 40 years ago? What is contributing to the decline in bird populations? Scientist Doug Tallamy has discovered that when non-native ornamental plants are installed in the landscape, insect populations plummet because insects are co-evolved to feed from native plant […]
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Growing Buckwheat in the Garden
When cooler winter temperatures arrive in Southern California, residents wear sweaters and scarves to stay cozy. Buckwheat changes in the winter too, as the creamy white flowers turn a reddish brown when the flowers go to seed. The ‘Dana Point’ buckwheat has a compact nature suitable for the home garden and is fairly easy to […]
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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 Builds Soil
California buckwheat is an evergreen plant with small leaves that occasionally drop to the ground, forming a natural mulch. The fallen leaves enrich the soil around the plant and allow the plant to grow and spread in its own loamy mulch. If you are an Orange County homeowner who hasn’t picked up your free ‘Dana […]
A Buckwheat in Every Garden 