Natives: a Sense of Place

Xeriscaping (gardening with minimal supplemental water) does not require native plants.  In fact, most xeriscaping plant lists include few natives, because people don't know how to grow them.  I chose natives because they create a sense of place in my tiny garden.  The look and scents of my garden remind me of the Bay Area hills where I spent magical summers in my childhood, and the coastal hills between Irvine and Laguna where I love to hike and explore.

I don't want to replicate those places exactly; they are too barren in the summer season, and their flowers are too spare in too short a season.  But a few plants set the mood.  

CA Poppy has a place: between Island
Snapdragon and 'Centennial' Ceanothus.

• My number one mood-setter is California Bay Laurel.  Its pungent scent sends me back to the canyons of the Monte Bello where I escaped as a teenager from sterile suburbia.  My little laurel has yet to become a proper tree, but it still smells amazing.
• California poppies are iconic.   But be advised that in a native garden, they come and go on their own whim.  Toss a packet of seed out and see what happens.
• California Sagebrush is the sweet spice that envelops you in spring when you hike on the bluff above Crystal Cove.  There is no fragrance on earth more divine (in my opinion.) Be forewarned: the named cultivars don't smell quite as wonderful.
• Seaside Daisies let you fantasize that you have that beachfront home you can't afford.
• A well-placed Dudleya or two gives the feel of a steep shady canyon.
• And of course Manzanita and Ceanothus say California like little else (to those in the know.)

If you want to learn more about these plants, stay tuned.  If you can't wait, check out the Las Pilitas plant guide.  What are your favorite plants for creating a sense of place?

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