Common name:Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat
Botanical name:Eriogonum arborescens
Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat is a loosely branched shrub growing 2'-5' high and wide with shredding, gray to reddish colored bark, grayish foliage, and creamy pink spring flowers. It is a CA native, drought tolerant, attracts butterflies and beneficial insects. - Cornflower Farms.
Common name:Woolly Blue Curls
Botanical name:Trichostema lanatum
The Woolly Blue Curls is an evergreen shrub that reaches 3'-5' high. It has an open branching habit and has long stalks of brilliant purple woolly flowers in the spring and summer. This shrub is native to California, is drought tolerant, and attracts hummingbirds. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Coast Live Oak
Botanical name:Quercus agrifolia
The Coast Live Oak is an evergreen round headed tree. It can reach 15'-40' high and 20' wide; it grows very well from the coastal areas to the interior valleys. It is native to California, is drought tolerant, and attracts butterflies. -Cornflower Farms
Common name:Pine Hill Flannel Bush
Botanical name:Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumb
Pine Hill Flannel Bush is a mounding evergreen shrub that grows 3' tall and 6' wide. It has soft, dark green leaves and produce spring blooms ranging from red to yellow. It is drought tolerant but needs well draining soil. It prefers full sun. This shrub is a California native that is endangered and therefore rare.
Common name:California Sycamore
Botanical name:Platanus racemosa
The California Sycamore is a fast growing deciduous tree that reaches up to 40'-50' high. It tolerates heat, smog, as well as moist conditions; it is native to riparian areas. It can be drought tolerant once it's established if there is a high water table. It has interesting mottled bark when the tree is bare in winter. Leaves in fall are gold, red and orange, creating litter. It is beautiful all year round.
Common name:Sundrops
Botanical name:Calylophus hartwegii
This low-growing perennial grows 2' x 3' and has woody stems with bright green leaves. It produces large, lemon yellow flowers that are up to 4" across and bloom spring through summer.
Designer: Rancho Santa Ana Bot. Garden | Native Road Home |
Photographer: GardenSoft |
Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.
Mulching and adding compost to soil can minimize evaporation and help soil absorb and store water.
Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.