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Making the Leap from Lawn toNative Garden: Creating a
Xeriscape in a Coastal Desert
Cheryl StewartJuly 2010
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W hy Go Native?W ater conservation native plants evolved to
make the best use of existing water and watercycles.
Indigenous birds, butterflies, and bees native plants provide habitat for nativeanimals.Low maintenance though not no
maintenance, native gardens can be lesslabor-intensive and ultimately more costeffective than immigrant gardens.Beauty native plants suit the environment
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W here to StartDepending upon where you live, native gardens may behard to find, but they are worth the search!
Botanic GardensBooksNurseries
Clubs & AssociationsLocal Colleges & Universities
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Botanical GardensA local botanical garden that has a native plant section isprobably the best place to start.In Southern California, we are lucky to have manyexamples of native gardens:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and BotanicalGardens (San Marino) http://www.huntington.org/default.aspx
Fullerton Arboretum (Fullerton)http://fullertonarboretum.org/home.php
Southern California Botanical Gardens (online list)http://www.letsgoseeit.com/index/category/gardens.htm
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BooksSo many good books on this subject, but two
essentials for southern California are:Van Atta, Susan. The Southern California
Native Flower Garden; A Guide to Size,Bloom, Foliage, Color, and Texture. SaltLake City:Gibbs Smith. 2009
Brenzel, Kathleen Norris ed. Sunset WesternGarden Book. Menlo Park: SunsetPublishing. 2007.
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NurseriesNurseries that specialize in native California plants are:
Las Pilitas Nursery3232 Las Pilitas RdSanta Margarita, Ca 93453Phone 805.438.5992Fax 805.438.5993
The Tree of Life Nursery33201 Ortega HighwaySan Juan Capistrano CA 92675
Phone 949.728.0685Fax949.728.0509
PlantNative (online list of nurseries in California)http://www.plantnative.org/nd_ca.htm
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Clubs & AssociationsOrganizations dedicated to native plantsabound. There are local, regional, andspecialty groups everywhere. For helpgetting started, check with:
California Native Plant Society - http://cnps.org/
Wildscaping - http://www.wildscaping.com/index.htm
California Botanical Society - http://www.calbotsoc.org/
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Local Colleges & Universities
In southern California we have:
Golden W est College (Huntington Beach) --http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/garden/
California State University Fullerton(Fullerton) http://fullertonarboretum.org/home.php
Claremont Graduate University (Claremont) -
- http://www.rsabg.org/graduate-program
UCI Arboretum and Gene Bank (Irvine) --http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/arboretum/
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How Does My Garden Grow?I live in an area that is an ancient coastal flood plain with elements of chaparral, desert, and Mediterranean environments. Year-round ourweather is fairly mild; temperatures rarely exceed 100 or fall below 50W e live a mile from the ocean but often experience multi-year droughtconditions.
For 26 years I maintained a lawn in both the front and back yards. Thelawn was comprised of equal parts crab grass and weeds. Duringdroughts, the expanse would be brown and brittle. During rains, it wouldbe lush for about a week.
I have always wanted a non-traditional garden, but had neither the timenor money to install and maintain a stately, formal garden. After a good
deal of research, I discovered that I could have the garden I of mydreams! W hile the initial cost would be relatively steep, the cost of installation and maintenance over the life of the native garden would bevery affordable. It would have the added benefit of being water-wise,which in the land of frequent droughts is a very great benefit.
Here are photos of my native plant garden today
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D endromecon rigida Bush poppy
Penstemon heterophyllus purdyi
Blue penstemon California golden poppy
Arctostphylos -- Manzanita
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Lupinus chamissonis Dune lupine
California wildflower mix
Festuca glauca Blue fescue
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I shopped with the following criteria in mind:
full sun, low water requirementsverified native southern coastal California plantultimate size/dimensions of mature plantblooming seasonbeauty and/or unique charactercolor and foliage varietychild- and pet- friendliness (no spikes, spines, poisons, etc.)cost
A few things I should have asked about:
invasiveness of plantsusceptibility to infestation or infectioninherent messiness
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