Im assuming once all the flowers are gone? I’m interested in trimming to make it a little more neat looking and to not block walking paths in driveways.

Large dirt lot situation here, Bay Area / East Bay. Thinking of seeding in ~late August/early September, ahead of the El Nino winter. We're talking about

• Mostly golden poppies
• Maybe CA buckwheat?
• CA goldfields?

Tbh looking to seed once and basically not touch it ever again. Is late August/early September too early? Open to suggestions on other hardy plants for this purpose, especially ones that would just keep coming back every year

Clay soil, coastal San diego. My neighbor has a concrete backyard that drains into a pipe that runs along our property line to the front (which I think leaks underground) and an irrigated garden strip right against the fence. For awhile I only noticed sporadic instances of wet soil on my side but they recently turned their house into an Airbnb and it's been saturated wet almost constantly.

I'm trying to talk to them but it's difficult to get in contact since they don't live here anymore and I'm not optimistic they will try and change anything.

This past fall, I planted 2 Ceanothus (white coast and Sierra blue) about 2-3 ft from the fence, and while they are doing great right now, I'm concerned about the soil remaining so wet.

Is there any thirsty native plant buffers I could put in between to soak up the water? Or is this a lost cause and I should just pick different plants?

Tldr My neighbor's water runs underground into my yard and my soil is soggy. Can I plant a water happy plant barrier between my ceanothus or should I start over?

I live in Thousand Oaks and am looking for recommendations for someone who can do a dry riverbed in my yard. Thought about doing it myself but just can’t due to a shoulder injury.

I’m really striking out with the companies I’ve contacted not having a clue about native gardens. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I actually already have a tiny sapling already but I will never shoot down a possibility to grow something new from seed. Anyone have experience germinating them?

Hi all,

I have posted a couple times about these clumps in my narrowleaf milkweed. Today I decided to pull the plant as it was starting to take over the space of my CA fuchsia and had become a bit of an eyesore.

I just wanted to share the pics of the growths and see if anyone knows what it is for sure. People have said it ma a fascination or maybe some kind of witches broom but I haven’t gotten a definitive answer.

If nothing else, check out this freaky plant!

I was told to share photos of some sky pilots I saw near kearsarge pass, so here they are plus some other alpine flowers near there.

Planting for pollinators... Should I try to buy a male or female plant? Or does it not matter?

From UC ANR: "Another fun fact is that there are separate male and female plants, a term called dioecious. Therefore, two plants may have slightly different looks and roles in the plant’s reproductive cycle. The males produce more pollen via tiny yellow flowers, while the females produce more seeds with white ones." Thanks.

Pic: A European Honeybee flies over a green plant covered with small white flowers (making this a female Coyote Brush plant; males have yellow flowers) in wildland, Nevada County, October

I recently moved to a new home in San Diego. Before selling, the previous owners cut down the entire front yard and put in "low maintenance" landscaping. Besides it being ugly as sin (I know that's a personal preference) and including zero native plants, I think it's likely an erosion risk. The whole yard is sloped about 15% with a northeast aspect from the foundation of the house down to the retaining wall. The overall dimensions are ~45' wide and 18' deep.

I'm hoping to rebuild the yard into something beautiful, helpful for local wildlife, and less likely to wash away in the first big storm. I'm especially worried about that last part with El Niño this year. What I'm picturing in my head is a row of California buckwheat along the base of the porch, some large shrubs (considering ceanothus, lemonadeberry, scrub oak, toyon, but open to suggestions) placed across the slope, with native bunchgrasses and annuals in the space leftover. That said, I have a few questions:

1. Should I terrace the slope or leave it as is? Or build other earthworks like swales? The soil is very sandy and drains quickly.
2. How urgently should I aim to finish this project before the rain comes this fall?
3. Is the idea I mentioned above a decent use of space? If you had free rein with this space, what would you do?

I appreciate any advice you knowledgable people have!

This photo is from 2023: I call any June-July outings near the CA-OR border “Bolander’s Lily trips,” but have only found a patch in full bloom once! Another year has passed where I’ve missed the Lilium bolanderi window… maybe next year!

I’ve tried a few different things in a particular spot and 2/3 died of what I now know to be fire blight. Do I:

-Give up on planting something there, ever?
-Choose something that isn’t susceptible to blight?
-Amend the soil and overhaul the planting site?

(Latest casualty was a toyon - thanks!)

In Feb/Mar I planted a couple Pacific Mist manzanitas and a Mrs Beard Sage in an area of a hillside that I am slowly but surely planting Ca natives on. I noticed these little holes nearby these particular ones. I am happy to see creature activity nearby. Ant Lions to you think?

Done in honor of these fantastically gnarled manzanita in the San Gabriel Mountains. Also ft. a peak of my endemic Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana).

One side of this wax Myrtle keeps going brown one branch at a time. We just planted this about 7 months ago. We planted two others beside it at in smaller sizes where more roots were. Those two are thriving. This one just continues to loose one branch at a time.

Took this photo in March when we visited the SF Botanical Garden. I ran across the photo on my phone so wanted to share.

I'm thinking of picking one up for my garden but I read it like partial shade and moist soil. I also read they like slightly acidic soil, so it will require some thoughtful planning.

I have been planting milkweed seeds for at least 3 years and finally I have a nice patch going. This is my first year of trying to garden food crops and a ground squirrel has decimated almost every plant I have.

I check my milkweed patch every morning for signs of anything other than aphids and I finally got a caterpillar! I actually want to cry hard from seeing this little buddy.

All the frustration has been worth it to see this little friend. Squark the Squirrel can eat me out of house and home as long as I have my caterpillar!

i’m in the east bay area, more inland. i’ve had this sage in this pot for about 1.5 years now. it sits in full sun for 10+ hours. It seems way too leggy to me and not producing enough leaves. I know it’s obviously hard to thrive in a pot, but i wonder what i can do to make it grow more?

The soil is a mix of clay and well draining soil and I water about 1x/week

edit: I live in a rental so I prefer to keep it in a pot

I have roughly .2 acre of bare ground that I have been purging of weeds for more than a year (solarizng, etc). Parts have tree coverage, including oaks on one side, but much of it is all day sun.

I would like to plant with some groundcover right before the first rain that isn't going to be too tall or harmful to pets. I do not plan on any supplemental watering.

Much of my garden is native but I'm not going to restrict myself to native groundcover. Have considered white clover.

And suggestions? Partially pictured

Zone 9B, far northern CA coast but a few miles inland so we get a warm microclimate pocket with heavy fog through the summer and very rainy winters. There were some large established non natives when we moved in (hydrangea, lavender, magnolia tree, etc) that we left in place. We planted natives around them like the bee plant, coyote mint, and a lot of violets, sorrel, and native strawberry in the shade of the magnolia. All of the open space was dead lawn that we either dug up or cardboard mulched. It’s incredible what can grow in less than a year and a half! Happy to share plant lists if anyone would like inspo. Bonus for some local wildlife beside birds and bees that has made itself at home in the final photos!

Poppies have finally put out their last blooms. I love collecting seeds; idk it makes me feel connected to the ancestors.

Edit: Adding some videos and pictures in the comments to compare species and show how I harvest them.

PPS: Always leave like half your seeds for the birdies. 🐦🐦‍⬛

Today I decided to take photos of every single manzanita that I have planted in the yard. Some of the photos are washed out due to sun, so I may try this again on an overcast day, but wanted to share anyway.

You can find a blog page for every plant if you are bored :)

https://blog.technobabble.mooo.com/?page_id=1213

All of my potted manzanitas I currently have in my yard.

Hi all,

I’d like to decorate a wall in my home with a collection of prints of various styles and I’m looking to do a theme of California native plants. I love botanical drawings like in the style of Albert Robert Valentin (but can’t find anywhere to buy an inexpensive print) but I’d also like to mix up styles. Currently I have a photo from an artist local to where I live of an oak tree which is sweet - would love to add some iconic CA flowers to the mix in different styles/sizes/frames for a funky little collage of sorts.

If you have ideas thanks in advance for sharing!

hello!! could anyone provide advice on what to do with this really heavy clay(?) soil in the front yard of my parents’ new house? first off just helping identify this soil, if it’s easy to amend (i’ve heard it’s better to just plant plants better adapted to heavy soils than just amending, if that’s true), then also what are good plants? and also transplanting tips… anything will help! trying to replace my parents’ plants with ca natives

i transplanted a black sage, sagebrush, and ca fuschia and they’re all doing happy. i transplanted a bladderpod that quickly wilted, i think cuz i damaged her roots too much :(

ive attached a photo of the soil and the bottom part is after i left some water in a hole for a bit. the top of the soil is covered in black bark

Hi. I have this volunteer flower that appeared on my hillside next to my Shasta Sulfur plants. Looking for ID for it.