California Native Archives - Summer-Dry | Celebrate Plants in Summer-Dry Gardens

17 05, 2024

Hummingbird Sage

Hummingbird Sage

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:38:02-07:00Categories: Blog, perennials, California Native, Nora Harlow|Tags: california native, nora harlow, ground covers, perennials|

Blooming from early spring well into summer, hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is an easy and adaptable plant for summer-dry climates. This low, slowly spreading sage accepts sun or shade, almost any reasonably drained soil, and moderate, occasional, or no summer watering. It is an especially good candidate for dry shade. Salvia spathacea in flower in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Hummingbird sage is endemic to central and southern California, commonly found in sunny or shaded spots among oak woodland, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub in foothills and valleys not far from the coast. Summer-dormant if grown dry,

16 03, 2024

Ceanothus ‘Valley Violet’

Ceanothus ‘Valley Violet’

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:38:00-07:00Categories: Blog, Garden Plants, groundcovers, California Native, Nora Harlow|Tags: california native, nora harlow, ground covers|

If you are looking for a groundcover that blooms reliably and profusely in early spring, looks good year-round with no cutting back, needs little or no supplemental water, is dense enough to keep down weeds, and is generally ignored by deer, you can hardly do better than Ceanothus ‘Valley Violet’. Its only requirements seem to be good drainage and just the right amount of sun. Ceanothus maritimus ‘Valley Violet’ at the University of California, Davis, Arboretum This is a selection of Ceanothus maritimus, which is endemic to coastal hills and bluffs in San Luis Obispo County, California. The

23 01, 2024

Some Mild-Winter Summer-Dry Sumacs

Some Mild-Winter Summer-Dry Sumacs

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:37:57-07:00Categories: Blog, shrubs, California Native, Nora Harlow|Tags: california native, nora harlow, shrubs|

Sumacs are current or former members of the genus Rhus, notorious for those species that spread aggressively by suckers or by seed (e.g., staghorn sumac, African sumac) as well as for those that through mere touch can bring on a ferocious rash (poison ivy, poison oak). Yet there are well-behaved and beneficent sumacs too. Several of these are exceptionally fine shrubs native to mild-winter, summer-dry southern California, Mexico, and parts of the American southwest. Unlike most sumacs, these are evergreen. Rhus integrifolia, lemonadeberry or lemonade sumac Rhus integrifolia, lemonadeberry or lemonade sumac, is 8-10 feet tall and

5 10, 2023

Seaside Daisy

Seaside Daisy

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:37:53-07:00Categories: Blog, perennials, California Native, Nora Harlow, subshrubs|Tags: california native, nora harlow, perennials, subshrubs|

Erigeron glaucus, the aptly named seaside daisy, is an herbaceous perennial or subshrub with composite flowerheads that blanket the plant from spring into fall. Native to coastal bluffs and dunes from northern Oregon south to Santa Barbara County, California, its flowers are wildly popular with bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Erigeron glaucus (seaside daisy) The species is somewhat variable. Habit ranges from a nearly flat mat to a mound more than two feet tall. The semi-succulent leaves can be grayish green, dark green, or bright green and broadly lance-shaped to oval, spoon-shaped, or spatulate, often with wavy

14 01, 2023

Ferns for Summer-Dry Climates

Ferns for Summer-Dry Climates

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:37:43-07:00Categories: Blog, California Native, Nora Harlow, ferns|Tags: california native, nora harlow, ferns|

Guaranteed to lift your spirits on the dreariest of winter days, summer-dormant Polypodium californicum (California polypody) appears suddenly with the first fall rains, remains a lustrous bright green until mid-spring, and then just as suddenly dies back to the ground leaving barely a trace. Polypodium californicum in University of California, Berkeley, Botanical Garden Native to coastal California and northern Baja California, Polypodium californicum is usually found in shaded canyons, on streambanks and north-facing slopes, and on rocky cliffs and bluffs within or near the summer-fog zone. A volunteer in my northern California garden, it has reappeared reliably

12 07, 2022

Island Morning Glory

Island Morning Glory

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:33:23-07:00Categories: Blog, vines, California Native, Nora Harlow|Tags: california native, nora harlow, vine|

There aren't many vines native to California, and few are truly evergreen. Fewer still are both evergreen and vigorous enough to cover a good-sized arbor or trellis. Calystegia macrostegia (coastal or island morning glory) is one that really fills the bill. It may drop leaves in summer if grown dry, but a little supplemental water or summer fog is enough to keep it green and growing near the coast. And vigorous? You may have to hold it back. Widely flaring flowers of Calystegia macrostegia tend to close by late afternoon or on cloudy days. The species is

29 06, 2022

Shrubby Tanoak

Shrubby Tanoak

Nora Harlow2024-06-27T19:33:22-07:00Categories: Blog, trees, shrubs, California Native, Nora Harlow|Tags: california native, nora harlow, trees, shrubs|

Tanoak or tanbark oak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. densiflorus) is a large evergreen tree with deep green, leathery, oblong leaves with prominent veins, sometimes wavy edges, and often toothed margins. The small, creamy white, late-spring flowers are held in showy clusters of narrow, stiffly upright or outstretched catkins. The leaves and flowers resemble those of American chestnut (Castanea americana) and the fruit is an oaklike acorn with a shallow, bristly cap. New leaves of shrubby tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus var. echinoides) Tanoaks are interesting and attractive at all times of year, but they are quite slow growing and they eventually