1/13/06 - I finally made the plunge this week: landscaped our slope.  Well, ordered the plants at least.  All 3,245 square feet will be covered in California native plants.  I chose California native plants because I wanted plants that would do well in our environment: hot and little water.  What plants would do better than those that evolved in this area and are therefore perfectly content here?  (Did you know that over half of the typical residential water bill goes towards landscaping irrigation???)  While I love to garden, our lot is almost 10,000 square feet.  That's a lot of gardening and, being in the baby-making period of my life, I don't have a lot of time to dedicate.  Essentially, I want plants that can fend for themselves.  Basically, I want to plant them, and then I want them to grow and look pretty.  I don't want plants that require watering or any major maintenance.  In an area that boasts 43 centimeters of rain annually, one might think that we were limited to cacti and succulents.  But I found many beautiful plants that require virtually no attention from me once they are established. 

First, I looked up our zip code and found our "Plant Community" (ours are Coastal Sage Scrub and Southern Oak Woodland).  After learning about our Plant Communities, I reviewed the list of plants that are native to our area.  It was so easy.  I then clicked through the plants until I found ones that I liked.  For more information on native plants, why they are important, and how they make your life easier, check out the California Native Plant Society. 

Below is a mock-up of our slope.  Click on any of the plants to learn more information.  I ordered all of our plants online from Las Pilitas Nursery.  I love ordering plants on-line because you can do it at midnight, you don't have to dirty your car or make multiple trips, and if you have any questions, you can find whatever information you need in a second rather than finding some sales associate who has to ask someone else all the while your child is losing their mind and screaming in the aisle.  Oh, did I mention they have a larger selection as well? The local nurseries have a pathetic selection of California Native Plants. 

I have also order plants in the past from Mountain Valley Growers with great success but their plants come in 3 inch pots. Since we are dealing with a large space, I opted for Las Pilitas who uses 1 gallon pots.  I have also visited Sunshine Growers Wholesale Nursery which is a great place if you know exactly what you are looking for and can identify your plant by sight.  But if you are like me, and don't know much about plants, it just ends up being a long, hot day roaming.  At the Ontario location, not all plants are labeled and the employees are not tremendously helpful.  The Walnut location is a little better, but it's only two acres and they usually only have one person working.  So, rather than cruise through local nurseries that don't stock California native plants, I did my research and opted for the on-line route. 

Plant List (Quantity)

• Ceanothus oliganthus Pozo Rocket - 1

• Penstemon heterophyllus - 6

• Salvia Bee’s Bliss - 9

• Salvia brandegei - 4

• Salvia clevelandii - 7

• Salvia Gracias - 15

• Salvia mellifera - 7

• Salvia Mrs. Beard - 12

• Salvia Pozo Blue - 1
  
   

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