Natives in the garden Natives in the garden (October 22, 2004)

Many varieties are attractive and drought-resistant

By Janet Bell

With increased availability and more information on water-saving garden solutions, many homeowners are drawn to using California natives and native-type plants in the garden. Local garden centers and growers offer many varieties that are developed to be more garden-friendly.

As a landscape designer who enjoys unusual species and flowers in the garden, I have experimented with quite a few over the last few years. While it's impossible to name all of those that will add interest to your garden, the following are some plants I've found to be wonderful additions.

TREES: Acer circinatum, 'Vining Maple,' is a deciduous small tree/large shrub that provides a nice backdrop for your garden and beautiful autumn color. Cercocarpus betuloides, 'Mountain Mahogany,' an evergreen small tree/large shrub, has very interesting small leaves that look finely folded, with long, feathery plumes that emerge in the autumn. Lyonothamnus floribundus 'Catalina Ironwood,' is an evergreen tree with peeling red/brown bark and very delicate, lobed leaves. It grows to be a stately tree, over 25 feet tall.

SHRUBS: Cornus stolonifera 'Redtwig Dogwood,' provides dramatic red stems after dropping its leaves for the winter; Garrya ellyptica 'Coast Silktassel,' grows to be a 10-foot-plus evergreen shrub or small tree. Its special feature is its long tassel-like clustered flowers that show in the winter -- be sure you get a variety that features the longer flowers.

Rhododendron occidentale is a deciduous Azalea-type that can be fragrant and brightly colored, worth the wait through the bare winter months. If you're interested in attracting birds to your garden, Ribes sanguineum 'Pink Winter Currant,' which has a number of varieties with flowers from white to pinks to reds, or Ribes speciosum 'Fuchsia-flowering Gooseberry,' are good choices.

PERENNIALS: Aquilegia formosa 'Western Colombine,' sports a rosy/yellow upside-down bloom. In a recent installation, they grew to three-and-a-half feet tall and were quite a show for two months in the springtime. There are many varieties of Eriogonum, or 'Wild Buckwheat,' which are very pretty in the garden.

Eriog. grande rubescens has clumping grey/green foliage with clusters of rosy flowers on 12-inch spikes. Eriog. arborescens grows to three to four feet high and four feet wide and has peeling, open branches with clusters of pink to rose flowers, late spring through summer.

Heuchera maxima 'Island Alum Root,' has clumping foliage and larger leaves than the coral bells that most are used to. Its flower stalks are topped with small whitish/pinkish flowers.

One of my favorites for color in the garden is Mimulus aurantiacus 'Sticky Monkey Flower,' which comes in a variety of colors -- white, yellow, orange to salmon and maroon. The plants are about a foot tall and up to three feet wide with flowers that are about two inches. If deadheaded, they will bloom throughout the year (including the winter).

I use Salvias, or sages, in many of the gardens I design, as there are so many varieties that add color, texture and scent. Of the native varieties, Salvia clevelandii 'Cleveland Blue Sage' has named varieties 'Winnifred Gilman' and 'Allen Chickering,' which grow to over four feet and sport violet to lavender flower whorls and gray-green foliage. Salvia leucophylla 'Purple Sage' also grows to about four feet, with lighter gray, fuzzy leaves.'Hummingbird sage,' Salvia spathacea, sports round whorls of magenta flowers w/maroon bracts, one-and-a-half feet above its hairy, light-green leaves, which mass to 3 feet wide. For more information about this wonderful plant family, try "The New Book of Salvias," by our local Salvia expert, Betsy Clebsch.

There are many blue-flowering garden plants, but one of the best natives is Trichostema lanatum 'Woolly Blue Curls.' The flower clusters on stalks can grow more than four feet high, with narrow, dark-green foliage (white and fuzzy underside) below. 'California Fuscia,' Epilobium canum (or Zauschneria californica), which comes in whites to pinks but is most well-known for the orange flowering variety. The foliage is typically gray-green and can be brittle, but the plants come back quickly and tend to bloom throughout the summer.

GRASSES: There are many types of grasses that can add texture and movement to your garden. Sisyrinchium bellum is in the Iris family, but has a fine grassy texture with a small blue flower, hence the common name 'Blue-eyed grass.' Bouteloua gracilis 'Mosquito grass,' grows about one-and-a-half feet tall and has an unusual bent flower that sways gracefully in a breeze.

Two native varieties of Festuca -- californica and idahoensis -- have narrow blue/green foliage. Californica is a little larger (growing two feet high and one-and-a-half feet wide), and both are more vigorous than the often-used Festuca glauca.

We have the opportunity in our area to spice up the garden palette with these wonderful plants, and I encourage experimentation. Try a few.

More information about some or all of these plants, as well as other native plants, can be found on the Internet, in Sunset's "Western Garden Book" or in a number of other books. The California Native Plant Society at cnps.org is a good general resource, and offers an annual spring self-guided tour of local residential landscapes that showcases native plants. A visit to Yerba Buena Nursery on Skyline Boulevard in Woodside to view natives in their demonstration garden or purchase them, or checking out their Web site at yerbabuenanursery.com, can be very informative. Annie's Annuals at anniesannuals.com is another of many local nurseries that include native plants in their offerings.

Janet Bell is the owner of Janet Bell & Associates, a local landscape design/construction/maintenance firm. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. She can be contacted at 328-3400 or jbgarden@pacbell.net.

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