Ray and Linda, I have five or six different hostas and will bring you some, but, alas, I don't know all the names....perhaps you can identify? they have all been in my garden for 3-5 years and have no disease. Because we have so much shade I have gone for the variegated and more yellow hostas, but have also taken pieces of Giant Hosta to fill out some areas. I would be happy to try any of your pond plants ( my husband has 3 different ponds), but not your "around the pond plants". I think I have hat covered Lisa

midwesterner, That's great that you're taking so many actions to help native plant species. I've only done a small subset. I do end up discussing the topic of the problems invasive plants cause and the benefits of native plants with various people I know. I knew so little about these topics until about 7 years ago, and find many people are still unaware about them. Many times the attitude people have is that they still want their pretty flowers and don't care about other effects, but many times I think I at least get people to consider these things. I also do the research for friends and family when they're thinking of adding to their garden. Sometimes if they're considering an invasive plant I'm able to come up with a native or at least non-invasive alternative for them, that will serve as well. Many times I think I end up doing the research with no result other than my learning a bit more, but sometimes it does make a difference to what ends up getting planted. I became interested in native plants by way of my interest in wildlife gardening. Native butterflies and birds are often more interesting to people than native plants at first, and making people aware of the importance of native plants to wildlife is one way to spark an interest in natives. I know that was the case for both me and one of my SILs. Years ago if I had been told that I'd probably attract hummingbirds to my yard if I planted some Monarda didyma (bee balm) I would have done it in a minute. I also try to get people to read "Noah's Garden". It really made me realize I could have an effect by making some small changes in my yard. Our house is on a little bit more that a quarter acre in a mature suburb, but it is definitely a wildlife garden now, and a place that native plants have started showing up on their own.

LantanaTX, I think you should go ahead and rescue the plants you want. There is almost no chance that they will be valued or saved by the owner of the lot. I appreciate the fact that some members of this forum have had plants stolen from their future building lots, but keep in mind that there are very very few people who would notice or care - one in a million might be too high an estimate of our numbers. If land will be developed by a land developer or will become commercial property then most likely the entire lot will be cleared, and you can feel safe rescuing any plant you find. If the lots will be developed individually or by a developer who is saving some of the woods (if there are woods there now) then you might think twice about taking ALL of the plants near the edges of the lot (I'd still take some). Most people build their home somewhere near the center of the lot, and if they save woodlands will save some near the edges, near the back, or on steep hills or near a creek, for example. With a little imagination you can probably guess where the house will go, and take any plants that will be under or within 50 feet of the house. It is a rare property owner indeed who will rescue wildflowers from beneath the building site. If you think the plants might be spared by the developer (on a steep hill, for example) then take only some and leave some behind, but don't be surprised to find that even steep hill will be cleared and sodded. Keep in mind that for most species of plants you won't need to take all of the plant. Many wildflowers spread vegetatively to form clumps, or tend to appear from seed in clumps. Taking a few individuals or dividing a clump will allow you to take some and leave some behind. Other species can be started from seed. In many cases I find it is easier to transplant a small start from a large clump of wildflowers rather than try to move the whole clump. Other plants are best from seed. Indian Grass, for example could be divided, leaving most of the plants where they are, or you could collect seed. My bottom line is that it is very unlikely that any of the plants will survive the development of the property unless you remove them. If I could find some time to rescue some plants, then I would go ahead and do it and, rather than feel guilty about trespassing, I'd feel good for having saved something that would have been destroyed. Unlike April, I guess I am not the "ask permission" type. I wouldn't worry too much about finding endangered plants, since they are by definition quite rare, but keep in mind they do carry special legal protection.

Josue, thank you so much for your reply! I called the number you provided for master gardeners of San Diego. They returned my call a couple hours later and I spoke with a wonderful woman named Beverly. She told me to go ahead and plant my native plants, no top soil, no fertilizer. Terrace if I want to but suggested I could use some erosion control sheeting instead if it actually ends up raining in Southern California this year :o) For erosion control, she suggested doing a lot of ground cover mixed in with my larger native plants. I am going to go with a bunch of California meadow sedge (carex pansa) for ground cover. I will try to update this thread with some photos once my project is done. And then maybe some progress photos too.