***FABULOUS*** I'm going to be putting in a very large bank of Calif. natives in about 2-3 weeks, and I can hardly wait. Your photos are so inspiring - they made me add several plants to my must-have list. In fact, I'm going to the U.C. Riverside plant sale on Saturday especially for natives (and other low-water plants) for my new garden. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

How long have these natives been in the garden? They look quite well-established. And how do you water them (if you do).

This is the best blooming year for ceanothus I have ever seen.I wish I knew something that could be done to cause this kind of bloom every year. Al

Oh, Wanda, your yard is SO beautiful! I love that Salvia 'Gracias'! Is that a clevelandii? Well, I love everything you have there, but I'm very partial to Salvias. :)

Thanks so much for sharing!

Brenda

Your yard is awesome!

Just beautiful, Wanda. The deer have eaten ALL of the flowers off of ALL my ceanothus!!!!!

I wish you were my next door neighbor--I just loved looking at your photos!!! BEAUTIFUL :-) I liked your Sphaeralcea munroa, I am not familiar w/that plant. Your redbud is gorgeous. I have several seedlings from seeds I was sent last year--one day I hope they are as gorgeous as yours.

Beautiful!! I also really love the Sphaeralcea munroa. I found information on Sphaeralcea munroana, but not Sphaeralcea munroa. Does munroana sound right? I'm adding it to the list for my blazing hot and dry front parking strip.

Looking at your photos, I have to wonder what your neighbors think of your yard, next to all their boring lawns. Yours is so much more fabulous.

Lusty

Oh! I wanted to ask you about your Clematis lasiantha. Does it bloom on old growth? The longest branch on mine is still less than 2 feet. It's looking very healthy, and managed to find a nearby post all on its own. I'm looking forward to it climbing up through the myrica californica as well.

awesome! awesome! :o) I intend to check out the Sphaeralcea munroa love that orange! Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you liked it. It was a lot of work and trial and error and I'm still making changes (adding a flagstone path this weekend).

Lusty, you are right, the proper spelling is S. munroana. I corrected it in the album. Thanks for catching it.
C. lasiantha is a group 1 (no pruning...unless you want to keep it in bounds or tidy it, then right after flowering) and blooms on old wood.

Susi, I started this project in 1998, so many of the plants are established. I rarely water in the summer with the exception of the Carpenteria. They seem to need more water.
I sometimes do a light watering in late August to wash the dust off and maybe again in September if it's really hot, but generally, they're on their own with only rain.

Brenda, 'Gracias' is a S. sonomensis x S. clevelandii hybrid.

Sorry about your Ceanothus, Tressa. That must be so disappointing. Darn Deer!

One year the deer ate about two feet off my Carmel Creeper ceanothus. The next year it bloomed better than ever. Al

Congrats on an outstanding garden - native plants are really fabulous. I've converted my grass to drought tolerant (natives and Aussie plants), and am now taking my trowel to the median strip, with 2 Metrosideros rapidly growing. Have you been able to keep dogs from fouling the plantings? Suggestions? ...diana

Gorgeous yard! I love that you replaced the suburban yard. :) I did the same, but I planted mostly edibles. :)

Beautiful yard, Wanda.

Well that was neat. Thank you for sharing, very inspiring. Of course you are in a warmer zone but I saw a few things we grow in common. I too really enjoyed your lawnless yard. I have been slowly but surely phasing out our grass for years now.

I bookmarked your photo album to check out more carefully later. Thanks again.

Kate

Beautiful yard! Love the coloring of the flowers and foliage on Sphaeralcea munroana. I've never seen one before, now I have to have it.

Wanda, or Anyone with expertise,
What do you think of the advice I have read that if there is significantly below average rainfall in the winter, you should provide supplemental water to native plants to make up for it? I read that if the rainfall is still way below average by late February, then you should water overhead for 6 hours once or twice a month from late February through April or May to simulate the rainfall that the plants depend on to make it through the summer and fall.

I did this once in March, using an oscillating sprinkler. I waited for cooler weather and started the sprinker in the early morning. I am planning to do it again very soon.
What do you think of this?

First off, I wish to apologize. The sphaeralcea "munroana" is actually Sphaeralcea ambigua.

LOL, Al! I also wanted to comment on your comment that you thought this was a good ceanothus-blooming year. I actually think mine were more intense in color and bloomed better last year when it was wet. They bloomed earlier and more blooms, however the blooms do seem to last longer than last year. Yet another variable is that I believe you had more rainfall than we did this year. A lot of the storms never reached this far south.

Diana, I had a few problems with dogs in the beginning. Most people in my neighborhood use leashes, but they would let the dogs come into my yard. They actually broke some plants. I labeled the plants for the garden tour and left the labels in. People seem a lot more respectful when they know it's actually a plant. Maybe labels would help, unless, of course, your have leashless dogs, then I guess a fence would be most efficient.

Buddyben, I haven't heard of that, but I did give my natives a little watering last month. Since this is their "growing season", they can certainly handle it, and they will look a little better and delay summer dormancy.

I would not water natives after the normal rainy season, May for us. The wet hot soil stimulates root diseases such as Armillaria, oak root fungus. Al

wanda, always wonderful to see your awesome front gardens! I am a big Ray Hartman Ceanothus fan and I love your trees. Mine has gotten so huge and blue, I want to show it to you guys! But my darn digital camera has gone nuts and I cant seem to get it to work the last couple of weeks to show you guys! anyways, thanks for the latest pics! very cool!

Wanda,

What a dynamite, awe-inspiring garden! I love the ceanothus concha especially and went to see if it was available at a local nursery. They didn't have concha but someone there said ceanothus is sensitive to microclimates and only some are good for our area. I live in Sacramento. Would your micro climate be similar to mine? Thanks, Marlene

Sorry about your camera, Skrip. Would love to see your Ceanothus!

Thank you, Huttnem. Our climates are similar, but different. You are hotter and drier in the summer and colder in the winter. I can't answer what Ceanothus would grow best in your area. Maybe someone else from your zone would know.
I have "pushed the envelope" here on some Ceanothus and other species, for instance giving some of the montane or coastal varieties some afternoon shade seems to keep them happy, while they fry in full sun.
Lots of info on the internet. Do a little surfing and maybe you can find a way..........

wanda