Layia platyglossa, TIDYTIPS. Joe

Very exciting that you've decided to undertake a CA native, low water garden! Do you know what exposure your new plants will get? (N, S, E, W?) That's important in helping you decide which ones to plant. Many CA natives will appreciate full sun. I'm assuming you have well-draining soil? They say to dig a hole 1' x 1' and fill it with water from the hose. Watch how long it takes to drain to determine if your soil drains well or if it's thick like clay. You'll want to know this information, too, when you go to Las Pilitas to select your plants. You'll want to think about what you have in mind and what your goals are. Color? Hummingbirds and butterflies? Scent? Do you prefer succulents? Try to go on a garden tour to pick up some inspiration. The books recommended above are great. It simply takes time to learn the names of the plants you like. Just keep reading and looking at photos online. And remember to give each plant plenty of space when you put them in the ground. Respect the space requirements! (I learned that lesson the hard way!) Salvias= sages Ceanothus = California lilacs Arctostaphylos = manzanita Those are pretty popular broad categories for some interesting CA natives if you like flowering plants. A good place to start, in my opinion :)

The rose garden is beautiful and full of blooms. Please come by and visit Saturday morning before it gets above 80 :). Free. No admission price; however donations gladly accepted.

Hey dr, I am confused by our ceanothus. I took several 8 inch woody cuttings of all three varieties that we have (concha, skylark, and yankee point) and at first they seemed okay. I put them in moist soil covered with a plastic tent. Well, they all failed after a few weeks but one - one of the conchas - and it still looks as happy as the day I cut it. Which was two months ago, but it hasn't even hinted at roots yet. I have also tried rooting small cuttings of these three. Like 3 inch cuttings without much woodiness in the stem. It's too soon to say whether those will root or not. No attempts to root our manzanita, though we are talking of pruning them and I may put some in water or something to see what happens. Our ribes cuttings looks like they will take hold. As for seeds vs cuttings --- I suspect that when I get the knack of propagating by cutting I will be a convert. In the meantime I really enjoy finding seed pods on some roadside plant, and harvesting the seed. The plant ID process is fun too. Several of the seeds I have are from dried up seed pods on a park specimen of this or that - and I have enjoyed learning the species names of the common plants around here. There is uncertainty about traits breeding true, I suppose, though for some species there seems to be only one variety around so it wouldn't seem to be a concern. Anyway, good talking to you! patty