And yet those natives just keep getting better and better. Sorry if it sounds like climate bragging, but winter is our season of rebirth here in coastal northern California, and things are just jumping. I've already seen the first Califoria poppies blooming, (along with seeding a whole hillside of them on this latest spec home landscape), and shrubs like the Silk Tassle, Garrya elliptica are looking fantastic right now with their long dangling earrings of white tassles against verdant green foliage. The first of the Ceanothus/California lilacs are also popping, and I have been munching on the Miner's Lettuce, a local native that can actually be kind of weedy in a garden setting, for weeks now. The flowering season will just continue to get more and more colorful through about the end of April, and the Baby Blue Eyes and several species of Clarkia I planted out from 4 inch pots from Annie's Annuals here in Richmond back in December are already bursting into bloom as well. The real possibility of severe water rationing starting later this spring is still threatening us locally, but we even have some 2 days of rains forecast to hit tomorrow, ending this unseasonably warm spell with low 70'sF here in Berkeley. I spent the day up in Sonoma County yesterday wholesale nursery shopping, and enjoyed the scenery immensely, especially the green hillsides with the massive Valley Oaks dotted here and there. I must say, a lot of the Coast Redwoods planted along the Hwy 101 freeway medians did look rather stressed out from several subpar rainfall years, but those redwoods that had planted themselves did not appear to be suffering. The first of the flowering plums are also bursting out in bloom here, as well as all the non-native Acacia dealbata and many varieties of Magnolia soulangeana, M. denudata, M. stellata, etc. The first of the South African Leucadendrons are also getting ready to pump up the volume as well. It sure would be tough to be looking out at gray skies and dirty snow and below freezing temps in comparison to our local conditions, but then again, it isn't exactly tropical swimming in the ocean weather here either, but all in all, a gorgeous California winter's day, and the promise of some much needed rains. And I can't get too worked up about nurseries pigging back on this thread to self-promote, even if it is prohibited. I understand the underlying sense of feeling a bit desperate, what with the slow down in spending, but come on! Be a little more subtle about how you do it, and I bet it would be more successful! It does seem to show that there is no one doing what Spike used to do with yanking threads into the ether...

Have you tried the California Native Plant Society? They have a chapter in Sacramento, and it looks like lots of activities. You might also search for "riparian" plants, that might narrow your search results. Here is a link that might be useful: Calif. Native Plant society, Sacto chapter

I recently purchased Optunia Polyacantha, Optunia Ymochila and Euphorbia Myrsinites at Rice Creek Gardens http://ricecreekgardens.com/ Rice Creek has a wide variety of succulents. You can order Opuntia fragilis and O. Humifusa from Prairie Moon Nursery I have also purchased succulents from http://www.tangletowngardens.com/ I haven't been there yet, but Highland Nursery has been reported to have a good variety of succulents as well. I would be surprised if Opuntia and Euphorbias would show above the snow for winter interest. Opuntia survive the cold winter by loosing the water in them and end up looking dead in the spring until they have re-hydrated themselves. I am a big fan of succulents. Here is a link that might be useful: Prairie Moon Nursery

THANK You for that web site information, brandon7. I just went ot see the site. There is a button at the top of the Earth Fest home page"SPECIAL EVENTS". Click on that to get information about the GREEN BIG TOP sponsored by Ijams Nature Cnter. The statement says they will have a seed swap...a plant holding area, and more Earth Fest is a FREE event.