There are so many that I like. I favor drought tolerant/heat tolerant plants that like conditions as they are in my garden, with little to no soil amendments or fertilizer, and onlly light watering. That means plenty of California natives thrive, along with my many species roses and European/Middle Eastern origin roses. A number of these plants, both roses and others, want to go summer dormant (and if watered and/or fertilized then they won't be able to rest and often will not flower the next year) as they would naturally in the areas where they are native. Of course this kind of care goes against the grain with lots of rose gardeners in mediterranean climate areas like mine, who are then surprised that roses in these classes won't bloom for them. Salvias are in general wonderful here. Salvia 'Celestial Blue' is a CA native and has the most gorgeous blue flowers. No pictures I've seen online truly capture the stunning color. Foliage is silvery and smells heavenly. Likes full sun, lean soil, and little to no summer water. Salvia dorrii 'Gayle Nielson'. CA native. Desert sage. Foliage is silvery grey green and delightfully scented. Heat tolerant and surprisingly shade tolerant too. Winter bloomer. Has pale lavender flowers. Since it is from the desert where sporadic rainfall may occur, this plant likes a few drinks in the summer. Salvia mohavensis. CA native. Newly-planted baby plants last month. I had to wait nearly a year to get them from a specialty grower. Mine haven't bloomed yet but the pictures online show small charming blue flowers. Salvia namaensis. Native to South Africa. Has delicate lacy, crimped leaves which are deceptive because this plant is as tough as nails. Extremely heat and drought tolerant. It has lovely small pale lavender blue flowers and blooms almost year round. I have never fertilized it and rarely water now that it is established. My soil is very sandy loam and quite lean. Salvia spathacea 'Avis Keedy' (yellow flowers) and 'Powerline Pink'. Both are very shade tolerant and actually need some shade and summer water (not a lot). Powerline Pink in particular has especially yummy smelling foliage (lemony sagey scent). Various Salvia greggii and Salvia jamensis or crosses of either or both. Including Salvia 'Hot Lips' (red and white or combination flowers), Salvia 'Elk White Ice' (pure white flowers, heavy bloomer in 90+ degree heat), Salvia 'Elk Lemon Light' (beautiful clear yellow flowers and bright green foliage, nice bushy shape, blooms well in high heat), Salvia 'Mesa Azure' (striking purplish blue flowers, heat and shade tolerant, stays bushy, branches stay flexible rather than going woody and brittle, long bloom period), Salvia 'Teresa' (prolific bloomer, very bushy, lush foliage a nice shade of green, heat and drought tolerant, pretty white flowers touched with pink), and Salvia 'Moonlight' (pale yellow flowers, shade tolerant, heat tolerant, stays small). Ceanothus. My favorites include C. spinosus (almost lime green stems and trunk, yep prickly spines, will tolerate some shade, dislikes summer water, grows quickly, pretty blue flowers, bushy), C. cyaneus (aka lakeside ceanothus, absolutely gorgeous 'cyan' blue flowers, wants to be a small tree, grows fast, likes some shade, will tolerate some summer water, very nice foliage, scented flowers), C. 'Lemon Ice' (variagated yellow and green foliage, blue flowers, will tolerate some shade and summer water, small to moderate sized shrub), C. 'El Dorado' (very similar to Lemon Ice, too new to comment on ultimate size), C. 'Diamond Heights' (groundcover!, needs some shade in high heat areas, variagated foliage, small blue flowers), C. 'Arroyo de la Cruz' (bushy and low growing, mine is in a huge pot in partial shade, and seems quite happy, small foliage, gets water once or twice a month in summer), C. arboreus (very fast growing, somewhat shade tolerant, will be a tree, does not like summer water). Mimulus, aka monkey flowers! I recently planted 2 and am closely watching their progress. So far they have bloomed heavily and appear to be settling in for the worst of the summer heat. I have M. aurantiacus (sticky monkey flower, peachy color flowers) and M. aurantiacus 'Buttercup' (orangey flowers, which I usually don't like, but I do this one). Eriogonum. Wild buckwheat. CA native. I have 3 different kinds, all very drought tolerant. E. fasciculatum 'Dana Point' (has the nicest foliage and prettiest flowers (snow white in color) of all the fasciculatums I've seen--has been smashed multiple times by my big dogs and keeps on growing!), E. parvifolium (seacliff buckwheat, mine has white flowers, but some, depending on grower and where they collected their mother plants, have pinkish flowers), and Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum ‘Shasta Sulfur’ (very low growing, bright yellow flowers). Miscellaneous CA natives: Asclepias fascicularis (narrow leaf milkweed, very attractive foliage, food source for Monarch butterfly caterpillars) Erysimum menziesii (menzies wallflower, in a pot and very happy) Monardella antonina (coyote mint) Monardella odoratissima Monardella 'Russian River' Isocoma menziesii (golden bush) Penstemon 'Margarita BOP' Penstemon grinnellii Penstemon 'Electric Blue' Penstemon azureus Penstemon spectabilis Lotus scoparius (deerweed, nitrogen-fixer, yellow flowers) Olneya tesota (ironwood, a nurse plant as it is a nitrogen-fixer, eventually a small tree, but so slow growing that will take many years, now a tiny shrub, gets small pea-like violet flowers) Helianthemum scoparium (the only CA native rockrose/sunrose, bright yellow flowers) Lonicera subspicata (southern honeysuckle, likes to grow in chaparral, white and pale yellow flowers) Arctostaphylos purissima 'Vandenberg' (a groundcover manzanita with fuzzy white hairs on the stems and snowy white flowers--needs afternoon shade in hot inland areas) Not a shrub, but I have interplanted with them multiple of the CA native, sun-loving, and very drought tolerant grass Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' (eyebrow grass, and the "eyebrows" are blonde). It's a very feathery and delicate looking grass, really lightens an area. Photo is of Salvia namaensis. Melissa This post was edited by Tessiess on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 18:26

Hi all, Sorry this is a double post from the orchid exchange, but I didn't know where to put it. Would anyone be interested in pollinating some native orchids in your yard (or in your pots) and doing some sort of trade later this fall when the pods are ready? The exchanges I'm thinking of are very negotiable and are on the lines one of the following. 1.) NON-NATIVE: I have a few small tropical orchids which I will happily trade to get a large pod or two worth of hardy orchid seed. 2.) NON-NATIVE: For those interested in flasking, I have 15 pods of Phaius bernaysii, (and I only need half of one), as well as a few pods of Bletilla striata, hopefully several Bletilla formosama, a single Pleione bulbocodioides, conceivably some Epi radicans if there was interest. 3.) NATIVE TRADE: I will delightfully take your seed, and if it germinates and grows into seedlings, I will send you a percentage of the seedlings (30% maybe) in one and a half years when they're ready. Of course, please only respond if the plants are on your property: Illegal removal of parts of orchids from parks etc is bad. I will consider any native hardy seed species, except for Cypripedium acaule, the pink lady slipper unless you choose option #3, (don't expect much in return, though), because it's too hard to germinate. Those genera that I am particularly looking for are cypripedium, calypso, pogonia, platanthera, habenaria, calopogon, arethusa, epipactis gigantea, galearis spectabilis, and triphora trianthophora. By the way, if you need help pollinating some orchids, I can help. I also have an excellent essay on the pollination of Cypripedium by Camiel F DeJong that he has posted on the internet for private use. This is for my private research and learning. It is of great interest to me, but It is in the interest of $$ that I don't pay $6 a packet at the Orchid Seedbank Project, as wonderful as it is. Any interest? Ross

Steven, no wonder Chrysler Imperial is such a classic and still actively sold. Yours looks great, and I hope it has a good year, too. Do you overwinter it in the garage, or a greenhouse? Have you checked out Cori Ann's CI on the seasonal thread? She has two and the original one, her in laws' rose, is probably 50+ years old. It grows in her front yard and the !@#$ deer ate the buds off it. Her newer (own Root, I believe) CI has the most humongous bud I've ever seen. That's California, of course. Please keep us apprised of your roses' seasonal progress. Your weather challenges are even greater than ours (though we beat you out on lack of rain in the desert). I respect your great attitude about rose gardening under less than perfect conditions. Happy spring to you (and everyone), too. Diane

Winners for games: BINGO was Suzanne Old songs was Ruth.............. some super good choices and I enjoyed trying to hum almost all of the tunes I am enjoying the summer simple recipes and have a definite favorite. Today is the last day to vote if you have a favorite too. Heidi, sounds like a super fun package No bonus points to Ruth for sticking to "three" but I bet the extra surprises were "Worth IT" I have been growing Black Pearl Peppers as ornamentals for a couple years. Never tasted them but a man was selling plants at the farmers market and he says they are "Super Hot". If you try them, let us know