Landscaping
Help
Not
a clue about California native plants in the garden?
Great! They're really friendly,easy and simple to work with.
There are many myths passed over back fences about native plants. Most of the good ones are true, most of the bad ones are being spread by people who do not know how to grow native plants, but loudly claim they do.
For the most healthy and long-lived California native plants in your garden, DO these things as much as possible:
Surface Mulch 3-4" deep. Mulch can be shredded redwood or cedar bark, or oak or pine shreddings (great for most chaparral and oak woodland plants), rocks or boulders (great for most desert, valley grassland, and coastal prairie plants) etc. Do Not Use straw, hay, manure or treated wood products.
Kill as many weeds as possible. Disturb the soil as little as possible.
Plant plants that are appropriate for your location or that can be adapted within reason.
a.
Go to California native plants
and determine which plants are appropriate for your garden given
your rainfall, soil, and temperatures.
b. Or, even easier, Go to our plant picker and let us make you a list given your specific garden situation. We have software that will choose a list of plants for your yard. It will ask you how much you water, where you are going to plant etc. Be honest with your answers. If you are not going to water do not put that you'll water twice a week for four hours. If you're cheap and will not buy mulch, put that down. California native plants do not like summer water after the first season, if you enter much summer water expect to get few results
To put it all together in a beautiful landscape
Sort the plant list by size, put the lower plants in front and the higher plants in back. If your shade or water use varies much, you'll need to run the software for each section of the yard that is significantly different. In other words, the shade under an oak that you do not want to water will have a different plant list than the front walk, which is in full sun next to the lawn.
And last of all but very important:
Do not!!! Amend the soil, fertilize or over water your native garden.