A native garden in May

Our Garden

Our Garden: May	Garden: May dry shade
	Garden: May wet shade

Our shade garden and the edges of it are usually lush in April and May.

For my shade gardens

Please remember our full shade is like everyone else's part-shade, our part-shade(where most of the monkey flowers are) is like coastal full sun.

Monkey Flowers work in a shade garden.


Sticky Monkey Flower, Diplacus(Mimulus) aurantiacus 'Sierra', under a Quercus agrifolia in nearly full shade. This monkey flower was watered 3 times when we planted it 5 years ago.

Sierra Monkey Flower, Diplacus(Mimulus) bifidus, in full shade under a Persimmon(we mix natives and nonnative in many areas). It was watered once by a class in 1994, and is six years old now.

Adelaide Monkey Flower, Diplacus(Mimulus) bifidus ssp. fasciculatus, is growing in an area with morning sun in the shade of Cercocarpus alnifolius. It has never been watered.

A native shade garden can look wild!

Southern Monkey Flower, Diplacus(Mimulus) puniceus, is growing in full shade under a Quercus agrifolia. This monkey flower burns up in full sun here. This plant was watered three times when we planted it two years ago.

Pasadena Red Monkey Flower, Diplacus(Mimulus) longiflorus Var. rutilus , was planted in full shade here and has never been watered. Although we've used it in full sun everywhere else, we've lost every one we've put in full sun here.

Fremontias

Dwarf Flannel Bush, Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumbens. We've lost more Fremontias to under watering than to over watering in sandy soils that they prefer. (In clay soils plant them on a rock mound.) This plant is 12 years or more old, next to a green house that gets watered every other day. A Pinus sabiniana and Apple tree provide it with a lot of shade. This 'dwarf' form has branches that commonly arch up and then lay over. If in part shade and regular water they can get quit large, in mother nature or a nasty sunny dry site this flannel bush can be very low, if they don't die.

Flannel Bush, Fremontodendron californicum ssp. californicum is trying to bury the Dwarf Flannel Bush in the same location. They used to be 12 ft apart... Now the full sized flannel bush is above the high groundcover dwarf.

Fremontodendron californicum ssp. californicum X californicum ssp. decumbens, 'Ken Taylor'. We planted 4 barely rooted plants a year ago, then watered them 2 to 3 times and forgot about them. The ones in the shade died and the ones in part shade(not much just enough to take the heat off) are 6 ft. across and 3 ft. tall.

Other Unusual Native Plants for your Shade Garden

Alumroot, Heuchera micrantha(with the Sierra Monkey Flower), is in full shade under a Quercus agrifolia. We planted it in June, watered it 3 times and walked away 9 years ago. Walk through the Yerba buena.

Hummingbird Sage, Salvia spathacea, can handle sun or shade. It prefers to be at the drip line of Oak trees or next to seeps on north slopes.

Checker Mallow, Sidalcea malvaeflora, usually prefers some high shade, although it can survive in sun. Though it was planted years ago in the sun, over the years the oak tree has grown and shaded it. One watering.

Hedge Nettle, Stachys ajugoides, loves water and part-shade.

Horkelia parryi, Parry's Horkelia, appears to need part-shade and lawn water. It has a pleasant scent like a pine forest.

Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus, is native down the road from us. On our site it grows in full sun poorly, in full shade poorly, and just right in part-shade.

Yerba Buena, Satureja douglasii, was planted 12 years ago and lightly watered (sprinkle the leaves to simulate fog drip) watered occasionally(1-3 times a year) as we remember it and are nearby with a hose. The three plants we planted have become one big plant, 6-9 ft across and 3-6 inches tall.

Mountain Garland, Clarkia unguiculata, is native on our site and it is growing everywhere but

in the middle of the road.

Other Las Pilitas Web Pages
Our Front Page
Santa Margarita Nursery		Our 1000 plants	Pricelist
Escondido Nursery		Our 1000 plants	Pricelist
A California Butterfly Information page	Mynativeplants =The native landscape designer
Build a Rockwall	Hummingbirds		First time gardener
Attract California birds	Planting for deer		Landscaping for fire areas
How to build a simple garden birdbath	Replace a lawn		Design your fragrant path