The moist and sunny areas of the garden in May. A home creek or pond garden.



Hookers Evening Primrose is native to much of coastal CaliforniaOenothera Hookeri, Coastal Evening Primrose, grows anywhere there's water. This plant has been the brown thumber's dream, and the green thumber's nightmare. This evening primrose is at home in a pond edge or a moist garden.



Yerba mansa is sometimes spelled yerba manzaYerba Mansa grows in many wet areas like ponds, lakes, seeps or salt marshes in California Anemopsis californica, Yerba Mansa, has made itself at home in a drainage ditch mixed with Equisetum laevigatum and Asclepias fascicularis. Yerba Mansa can float on a pond, or grow in even salty moist gardens.

This form of native yarrow is quite nice in a wet garden spot Achillea millefolium, (lanulosa), Yarrow, is native on the site and loves to find a home next to a water source in the garden. The background for this page is a predatory wasp on one of the flower clusters. This plant is so alive with nectar-loving insects and flower spiders in the summer, and the white color of the flowers is so pure and bright white, with no hint of cream, that it is one of our favorite home garden flowers.. It spreads to form a a flat green groundcover that whose size is limited by moisture.

The columbine is native to most of California Aquilegia formosa, Western Columbine, planted itself in full sun next to a water faucet early this spring. Rocks near the plant help keep the roots cool in our hot summers, and we hope this will help the plant to live longer, or just plant it next to a leaky pond in part shade or in a conventional home garden.

Spice bush grows along many streams in Northern california Calycanthus occidentalis, Spice Bush, we planted 5 years ago, along next to the container stock and it loves the daily watering. The other plant in a drier portion of the garden does not flower much and the flowers do not last as long, but the plant has survived for 18 years. Many people walking by want to know what it is and really enjoy the spicy fragrance of the wine-colored flowers.

Brown stem dogwood is native to the inner coast ranges of California Cornus glabrata, Brownstem Dogwood grows on the edge of the 'creek '(drainage ditch) along the driveway.(Our wet garden.) This 10 year-old plant is growing near other riparian trees and shrubs, and this year was extraordinarily beautiful completely covered with clusters of creamy white flowers.

Wayne Roderick is a nice native perennial. Erigeron glaucus X 'Wayne Roderick', a hybrid of Seaside Daisy. Give it regular water and it will flower itself to death (takes about 3-5 years) in our interior climate, in clay or lighter, granitic-based soil. Pond side to conventional home garden.

Potentilla gracilis is another plant that loves regular watering here. We cut it down after flowering and it flowers 2-3 times each year.

Mimulus guttatus, Seep Monkeyflower (Bumblebeeing), is native on the site and has made itself at home wherever there is regular water in the garden, mostly in the 'creek' or 'pond'. In some 'drought tolerant' gardens Seep monkey will make itself at home next to each drip emitter.

This is the california native wood rose Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana, Fragrant Rose, we planted in a couple of spots in the garden. The plants that receive afternoon shade have flowers that last longer, and don't seem so stressed. We do not fertilize or mulch the plants. The rose hips are the best, delicate and intensely fragrant. The plants have spread over the years to form a lovely, informal thicket.

Indian hemp is native, don't smoke, plant! Psoralea (Hoita) orbicularis, Indian Hemp, a weird creeper that disappears each winter only to come back bigger the next spring and summer and fall. This plant makes and 1 ft. high groundcover with lavender flower clusters. In a moist garden it looks like dicondra for the jolly green giant. Too big for small home gardens.

Ptelea is hop tree Ptelea crenulata, Hop Tree, we planted in the garden this winter next to a bird bath in full sun. We will add more details next year as we note its progress.

California goldenrod grows in seasonal seeps in much of coastal California Solidago californica, California Goldenrod is growing along our 'roadside creek'. This is another plant that is a home for the native bug life. Before you roll your lip back and give me that 'you got to be crazy' look, native bugs are good, they don't bug you. Native bugs are really neat!(there's a nerd statement for you). This is a showy plant in flower and one you never notice when not in flower. The one plant we started two years ago is now a colony several feet across, part in semi-shade and part in full sun. Pond edge, 'english garden', or moist perennial garden, it is quite showy in late summer and into winter.

Stream orchid is a awsome California Native plant. Epipactis gigantea, Stream Orchid, is growing in our man- made stream. One plant has become a 3 ft wide mass of flowers in 2 years, and is growing alongside many other riparian shrubs, trees and perennials.

California bullrush is like a native bamboo in ponds. Scirpus californicus, Bulrush, is growing in our dog pond, water depth one and one-half feet, along with Horsetail(Equisetum) and Spikerush ( Eleocharis) which were placed in pots so that the plants were submerged a couple of inches below the water's surface. The rhizomes of Bulrush travel a few inches below the water surface. (Some of the dogs love to go for a dip on hot days, and the fish and plants do not seem to mind, except the one or two that get packed out on the smaller dogs back when they jump out!)