Drought tolerant plants for a Long Beach area garden.

In the 1500's California went through an 80 year drought. During the winter there were blizzards in Central California, the Salinas river froze solid where it flowed into the Monterey Bay. During the summer there was no humidity, no rain, and temperatures in the hundreds for many  months. During one year in the 1840's there was no measurable rain in Santa Barbara. (The highest measured rainfall in an hour also was in Southern California,  11 inches in an hour)  The same native plants that lived through that are still on the hillsides of California. California native plants that do not normally live in the creeks and ponds are very drought tolerant.

The best way to find your plant is to check www.mynativeplants.com and do not water at all. But if you want a simple list of drought tolerant plants that can work for your garden here are some.
This partial search is full sun, with adobe soil, no water after first summer, and shredded redwood bark as mulch. (This example was done in 2010, inventory/price subject to change.)

This Yarrow was out in one of the driveways in full sun. - grid24_12
Achillea millefolium californica Yarrow
Arctostaphylos glandulosa adamsii Laguna Manzanita flowers. - grid24_12
Manzanitas of Southern California
Asclepias fascicularis, Narrow-leaf milkweed with Swallowtail butterfly - grid24_12
Milkweeds can jazz up a native garden.
California Sage brush, Artemesia californica - grid24_12
Artemisia californica California Sagebrush
California sagebrush is an evergray shrub, three to four foot high.
Ceanothus leucodermis, White bark Ceanothus in the wild - grid24_12
Southern California Lilacs, Ceanothus spp.
Cupressus forbesii, Tecate Cypress as a  hedge row. No water and the little trees look decent. Reports of 15 ft. in 3 years. - grid24_12
Cupressus forbesii Tecate Cypress
Tecate cypress is native to the southern California mountains looking down into Tijuana, Mexico.
Encelia californica - California encelia, California brittlebush, bush sunflower  - grid24_12
Encelia californica Coast Sunflower
Perennial shrub, 3-4 ft. high, good large scale ground cover with 2 inch daisy, Native from Santa Maria to San Diego.
Cliff buckwheat can be showy and hold it's flowers for months. - grid24_12
Eriogonum parvifolium, Cliff Buckwheat
A perennial, 2 ft. by 2 ft.. Native near coast from Monterey to San Diego, shade to sun, red-green foliage, reddish-pink flowers.
Lepechinia fragrans, Island Pitcher Sage grows on the island and from Ventura, through Los Angeles into the San Gabriel Mountains.  - grid24_12
Lepechinia fragrans, Wallace's Pitcher Plant
An evergreen perennial shrub like Lepechinia calycina but flower is pink and leaves a little fuzzier.
Malacothamnus densiflorus Many Flowered Bushmallow - grid24_12
Malacothamnus densiflorus Many Flowered Bushmallow
Malacothamnus densiflorus, or dense flowered bush mallow, grows from San Diego up to the west slopes around Palm springs and west to Orange County.
A Callippe Fritillary Butterfly, Speyeria callippe on a Monardella antonina - grid24_12

Monardella antonina Butterfly Mint Bush
Butterfly Mint Bush, Monardella antonina is a one foot perennial covered with balls of pale purple with some pink.
Muhlenbergia rigens,  Deer Grass, is shown here with flowering stalks on the edge of a garden path. This native grass has all sorts of uses. - grid24_12
Muhlenbergia rigens Deer Grass
Deer grass is a 3 foot perennial with 2 foot plumes rising above the plant.
Rhus integrifolia, Lemonade Berry between Santa Barbara and Ventura. - grid24_12
Rhus integrifolia Lemonade Berry
Lemonade Berry is an evergreen shrub to 8' inland, 2' tall in view of ocean.
Rhus ovata, Sugar Bush in the garden. What a great hedge plant. Although it is sometimes called flammable, it is less flammable than most commonly watered garden shrubs, and it needs no water in most of Southern California, in particular Los Angeles. - grid24_12
Rhus ovata Sugar Bush
Rhus ovata, Sugar Bush is an eight foot evergreen shrub that can grow to maybe 8 ft.
Ribes specosum, Fuchsia flowered Gooseberry,  in flower with Anna Hummingbird up in left corner - grid24_12
Ribes speciosum Fuchsia-Flowering Gooseberry
Fuchsia flowering or fuchsia flowering gooseberry is a four foot nearly evergreen shrub with red fuchsia-like flowers in Jan.-May.
A young Anna Hummingbird on Salvia Alpine, Cleveland Sage. Cleveland Sage is drought resistant and can look good with 7-8 inches of rainfall. Your native garden needs very little water in a drought  to  look and smell good. Tolerant of much abuse. - grid24_12
Sages, Salvias, photos, videos and descriptions of the plants native to California. 
Pictures and descriptions of all the Salvias (Sages) native to California. White Sage, Black Sage, Cleveland Sage and all the sages in between.
Sisyrinchium bellum, Blue-Eyed Grass flowers are lavender blue. - grid24_12
Sisyrinchium bellum Blue-Eyed Grass
Blue-eyed Grass. Sisyrinchium bellum is a 1 foot tall perennial with 1 inch blue flowers in Jan.-June. It has small, iris-like leaves. It is widely distributed in California on open, grassy slopes.
Purple needle grass - grid24_12
Stipa pulchra Purple Stipa
Purple Needle Grass is native throughout our area. Nice plant. Use simply. Leaves are bright green up close, appear gray from a distance. In the wild it is in the open spots in Oak Woodland.
This Xylococcus bicolor was in flower for Christmas. - grid24_12
Xylococcus bicolor, Mission Manzanita is an evergreen shrub that grows along the coast from Los Angeles to Baja and on Santa Catalina.
California fuchsia works well in California gardens from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and into Fresno. - grid24_12
California Fuchsia, Zauschneria or Epilobium
California fuchsia, Zauschneria or Epilobium is loved by hummingbirds, butterflies and people. California fuchsia plants grow will in most California gardens with no additional water.
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Edited on Jan 17, 2013. Authors:
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