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In this post we share high-quality plant selection and care resources for gardeners based in (Northern) California, United States of America.
Published July 2023 with plants to habitually update
Plant selection
- California Native Plant Society: A website dedicated to helping Californians restore nature and save water one garden at a time by showing people which plants are really native to any location in the state, helping them figure out which ones they want, and where to buy them and how to grow them.
- Calscape: Enter a California address or click the map to see plants native to that location
- Use the Calscape Garden Planner to find plants unique to your zip code and design ideas for a range of landscaping styles.
- California native plant specialty nurseries and vendors page
- Calscape Nursery resources
- The University of California, Davis Arboretum
- Bay Area Native Street Tree Species Google Doc
- Calflora: A comprehensive plant ID resource, including “What grows here?” where users can search for plants using an online map.
- Calphotos: An enormous, searchable photo database of California’s flora and fauna.
- Kelly Marshall Best Plants for Bay Area Gardens
- Bay Area California native plants with high reproductive value to butterflies and moths
- CNPS Chapters: Your local connection to the California Native Plant Society
- SF Bay Area native plants and the number of butterflies & moths that will lay eggs on them
- Las Pilitas Nursery: an attempt to define what plant community(ies) exist for every city, town and zipcode in California
- NWF Native Plant Finder: Returns a list of plants appropriate for a region, focus on butterfly-friendly flora
- Audubon Native Plants Database: Returns a list of plants appropriate for a region, focus on bird-friendly flora
Public Gardens in California
Benefits of native gardens
- U.S. Forest Service: Why Garden with Native Wildflowers?
- U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife: Why We Care About Native Plants?; Don’t Plant Me
- U.S. Department of Agriculture National Invasive Species Information Center: What is an Invasive Plant Species?
Books – California Native Gardening
- “California Native Gardening A Month-by-Month Guide” – Helen Popper
- “California Native Plants for the Garden” – Carol Bornstein, David Fross, Bart O’Brien
- “The California Landscape Garden: Ecology, Culture and Design” – Mark Francis and Andreas Reimann
- “Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region” – Nora Harlow
- “Designing California Native Gardens: The Plant Community Approach to Artful, Ecological Gardens” – Glenn Keator and Alrie Middlebrook
- “Gardening with a Wild Heart: Restoring California’s Native Landscapes at Home” – Judith Larner Lowry
- “The Landscaping Ideas of Jays: A Natural History of the Backyard Restoration Garden” – Judith Larner Lowry
- “Care and Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens” – Bart O’Brien, Betsey Landis, Ellen Mackey
- “Hardy Californians: A Woman’s Life with Native Plants” – Lester Rowntree
- “Growing California Native Plants” – Marjorie Schmidt, Katherine Greenberg
- “Native Treasures: Gardening with the Plants of California” – Nevin Smith
California-Specific Flora Books
- “Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources” – Kat Anderson
- “Gardener’s Guide to California’s Wildflowers” – Kevin Connelly
- “Seaweed, Salmon, and Manzanita Cider: A California Indian Feast” – Margaret Denise Dubin, Sylvia Ross
- “Seed Propagation of Native California Plants” – Dara Emery
- “Ceanothus” – David Fross, Dieter Wilken
- “Wild Lilies, Irises, and Grasses: Gardening with California Monocots” – Nora Harlow, Kristin Jakob
- “Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of California” – Glenn Keator
- “Complete Garden Guide to the Native Shrubs of California” – Glenn Keator
- “Flowering Shrubs of California and Their Value to the Gardener” – Lester Rowntree
California Native Books
News Articles
- KQED: “Efforts to Boost Native Plants in California Take Root“
- Daily News: “What California can learn from Texas trees: ‘Climate-Ready Trees’ project is a living lab to see if Texas trees can help California cities in an era of climate change”
Ongoing Research
- UC Davis Living Landscape Adaptation Plan: 70-year plan that will allow us to transition the landscapes of UC Davis to a climate-ready campus
UC Master Gardens
Demonstration gardens: https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/demonstration-gardens/
What is a demonstration garden? These gardens showcase best practices for home gardeners using native California flora. There are often Master Gardener volunteers onsite to educate and answer questions.
- Palo Alto Demonstration Garden: Edible and Water Wise
- Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden
- Berger Demonstration Gardens: Edibles and Native
- Cupertino McClellan Ranch Garden
- San Jose Guadalupe Demonstration Garden and Historic Orchard
- San Jose Emma Prusch Park Gardens: Native Garden Wheel, High Density Orchard, International Rare Fruit Orchard
- San Jose Martial Cottle Park Demonstration Gardens and Community Education Center
- San Martin South County Teaching and Demo Garden
Inspiration Videos
UCRBG California Native Plant Video Series: California Lilac
California Friendly® Garden Contest Winner 2017
Humboldt Northern Coast Native Plant Garden
CA Friendly® Gardening Solutions | Adding CA Natives to Your Garden
Swap common non-native flora with California natives
California-native perennials commonly found in gardens
| Pacific Coast Iris |
| Ceanothus |
| Western Columbine |
| Penstemon |
| Monkey Flower |
| California Fuchsia |
| Blue-eyed Grass |
| Sierra Tiger Lily |
| Snowy and Narrowleaf Milkweed |
| Red & Sulfur Buckwheat |
| Coral Bells |
| Coyote Mint |
| Salvias |
California-native annuals commonly found in gardens
| Tidy Tips |
| Five Spot |
| Baby Blue Eyes |
| Chinese Houses |
| California Poppy |
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