$10.00 (Free to Members) VOL. 40, NO. 3 AND VOL. 41, NO. 1 • SEPTEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 2013 FREMONTIA JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY INSPIRATIONINSPIRATION ANDAND ADVICEADVICE FOR GARDENING VOL. 40, NO. 3 AND VOL. 41, NO. 1, SEPTEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 2013 FREMONTIA WITH NATIVE PLANTS CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1; Sacramento, CA 95816-5130 FREMONTIA Phone: (916) 447-CNPS (2677) Fax: (916) 447-2727 Web site: www.cnps.org Email: [email protected] VOL. 40, NO. 3, SEPTEMBER 2012 AND VOL. 41, NO. 1, JANUARY 2013 MEMBERSHIP Membership form located on inside back cover; Copyright © 2013 dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the CNPS Bulletin California Native Plant Society Mariposa Lily . $1,500 Family or Group . $75 Bob Hass, Editor Benefactor . $600 International or Library . $75 Rob Moore, Contributing Editor Patron . $300 Individual . $45 Plant Lover . $100 Student/Retired/Limited Income . $25 Beth Hansen-Winter, Designer Cynthia Powell, Cynthia Roye, and CORPORATE/ORGANIZATIONAL Mary Ann Showers, Proofreaders 10+ Employees . $2,500 4-6 Employees . $500 7-10 Employees . $1,000 1-3 Employees . $150 CALIFORNIA NATIVE STAFF – SACRAMENTO CHAPTER COUNCIL PLANT SOCIETY Executive Director: Dan Gluesenkamp David Magney (Chair); Larry Levine Finance and Administration (Vice Chair); Marty Foltyn (Secretary) Dedicated to the Preservation of Manager: Cari Porter Alta Peak (Tulare): Joan Stewart the California Native Flora Membership and Development Bristlecone (Inyo-Mono): Coordinator: Stacey Flowerdew The California Native Plant Society Steve McLaughlin Conservation Program Director: Channel Islands: David Magney (CNPS) is a statewide nonprofit organi- Greg Suba zation dedicated to increasing the Rare Plant Botanist: Aaron Sims Dorothy King Young (Mendocino/ understanding and appreciation of Vegetation Program Director: Sonoma Coast): Nancy Morin California’s native plants, and to pre- Julie Evens East Bay: Bill Hunt serving them and their natural habitats Vegetation Ecologists: El Dorado: Sue Britting for future generations. Jennifer Buck-Diaz, Kendra Sikes Kern County: Dorie Giragosian CNPS carries out its mission through Education Program Director: Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mtns: Betsey Landis science, conservation advocacy, educa- Josie Crawford Marin County: Carolyn Longstreth tion, and horticulture at the local, state, Administrative Asst: Marcy Millett Sales/Chapter Horticulture Milo Baker (Sonoma County): and federal levels. It monitors rare and Coordinator: Caroline Garland Lisa Giambastiani endangered plants and habitats; acts to Mojave Desert: Tim Thomas STAFF – AT LARGE save endangered areas through public- Monterey Bay: Brian LeNeve ity, persuasion, and on occasion, legal Fremontia and CNPS Bulletin Editor: Mount Lassen: Catie Bishop action; provides expert testimony to Bob Hass Napa Valley: Gerald Tomboc government bodies; supports the estab- Legislative Consultant: North Coast: Larry Levine lishment of native plant preserves; spon- Vern Goehring North San Joaquin: Alan Miller East Bay Conservation Analyst: Orange County: Nancy Heuler sors workdays to remove invasive plants; Mack Casterman Redbud (Grass Valley/Auburn): and offers a range of educational activi- Development Consultant: ties including speaker programs, field Sandy McCoy Joan Jernegan trips, native plant sales, horticultural Website Coordinator: Mark Naftzger Riverside/San Bernardino: Katie workshops, and demonstration gardens. Barrows PROGRAM ADVISORS Since its founding in 1965, the tradi- Sacramento Valley: Glen Holstein Rare Plant Program Senior Advisor: San Diego: David Varner tional strength of CNPS has been its Jim Andre San Gabriel Mountains: Orchid Black dedicated volunteers. CNPS activities Vegetation Program Senior Advisor: San Luis Obispo: Kristie Haydu are organized at the local chapter level Todd Keeler-Wolf Sanhedrin (Ukiah): Geri Hulse- where members’ varied interests influ- Horticulture Program Chair: Stephens ence what is done. Volunteers from the Laura Camp Santa Clara Valley: Judy Fenerty 33 CNPS chapters annually contribute CNPS Press Director: Nancy Morin Santa Cruz County: Deanna Giuliano in excess of 97,000 hours (equivalent Poster Program: Bertha McKinley, Sequoia (Fresno): Paul Mitchell to 46.5 full-time employees). Wilma Follett Shasta: Ken Kilborn CNPS membership is open to all. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sierra Foothills (Tuolome/Calaveras/ Members receive the journal Fremontia Brett Hall (President); David Bigham Mariposa): Robert Brown three times a year, the quarterly state- (Vice President); Laura Camp (Secre- South Coast (Palos Verdes): wide CNPS Bulletin, and newsletters tary); Nancy Morin (Treasurer); At- David Berman from their local CNPS chapter. Large: Bill Hunt, Brian LeNeve, Vince Tahoe: Michael Hogan Scheidt, Alison Shilling, David Willis L. Jepson (Solano): Varner, Steve Windhager; Chapter Mary Frances Kelly-Poh Disclaimer: Council Representatives: Orchid Yerba Buena (San Francisco): The views expressed by authors published Black, Steve Hartman Ellen Edelson in this journal do not necessarily reflect established policy or procedure of CNPS, MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATION and their publication in this journal should CNPS members and others are welcome to contribute materials for publication not be interpreted as an organizational in Fremontia. See the inside back cover for submission instructions. endorsement—in part or in whole—of their Staff and board listings are as of February 2013. ideas, statements, or opinions. Printed by Premier Graphics: www.premiergraphics.biz FREMONTIA VOL. 40, NO. 3 AND VOL. 41, NO. 1, SEPTEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 2013 ISSUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 2013. PUBLICATION DATE: APRIL 2013 CONTENTS WHY USE NATIVES? by Mike Evans ......................................................................................................... 2 A convincing treatise on the reasons why we should encourage the use of native plants in all our landscapes. WHERE TO BEGIN: ADVICE FOR DESIGNING YOUR NATIVE PLANT GARDEN by Rob Moore .................................................................................................................................................. 6 A garden designer’s perspective on how to create a naturally beautiful California native landscape. THE MOJAVE DESERT GARDEN AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DESERT NATIVES by Mack Nash .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Desert native plants are an underused resource for creating gardens and landscapes that are attractive, appropriate, and support the local environment in the low desert. COASTAL SAGE SCRUB: A SUSTAINABLE HOME LANDSCAPE by Celia Kutcher ...................... 20 Coastal sage scrub is not the typical suburban front-yard landscape in Southern California, but my own garden is proof that it can make a beautiful, sustainable garden. WILD BY NATURE: GARDENING WITH NATIVE WILDFLOWERS by Genevieve Arnold .............. 24 Invite colorful annual native wildflowers into your garden—and sow and grow them successfully using a few simple tips. MY HOME GROUND: INSPIRATION FOR A HABITAT GARDEN by Charlotte Torgovitsky......... 30 Habitat gardening is all about biological associations, stewardship of the land, and an effort to recreate the interconnected elements of an ecosystem. LOS ANGELES CITY HALL PARK GOES NATIVE by Snowdy Dodson ............................................... 34 When Los Angeles City Hall Park’s landscaping was destroyed by Occupy LA, native plant advocates in the community successfully lobbied the City of Los Angeles to reduce turf and introduce native plants into the rebuilt park. WABI IN THE WILDERNESS: JAPANESE AESTHETICS AND THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT GARDEN by Mark Bourne ........................................................................................................... 38 The poetry of Japanese gardens offers California native plant gardeners inspiring design possibilities. HEALDSBURG’S NEW NATIVE PLANT GARDEN by Ann Carranza ................................................. 43 A public-private collaboration inspires the creation of a new native plant garden in Healdsburg. SELECTED NATIVE PLANT RESOURCES ....................................................................................48 NEW CNPS FELLOW: DAVID CHIPPING by Pam Muick and Joan Stewart ....................................... 52 BOOK REVIEWS ........................................................................................................................54 THE COVER: A west-facing slope with excellent drainage and ideal climate in this Berkeley garden provides the perfect match for chaparral plants, including flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicum decumbens ‘Pine Hill’) and Hooker’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri), along with a few non-native Mediterranean shrubs. The plant forms and textures create a design that is both pleasing to the eye and restful, and reminds one of nature in the wild. Photograph by Stephen Ingram. Design by Lutsko Associates, San Francisco. VOL. 40, NO. 3 AND VOL. 41, NO. 1, SEPTEMBER 2012 AND JANUARY 2013 FREMONTIA 1 Native plant gardens should be easy, uncomplicated places to experience. Simple designs are best, as in this planting of the hybrid matilija poppy (Romneya ‘White Cloud’) and deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens). Inset photo: With flowers over six inches across, the ‘White Cloud’ Matilija poppy is a real show stopper. All photographs by the author.