|
|
California & Western Natives
Plus Other Drought Tolerant Plants
In Southern
California the summers are hot and
long. The rainy season is from November-ish to March but rainfall
only averages
about 7
inches a year.
This is Sunset zone 18, or USDA zone 10.
In drought years we've
had water rationing and prices keep going up. But the flowers in
the canyons just keep blooming.
Drought tolerant does not mean you can only landscape with cactus and
succulent plants (although visit my succulent page if
you're interested).
The other option is to go native. Or,
at least mainly native. My garden has a few visitors from Australia and
South
Africa who also like my climate. Here are a few plants that have
done well in my dry, heavy clay, alkaline soil.
|
 Ceanothus
(Ceanothus spp.)
This perennial has the most beautiful deep blue blooms!
Colors range from white/light blue to deep mystical blue.
They are evergreen and bloom during spring. They smell like
Heaven. They reach 4 to 6 feet tall
and as wide. After they're established they can live off
rainfall. Normally we get 6-10 inches a year.
These are native to California and turn the canyons blue in the
spring. This baby loves my heavy clay, alkaline soil and grows
fast. Don't over water or
they'll die.
|
 Monkey
Flower
(Mimulus spp.)
Perennial with flowers ranging from white to red. Most
common are orange. Driving through the canyons
I used to see these big, bright orange blooms hanging down the steep
canyon walls. "What the heck IS that?" They grow about 2
feet tall wide. In the
hot, interior valleys (where I am) they like to have a little bit of
shade.
I have an orange one that I planted a few
months ago --and sometimes remember to water-- it's going great.
I have a white one that probably gets over watered (because it's near
a new planting) that's not doing so well. In the Winter
(Fall for you East Coasters), they benefit from a light trimming. |
 Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia)
In spring this cactus variety gets stunning bright
yellow flowers which turn into red prickly pears. They are edible
- and delicious! Cactus pears have the texture of watermelon and
a mild pear taste. They are high in fiber too. The seeds
are black and about the size of a pea. You can also eat the pads;
raw in salads or salsa or cooked. Prickly pears grow up to 12 feet tall
and as wide.
The pads do not have prominent thorns. The thorns are small, hair like
and not something you want in
your skin. I recommend using tongs to
handle them, or leather gloves. I've also seen cardboard
recommended.
My cactus came from a cutting my neighbor threw over
the fence for me. I let it root
where it fell on the ground - without planting. This cactus photo
is in year five
for the rooted plant and I need to cut it back before it takes over the
yard.
To remove thorns on the cactus pears I've had success washing them
under running water for a few minutes. Use tongs to handle them
and inspect them carefully for thorns!
Read more about them on my Prickly Pear Page....
|
 Garden Sage
(Salvia Officinalis)
This is culinary sage, but all types do well here. They
are fairly drought resistant and don't mind the heat. They
like full sun to part shade and grow about 1 foot tall and wide here,
with beautiful blooms in the
Spring.
Fresh sage is great stuffed into chicken or turkey roasts. Put an
orange in there for a great flavor combo |
 California White Sage (Salvia apiana)
This beautiful shrub is native to Southern California and Baja.
It is
usually found growing wild in the coastal sage scrub habitat on the
western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. It grows five
feet
tall (at least) and 5 feet across.
White Sage is also called Bee Sage; my
camera was lucky enough to catch one on a flower. The leaves are
up to
4 inches long, thick and velvety and are slightly sticky. The
whole
plant is very aromatic so you should find a spot in your garden where
you can enjoy its fragrance.
The silvery plant seems to glow in the moonlight. The flowers are
white, sometimes tinted purple and are produced in whorls on long
branches up to three feet long.
White sage is considered sacred by Native Americans, like the Chumash,
in the southwestern United States. The Peterson Field Guide To
Western
Medicinal Plants And Herbs describes it thus: "Considered an
expectorant; used for colds, coughs, sore throats and systemic poison
oak rashes. An important ceremonial plant among
southwestern Indian
groups. The herb was burned as a fumigant after an illness in the
dwelling". |
|
