California Native Landscape

California Native Landscape: The Homeowner's Design Guide to Restoring Beauty and Balance is written by Greg Rubin and Lucy Warren, and published by Timber Press (Portland London, 2013). This book has been a valuable resource in my quest to learn about California native plants that are suitable for our San Francisco Bay Area yard, with its clay soil, sloping aspect, and partial shade. Rubin and Warren are horticulturalists who really understand gardening in the West.

 

The Introduction describes the new horticulture, which respects climate, environment, drought, and the need for low maintenance. Chapters 1 - 5 describe the California environment and its deterioration, soil, design and garden style. Chapter 6 describes plant selection – looking at plant communities (such as coastal sage shrub, chaparral, oak woodland, pine forest, mixed evergreen forest, desert, coastal strand, grassland, riparian, pinyon-Juniper woodland, redwood forest); and plant categories – trees, shrubs, ground covers, perennials, vines, and monocots. Chapters 7 - 11 describe installation, care, diseases, weeds, and fire, and ends with a vision for California landscapes of the future. The end matter includes books and articles, native plant sources, online resources for native plants, a list of regional chapters of the California Native Plant Society, and a list of California native plant sources.

I especially appreciated the plant descriptions of chapter 6. Within a category, such as shrubs, they divide the plants by size. They describe each plant, including species and genus, common name, physical description, its plant community, and the landscape usage for the plant. Photos show the details of leaves and flower and general form. They also mention when plants are compatible with oaks. For example, the medium-size Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) is described as a medium size shrub (2 to 3 feet high) with sculpted evergreen leaves, red stems, large colorful berries. It attracts scrub jays; can be used in Japanese gardens; is found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities; and is a foundational shrub with year round interest. Several varieties are mentioned including Tranquil Margarita, Seaview, and Leatherleaf. This is valuable information!