Growing California Native Plants

I used Growing California Native Plants, by Marjorie G. Schmidt and Katherine L. Greenberg to research plants for my front planter project. I used the second edition (revised and expanded), published by University of California Press, Berkeley in 2012. Schmidt published the first edition in 1980, and Greenberg expanded and reorganized the work (Greenberg received a Certificate of Landscape Design at Merritt College).

The book starts with an introduction to gardening with native plants, including descriptions of California habitats and plant communities. Native plant descriptions are organized into categories—trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs, vines, and grasses—followed by a plant selection guide grouped by garden requirements, and described by species. For example, I was especially drawn to the plant selection guides for Shade/Dry Situation, Coastal Conditions (being in the fog belt), Deer-Resistant Plants (thanks to my growing deer problem), and Under Oaks (for my huge oak in the front yard) The reference section includes a crisp, concise glossary; a reading list (including many of my favorite authors, such as Peter Dallman and Glenn Keator); and additional references for journals, references, botanic gardens, and plant and seed sources.

I love this book’s compact size, which can easily fit in a purse or day pack on a plant-buying expedition; and its beautiful pictures and illustrations. I also appreciate the tables of plant species, with information about plant distribution, and physical characteristics. This information makes it very easy to review and consider the merits of a particular plant for a garden site.

Oak Woodland Plant Community

The oak woodland plant community varies by region – Northern and Southern California, and coastal and foothill. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the oak woodland plant community is dominated by the Coast Live Oak, and is under the influence of fog and ocean breezes. Because of our microclimates, plant communities often intermingle if conditions are right, but a typical base palate of plants include:

• Trees: coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), California bay (Umbellularia californica), California buckeye (Aesculus californica), tanbark oak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), and madrone (Arbutus menziesii).
• Shrubs and understory: toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California fescue (Festuca californica), common wood fern (Dryopteris arguta), and sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus).

Toyon berries in winter, add color to the garden and attract birds

Using these plants together—with their similar watering, drainage, and soil needs—can help ensure a successful native oak woodland garden that attracts pollinators and wildlife.

For photos of Northern oak woodland plants: http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/communities/northern-oak-woodland/plants. For information about oak woodland plant communities: Plant Life in the World’s Mediterranean Climates (Peter Dallman), and Designing California Native Gardens (Glenn Keator and Alrie Middlebrook).