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Making the Leap from Lawn toNative Garden: Creating a

Xeriscape in a Coastal Desert

Cheryl StewartJuly 2010

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W hy Go Native?W ater conservation native plants evolved to

make the best use of existing water and watercycles.

Indigenous birds, butterflies, and bees native plants provide habitat for nativeanimals.Low maintenance though not no

maintenance, native gardens can be lesslabor-intensive and ultimately more costeffective than immigrant gardens.Beauty native plants suit the environment

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W here to StartDepending upon where you live, native gardens may behard to find, but they are worth the search!

Botanic GardensBooksNurseries

Clubs & AssociationsLocal Colleges & Universities

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Botanical GardensA local botanical garden that has a native plant section isprobably the best place to start.In Southern California, we are lucky to have manyexamples of native gardens:

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and BotanicalGardens (San Marino) http://www.huntington.org/default.aspx

Fullerton Arboretum (Fullerton)http://fullertonarboretum.org/home.php

Southern California Botanical Gardens (online list)http://www.letsgoseeit.com/index/category/gardens.htm

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BooksSo many good books on this subject, but two

essentials for southern California are:Van Atta, Susan. The Southern California

Native Flower Garden; A Guide to Size,Bloom, Foliage, Color, and Texture. SaltLake City:Gibbs Smith. 2009

Brenzel, Kathleen Norris ed. Sunset WesternGarden Book. Menlo Park: SunsetPublishing. 2007.

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NurseriesNurseries that specialize in native California plants are:

Las Pilitas Nursery3232 Las Pilitas RdSanta Margarita, Ca 93453Phone 805.438.5992Fax 805.438.5993

The Tree of Life Nursery33201 Ortega HighwaySan Juan Capistrano CA 92675

Phone 949.728.0685Fax949.728.0509

PlantNative (online list of nurseries in California)http://www.plantnative.org/nd_ca.htm

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Clubs & AssociationsOrganizations dedicated to native plantsabound. There are local, regional, andspecialty groups everywhere. For helpgetting started, check with:

California Native Plant Society - http://cnps.org/

Wildscaping - http://www.wildscaping.com/index.htm

California Botanical Society - http://www.calbotsoc.org/

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Local Colleges & Universities

In southern California we have:

Golden W est College (Huntington Beach) --http://www.goldenwestcollege.edu/garden/

California State University Fullerton(Fullerton) http://fullertonarboretum.org/home.php

Claremont Graduate University (Claremont) -

- http://www.rsabg.org/graduate-program

UCI Arboretum and Gene Bank (Irvine) --http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/arboretum/

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How Does My Garden Grow?I live in an area that is an ancient coastal flood plain with elements of chaparral, desert, and Mediterranean environments. Year-round ourweather is fairly mild; temperatures rarely exceed 100 or fall below 50W e live a mile from the ocean but often experience multi-year droughtconditions.

For 26 years I maintained a lawn in both the front and back yards. Thelawn was comprised of equal parts crab grass and weeds. Duringdroughts, the expanse would be brown and brittle. During rains, it wouldbe lush for about a week.

I have always wanted a non-traditional garden, but had neither the timenor money to install and maintain a stately, formal garden. After a good

deal of research, I discovered that I could have the garden I of mydreams! W hile the initial cost would be relatively steep, the cost of installation and maintenance over the life of the native garden would bevery affordable. It would have the added benefit of being water-wise,which in the land of frequent droughts is a very great benefit.

Here are photos of my native plant garden today

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D endromecon rigida Bush poppy

Penstemon heterophyllus purdyi

Blue penstemon California golden poppy

Arctostphylos -- Manzanita

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Lupinus chamissonis Dune lupine

California wildflower mix

Festuca glauca Blue fescue

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I shopped with the following criteria in mind:

full sun, low water requirementsverified native southern coastal California plantultimate size/dimensions of mature plantblooming seasonbeauty and/or unique charactercolor and foliage varietychild- and pet- friendliness (no spikes, spines, poisons, etc.)cost

A few things I should have asked about:

invasiveness of plantsusceptibility to infestation or infectioninherent messiness

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