Design ideas for beautiful native gardens

Areas with full sun are perfect for drought-adapted native flowering plants, which also serve as important sources of food and shelter for pollinators and birds.

Tips and tricks:

• Include a dense shrub like toyon, which provides cover and berries for birds.
• Up the quantity of flowers by sowing annuals like clarkia and phacelia. You can also start the seeds in pots and then transplant for more control.
• Consider including a bird bath to provide birds and other wildlife with water as well as food.
• Plant species that flower at different times of the year to provide a longer foraging period for pollinators.  

Planting in shade is all about choosing plants that are suited to low-light conditions. If you already have a large, shade tree, consider using this vignette as inspiration.

• Hummingbird sage thrives in dry shade.
• Masses of currant bring early spring color to the understory.
• Plants like California fescue and coyote mint can take part shade as well as full sun.  

Create your own native plant oasis on your patio or balcony by using pots and planters. Search Calscape for more plants that have been recommended for containers by our horticulture volunteers.

Native shrubs like the dense, evergreen toyon, can be a more beautiful and ecologically beneficial alternative to conventional fencing or non-native ornamentals.

No space is too small or narrow to add at least a few native plants. For tough spots like curbsides and medians, try resilient grasses mixed with annually seeded flowers.

For drainage depressions or low spots in your garden, use species like Douglas Iris or Yarrow that don’t mind excess moisture from time to time.

For a wilder and more natural look, work with curves instead of lines. Layer and weave drifts of species together.

Tips & Tricks

• Experiment with sowing different kinds of annuals every year.
• Let the plants spread where they want to spread.
• Don’t be afraid of change! Let the garden evolve organically.

For a more contemporary look, stick with straight lines and interrupt single-species planting areas with a specimen manzanita or deer grass. For a more minimalist look, cut back on the total number of plants.

Tips & Tricks

• Design primarily with grasses, which have a more modern look and require less maintenance than plants with blooms.
• Use plants that spread through rhizomes, like yarrow, which will fill in gaps over time.
• Invest in one or two larger statement plants like manzanita to serve as a visual anchor.