Elizabeth Wallace has been gardening with California native plants in residential and HOA landscapes for more than 30 years. She serves as co-president of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and is the author and editor of the chapter’s blog about native plants and wildlife.
Here, she shares her expertise on where and why to buy native plants for your landscape.
IRWD: Why is it important to incorporate native plants into a home landscape?
Elizabeth: The most important reason is to provide food and habitat for our local wildlife, including birds and butterflies. In addition, native plants have evolved to live through California’s dry summers, so they need less water and fertilizer than non-native plants, saving precious resources. When you plant even a small section of your landscape with local native plants, you add elegance and interest to your garden while also supporting life, saving water, and improving the soil.
What kind of native plants would you recommend for easy maintenance?
Elizabeth: Low maintenance, evergreen native plants that are beautiful in front or back landscapes include manzanitas, ceanothus, buckwheat, and our local succulent species Dudleya edulis. For beautiful small trees and large shrubs, try toyon and scrub oak. Sugar bush and lemonade berry make easy, evergreen hedges. You can find more native plant suggestions for home gardens at chapters.cnps.org.
Where can someone get native plants locally?
Elizabeth: Green Thumb Nursery in Lake Forest has a selection of native plants. Both Plant Depot and Seaside Growers in San Juan Capistrano have expansive selections of native plants. The Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach is expanding their inventory of native plants for sale, and Roger’s Gardens in Newport Beach also has a retail area offering California native plants. You can go to calscape.org to find more native plants and nurseries in your area.
