Care and Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens

Drought Tolerant Perennials

• Choosing drought-tolerant plants is the right direction for any southern California gardening. These plants are hardy, usually low maintenance and require little water. Sage and lavender in particular are good choices and only require light watering and trimming back in the fall, returning in the spring.

Decorative Grasses

• Decorative grasses are native to California. They require light weekly watering and should be trimmed back in the fall. They will usually go to seed in late spring casting many volunteers throughout your garden. Pull these before they get too large to avoid having your garden overrun, or dead-head the flowerheads before the seeds release into the garden.

Thinning Out

• Native wildflowers are an excellent choice in the garden. Though they are annuals, they seed easily so that the following year they will come back in multiples. Seed is planted in early spring and will require regular watering to get established. Wildflowers may need to be thinned to avoid overcrowding.