EXPERT INTERVIEW
Habitat heroes. Where and why to buy native plants for your landscape.
Elizabeth Wallace | Co-president, O.C. Chapter of California Native Plant Society 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. She is the author and editor of an OCCNPS blog about native plants and wildlife.
Why is it important to incorporate native plants into a home landscape? Wallace: The most important reason to incorporate native plants into your home landscape is to provide food and habitat for our local wildlife, including birds and butterflies. 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? Wallace: 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.
Lemonade berry
Where can someone get native plants locally? Wallace: You can find native plants in many places. Green Thumb Nursery in Lake Forest has a selection of them, and it’s close to Irvine — just off the freeway. Plant Depot in San Juan Capistrano has an expansive selection of native plants, as does Seaside Growers of SJC. The Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach is expanding its inventory of native plants for sale, and Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach also has a retail area offering California native plants.
Find more suggestions for home garden native plants at cnps.org/chapters . Go to calscape.org to find more native plants and nurseries in your area.
Buckwheat flowers
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