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Go native in your yard

NATURAL PERSPECTIVES

Fall planting time has arrived. Avid gardeners know that cool

weather and rain make autumn a perfect time for rejuvenation of the

landscape.

In our yard, we emphasize habitat for wildlife. We have no grassy

lawn, so we never need to mow. Instead, we have plenty of ground

cover, flowers, shrubs, hedges and trees that provide food and

shelter for wildlife. Our stream and pond lure migrant birds, as well

as lizards, possums, raccoons, skunks and the occasional gray fox.

Some of our plants are there especially for hummingbirds and

butterflies. We’ve created a mini-refuge in our yard and the wildlife

seems to know it.

Each year, we add more California native plants, sometimes

removing nonnative ornamentals to do so. We haven’t gone as far as

Stephanie Pacheco, who ripped out her entire yard and planted nearly

all California natives with some fruit trees and vegetables scattered

among them, but we’re getting there.

We visited Pacheco’s yard on the California Native Plant Society’s

garden tour last spring. What an inspiration that was. We saw a

jungle of California natives, all in riotous bloom. We were inspired

to add more natives to our yard, especially around our pond.

We began following the gardening techniques of Guy Stivers and the

Bolsa Chica Stewards. Rather than ripping out everything and starting

with bare earth, the Stewards plant California native plants in the

midst of whatever else is growing. Month by month, year by year, they

have replaced the nonnative weeds on the Bolsa Chica mesa with

beautiful native plants. They have slowly transformed the mesa to a

place of greater beauty and functionality. We’re beginning to do that

in our yard by planting coral bells, yarrow, penstemon and a variety

of coastal sages along the artificial stream that leads to our pond.

In addition to native plants, we grow many plants in our yard that

can be used for food or seasoning. The back is landscaped with a mix

of rosemary bushes, coastal sages, and a variety of drought-tolerant

flowers, with a ground cover of parsley, oregano and thyme between

the shrubs. A huge beavertail cactus provides us with edible prickly

pears. A perennial border of oregano, chives, marjoram, thyme and

edible sage lines the front walkway, with flowers interspersed among

the herbs.

Our tree guy, Steve Fafita, is here today, trimming our magnolia

and the huge cypress trees in the backyard. The man is amazing with

trees. He shapes them to a natural form, enhancing their beauty and

keeping them in line with the size of our yard. Today he’s making our

yard a bit sunnier for the dwarf orange, lemon, lime, apple and

avocado trees that grow in back, as well as for the vegetable garden

that grows on the north side of the house in summer. He’ll also be

trimming the peach trees to increase the size of next year’s crop.

Slowly but surely, our inedible, nonnative ornamentals are being

replaced with either edible or native plants. Luckily, native plant

gardens are low on maintenance, a feature Vic particularly enjoys

because he doesn’t like to see me working too hard in the yard.

There are other benefits to growing native plants. It saves water,

reduces the need for pesticides and promotes biodiversity. Native

plants provide natural habitats for the birds, animals and insects

that live in this area. And if you select plants wisely, they’re

beautiful as well. That’s why we’re switching to native plants in our

yard.

One of the most difficult things about native gardening is finding

the plants. A nursery on Main Street in Seal Beach carries some

natives, and Armstrong nurseries carry a few, but usually we travel

to San Juan Capistrano to Tree of Life Nursery on the Ortega Highway

just before Caspers Park.

Knowing what plants to use and how much sun and water they require

is another challenge for gardeners. Tree of Life Nursery publishes a

wonderful native plant guide called “Plants of El Camino Real.” But

Tree of Life Nursery is open to the public only one day a week, on

Thursdays. That makes buying natives more difficult.

Fortunately, there soon will be a sale of California native plants

right here in town. The Friends of Shipley Nature Center will hold a

native plant sale at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach

Central Park from 9 am. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 23. That event is

the Friends’ first big restoration day at the nature center. What

plants they don’t sell will be planted at the center on a later

restoration day. You can park at the library near Goldenwest Street

and Talbert Avenue and cross at the stoplight.

Mark the date on your calendar. Buy some plants from the Friends.

Go native.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].

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