GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: CNPS San Diego Native Plant Sale Oct 15 - Get Ready!
By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! September 2022. CNPS San Diego Native Plant Sale Oct 15 - Get Ready! To help San Diego reach the...
September 2022
Going Wild with Natives
2017 - Oct 2021
- Oct 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Celebrate Native Plants w/CNPS & Leave The Wild Ones Be
By Susan Lewitt for Let's Talk Plants! October 2021. Red Bush Monkey Flower, Diplacus puniceus aka Mimulus aurantiacus var. puniceus, has...
- Aug 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Monarch Larval & Nectar Plants Invite More Than Just Monarchs!
By Susan Lewitt. Monarchs love milkweed, and happily for San Diego, there are several indigenous species. Narrow Leaf Milkweed, Asclepias...
- Jun 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Elderberries And Currants, Ribes Species, Plants With Benefits!
By Susan Lewitt. Here are some sweet native plants to consider that give you edible treats: Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra ssp....
- Mar 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Native Groundcovers Are Best!
Have you noticed ice plant all around San Diego? The mats of dry woody material that it forms? Problems with this invasive plant lie in its
- Feb 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Fremontodendron
If you are thinking about landscaping your front or back yard, try not to overlook this showstopper! There are many things to love about the
- Jan 1, 2021
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Native Bulbs in Your Garden
Spring in a non-native plant garden can be a wondrous time of colorful blooms from bulbs; tulips, ranunculus, daffodils, etc. But what about
- Dec 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Avoid Invasive Plants, Use Natives Instead!
Imagine a natural, low-water garden blooming with the beautiful and unique flora of California native plants, attracting a large diversity
- Oct 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Going Native & Getting Buggy with California Buckwheat
Can I get your attention by suggesting that you grow some wooly knees? Eriogonum (erion meaning “wool” and gonu meaning “knee” or “joint” in
- Sep 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Palms NO, Native Trees YES!
Pick up a postcard of San Diego. What do you see besides iconic landmarks? Mexican Fan Palms, Washingtonia robusta, Canary Island Date Palms
- Aug 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Native Lawn Time
Summer is the time. Time to get out and get some gardening done. Time to stay active in the yard during COVID-19. Time to kill your invasive
- Jul 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Lemonade Berry & Sugar Bush - Garden Workhorses
The Sumac family, Anacardiaceae, contains a rather odd variety of plants: the yummy, familiar mango, pistachio and cashew but also poison oa
- Jun 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Urban Gardens as Wildlife Refuges
Elton John sang eloquently about the "Circle of Life" but I think it was a limited circle focused on generations. To an ecologist, the circl
- Jun 1, 2020
MORE GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: How to Support Biodiversity? Plant More Natives & Fewer Exotics!
Biodiversity impacts us in endless ways. It affects our health, our food, the natural beauty seen around us, air, water, soil, and environme
- May 2, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: May Wildflowers in San Diego
If you are looking to dive into plants not just native to California, but native to San Diego to give your garden a truly local character, t
- Mar 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: "The Artful California Native Gardens of East County" CNPS-SD Tour
When you think about planting your garden, consider California native plants; they can be a perfect fit! Native plants need minimal water,
- Feb 1, 2020
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Bush Rue
The Mediterranean climate of San Diego carries the reputation of year-round garden blooms, the forever spring of a warm temperate environmen
- Dec 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Parasitic, or not so Parasitic, Plants.
The Broomrape family are parasites with specialized structures on the roots for taking food, water and nutrients from the host plants.
- Oct 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: The Extraordinary World of California Wildflowers
One of the plant strategies for surviving in dry climates is the occurrence of annual flowers with long-lasting seeds that will survive seve
- Aug 28, 2019
GOING WILD WITH THE NATIVES: Make Mine Manzanita.
By Linda Jones. As I was driving through a newer development recently, I was struck by the similarity of all of the gardens: each had a...
- Aug 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Sky Islands
By Bobbie Stephenson. Other than Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve near the coast, San Diego only has coniferous forests on its highest...
- Jul 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Red-blooming Natives for San Diego
By Clayton Tschudy. Native flowers come in all colors, but yellows, blues, and purples are most common. When red does occur, the plant is...
- Jun 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Those Yellow Hills are Alive with…..?
By Linda Jones. I drove up Interstate 5 at the end of March to central California and everything was so alive with color and greenery....
- Apr 30, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: California Native Wildflower Seeds and Bulbs
By Bobbie Stephenson. Although most people think of the desert when they hear about a super bloom, this year the flowers in our coastal...
- Apr 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Native Hedges for San Diego Gardens
By Clayton Tschudy. The amazing diversity of California native plants provides a treasure chest of incredible horticultural opportunities...
- Mar 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Native Grasses
By Linda Jones. My neighbors recently replanted their front garden using several species of California native grasses, along with...
- Feb 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Enjoying Desert Wildflowers
By Bobbie Stephenson. This is February and the spring bloom in the desert is gearing up! March is probably the best time to visit the...
- Jan 1, 2019
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Late-Blooming Coastal Shrubs
By Clayton Tschudy. In coastal San Diego, we are blessed with several shrubs from the daisy family (Asteraceae) that bloom late in the...
- Dec 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Beautiful (and Poisonous) Sacred Datura
By Linda Jones. The family Solanaceae is an oddity. Some of our most important vegetables and fruits are in this family: tomatoes,...
- Nov 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: California Fuchsia: Native Fall Bloomer
By Bobbie Stephenson. California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), also called hummingbird flower and hummingbird trumpet, is the best species...
- Oct 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Dudleya Poaching
By Susan Krzywicki. Native Plants: Good News, Bad News Popularity is always a double-edged sword. While it is nice to see California...
- Sep 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Hooker’s Evening Primrose: Food for Wildlife
By Linda Jones. One reason I garden with native plants is to recover a little of the lost habitat for wildlife. One fun plant that...
- Aug 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Discovering Bladderpod: The Nose Knows
By Bobbie Stephenson. The evergreen bladderpod (Peritoma arborea; previously Cleome isomeris and Isomeris arborea), with its silvery-gray...
- Jul 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Explore Our Local Canyons
By Susan Krzywicki. Canyons are an important element in the rich, biodiverse natural landscape of San Diego. The La Jolla Historical...
- Jun 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Bringing Native San Diego Sages Into the Garden
By Linda Jones. Sages are the workhorses of the native garden. Salvia, or sages, can provide attractive habitat, colorful blooms most of...
- May 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Singin’ the Blues
By Bobbie Stephenson. During the recent native garden tour put on by the San Diego chapter of the California Native Plant Society, a...
- Apr 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Why I Love Tecate Cypress
By Susan Krzywicki. Editor's Note: The Tecate cypress is an endangered species, and it's one of the many plants that the San Diego Zoo...
- Mar 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Annual Wildflowers
By Linda Jones: This time of year is usually the time to plan a walk—through your garden or to a natural area—to enjoy the colorful...
- Feb 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: A Rose is a Rose…
By Bobbie Stephenson. San Diego County is home to three species of wild roses: California wild rose (Rosa californica), bald-hip rose...
- Jan 1, 2018
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: How to Grow Woolly Blue Curls
By Lee Gordon. Trichostema lanatum, or woolly blue curls, may be San Diego’s most beautiful native shrub, but it has a reputation for...
- Dec 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
By Linda Jones. When Spanish galleons sailed up the coast in the 1700s, the explorers called Alta California “la tierra del fuego,” not...
- Nov 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Natives for Your Hummers
By Bobbie Stephenson. Anna’s hummingbirds are our most common species and reside year-round in many different native habitats and also in...
- Oct 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Root Zone Irrigation for Oaks
By Susan Krzywicki. Root zone irrigation for trees has been a staple of conventional gardening, and this technique is being used to mimic...
- Sep 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Mexican Elderberry: A Berry Good Plant
By Pat Pawlowski. Sorry. You know I mean that Mexican Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) is a VERY good plant. How good? Let me count the...
- Aug 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Our Native Penstemons
By Bobbie Stephenson. During these hot summer days, you might want to spend some time thinking about the native species you would like to...
- Jul 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Easy to Grow Natives
By: Susan Krzywicki. Starting on the adventure of using California Natives can be daunting at times. So many plants…so many new names…but...
- Jun 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: The Nose Knows
By Pat Pawlowski. And just in case your nose doesn’t know, it’s about to get educated. Some California native plants will cause your nose...
- Apr 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES
By Bobbie Stephenson. Adaptations to Aridity We are having a glorious spring because the rains have been spaced to allow the germination...
- Mar 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: How Green is My Valley
By Pat Pawlowski. Well, I do not actually live in a valley, but it is green (at least part of it). Of course, out here in Southern...
- Jan 1, 2017
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES
By Susan Krzywicki. Wildflowers for your Garden If you have seen those pretty wildflower packets in nurseries, some of which say...