'Bringing back the Natives'

June 7, 2006

By JUDY BRINKERHOFF
FOR THE ARGUS-COURIER

A friend and I braved the traffic of the East Bay to attend the "Bringing Back the Natives" tour early in May and would highly recommend it for next year, which will be their third annual.

You need a driver and a navigator, as the gardens are scattered throughout the East Bay cities: it's not easy to get around. It's free, by the way; all you do is register ahead of time and they mail you the lovely pamphlet.

Make sure to start early in the day, as you can't begin to get to all the gardens. You have to pick the ones that sound of interest. We chose those that had been gardened for many years. The descriptions in the pamphlet were well done and thorough

One of the gardens, high in the hills of Berkeley, was planted with ALL natives, set up at different elevations, and was a stunning example of what can be done with all natives. At one garden, I fell in love with a pretty little annual (not a California native) called Omphalodes linifolia, which is in the borage family. They call it: "Venus Navelwort."

It's a pure white, forget-me-not type flower with low, silvery foliage. It seeds itself, but with restraint, unlike forget-me-nots. Give it mostly sun and average water. You can buy a packet of seeds for $4.95 on the anniesannuals.com Web site. It really appealed to me as a "filler" plant.

Another little plant I saw, Mimulus pictus, or "Calico Monkeyflower," was growing in a pot and draping down the sides. The bloom is ivory colored with etchings of purple on the petals. It's a native California plant from dry warm hillsides in southern California. I believe it was in a pot because it needs good drainage.

Another beautiful monkey flower, Mimulus puniceus, is also from southern California. It has bright red blooms, grows on dry hillsides, often under oaks; thus, water should be minimal. Keep it well pruned in the fall; it will go semi-dormant in the winter; grows about 2 feet tall and 3 feet across.

Did you know you can "google" the names of flowers and see many photos of them plus textual information? "Google" the above three plants to see photos and places to buy them.

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An exciting plant I'm growing around my pond is a native from the islands off the coast of southern California. St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum -- and it can become a giant) is a wonderful shrub that will attract a variety of insects, bees and butterflies. Happy, it will become a 4-5 foot shrub that will need no summer water and tolerates all sorts of soils.

It's supposed to be deer resistant, but you know deer! Mine has had a few tips munched. The flowers are huge, in 12" umbels (an umbel is a flower form, such as you see in Queen Anne's Lace or Cow Parsnip) and bloom off and on spring through fall.

I am planting with more and more natives, but I often see a plant I just "have to have." As long as it attracts bees or butterflies, I'm happy too. Cerinthe major is an example. It is from the Mediterranean, and seeds itself easily around your yard. The purple flowers are apparently full of nectar, as the honey- and bumble-bees are always burrowing into the blooms.

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California native plant lovers, take note: The Milo Baker chapter of CNPS meets at 7:30 p.m. June 19 at the Luther Burbank Garden Center on 2050 Yulupa Ave in Santa Rosa. This month's speaker is Peigi Duvall, who is the horticultural program chair for CNPS and a landscape designer. She is speaking on "Landscaping for Sustainability." Come on out.

Our local native plant sale this year will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 14. Plants sell fast, so go early. You'll meet every gardener you've known there! It's always held at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building across from the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. More on that later, but put it in ink on your calendar. Call Liz Parsons at 833-2603 or write her at lizpar8993@aol.com if you need more information.

Garden tours at Occidental Arts & Ecology in Occidental are from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 10 and June 25, with a suggested $10 donation. It's worth it! Call 874-1557, ext. 201 for information.

(Judy Brinkerhoff has been studying native plants for 20 years. She is the author of two other Sonoma County gardening columns. E-mail her at joodbrink2@aol.com.)