Last July, I carefully planted a "California Native Plant" garden. We live in a condo and our yard is fairly small (8 X 30 feet), but still enough room to have a little fun with plants and flowers. I spent a day digging, planting and providing lots of water to give the young plants a fighting chance. Little did I know that planting in July wasn't the greatest time (too hot), but what's done is done. Most of these hardy plants survived the heat and dry Santa Ana winds. Throughout the fall and winter months there was very little growth above ground which discouraged me, but it was explained to me that these plants were doing most of their growing under ground and I was promised that in the spring they would take off. I was not disappointed.
I have had so much fun watching these plants grow - I've even taken cuttings off some of them and started new plants which I was then able to give away to friends. The interesting thing about California natives is that they really don't require much water - in fact, you can kill them with too much water. There were times when I thought a plant looked stressed, and my first thought was to give it more water. But when I resisted that temptation I would quickly see that they plant was fine (in most cases). That's not to say that I have not killed a few plants, because I have - but my guess is that they were over-watered.
Since we live in a condo - there is regular irrigation on the hillside above our garden - so we are getting water from that. If not for that source, I would possibly have to water more.
As you can see these plants are fairly happy - they provide lots of interest for us and the pollinators around here. We love to hike, and we see many of these plants in our local foothills and mountains - so it's such a treat to walk outside into our back yard to see these plants and smell the scents that we would normally smell on an afternoon hike. As they become more established, I will water less and less. With the irrigation on the hillside above - my guess is that I won't have to water more than a few times a year. Saving water around these parts is a good thing right now - it's a good feeling to know we don't have to sacrifice the garden due to water shortages. I'm glad I made the decision to kill the grass and put in a more interesting yard that requires minimal care and water. More and more folks are doing the same here in San Diego County - it's a good thing on so many levels (saves money and is good for the critters and environment).
Happy planting!!
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