For Californians, you need look no further than UC Davis Arboretum’s searchable list of All-Stars.
The horticultural staff of the UC Davis Arboretum have identified 100 tough, reliable plants that have been tested in the Arboretum, are easy to grow, don’t need a lot of water, have few problems with pests or diseases, and have outstanding qualities in the garden. Many of them are California native plants and support native birds and insects. Most All-Star plants can be successfully planted and grown throughout California.
The list consists of plants that the UC Davis Arboretum has proven to thrive in our Mediterranean climate. They also look good year round. Most are drought tolerant, low maintenance and attract beneficial wildlife. Not all are native, but that’s not an issue for us here at Root Simple (we like diversity). We’ve learned that if you’ve got a small garden, having plants that look good year round is particularly important.
There’s a number of our favorites on the list: Salvia apiana, Rosmarinus officinalis, Ceanothus ‘Concha’.
If you just cashed in your LA Department of Water and Power lawn rebate check and (hopefully) decided against the artificial turf grass option, the All-Star list is good place to start.
Kelly and I are working, this summer, on lowering our garden’s water needs. How has drought (assuming that’s a problem for you) changed your gardening plans?
This winter will be working on Ollas for my garden. Did experiment with the idea this year, but the pots I used were small. They really helped the seedlings get off strongly, but weren’t enough to water the full grown plants ALTHOUGH there was enough for maybe a day in each pot, so watering was an every other day thing. For the dry areas of the country, Ollas are a great idea with mulch or square foot type gardening and here in the SW, shade cloths.
We’re experimenting with ollas, too!