7 Native Flowers Perfect For Your California Home
There’s an old song that claims it never rains in California -- but that’s not true. It rains just enough to keep the Golden State’s native plants thriving year in and year out, and that makes the rainbow of low-maintenance colors the perfect choice for your Cali yard. An added bonus: these same plants will attract native pollinators like butterflies and birds. Check out these seven native flowers that are perfect for your California home.
1. Monardella
Monardella and its typically soft purple blooms are a treat for the eye. This flowering native belongs to the mint family, and you’ll find it growing in the wild in the coastal mountain ranges of southern California. There are about forty different varieties of Monardella, but one popular choice is the coyote mint (pictured above. It has a sweet scent that attracts butterflies and bees and blooms in June, July, and August.
2. California poppies
There’s a reason the California poppy is the state flower. They’re easy to grow and bring to mind “cups of gold” in gardens and landscapes. You can buy small transplants from a garden center, or sow the seeds yourself in fall or early spring. California poppies bloom in spring and early summer and can sometimes go dormant in the late summer heat. Plant them in sandy, well-drained soil. Poppies thrive in full sunlight and don't need water unless the weather is dry.
3. Manzanita
Manzanita (pictured at top) are evergreen shrubs that produce beautiful pink and white flowers. The berries are edible and a favorite of coyotes, foxes, and hummingbirds. They prefer full sun but can survive in the shade. They can also thrive in poor soil conditions and don’t require fertilizer.
4. Penstemon Marguerite BOP
Penstemon marguerite BOP adds a splash of blue and violet to California gardens. This versatile perennial adapts to a wide range of garden conditions. It’s extremely drought tolerant and with enough sun, the tubular, bell-shaped flowers can grow up to 2-feet high.
5. Common Yarrow
Fragrant, tiny white flowers make up the common yarrow, also called a nosebleed plant, devil’s nettle, and old man’s pepper. Perennial yarrow grows from 1 to 3 feet tall in most soil types and can handle full sun to partial shade. Because common yarrow grows and spreads quickly (especially in spring), you’ll want to plant it at a distance from other species.
6. Blue-eyed Grass
It’s actually more purple than the name suggests, but blue-eyed grass is a perennial herb that reaches up to two feet high and up to 3 feet wide. Growing throughout California in grassy areas and woodlands, blue-eyed grass reseeds itself and sprouts small, purple-to-blue (and sometimes white) flowers from January to June. Plant blue-eyed grass on flat land in loamy soil. Water as necessary during hot, dry months.
7. Epilobium
The California fuchsia brings the hummingbirds to the yard, and this native is easy to grow. It’s a perennial, so it comes back year after year, and its red and pink blooms add some zip to your flower beds in the summer and fall. It’s also on several fire-resistant plant lists. Its official name is Epilobium canum, and it's a willowherb that will still need some watering in the hotter, drier parts of the state at the height of the hot season.
Get Busy!
Not sure where to get started? California offers an abundance of gorgeous choices in its native plants, and sometimes you need a little inspiration. Visit a botanical garden or two, or talk to a landscape planning expert to narrow down what you want. With some planning and patience, you’ll have the perfect California yard to call your own.
Brandon Michaels is a freelance writer and landscape designer from the mountains of California. In all his work, his goal is to get people off their couches and into nature. He loves all things natural: gardening, hiking, even feeding his local raccoons.