Native Plant Demonstration Garden Examples

           Pink-Flowered Currant
         Ribes sanguineum glutinosum

Pink Flowering currant is a deciduous shrub with long showy pink flower clusters that cover the plant in January to March. Ribes sanguineum var glutinosum is native to canyons and north slopes in the coast ranges. This currant likes shade to part shade, moderate water in interior, very drought tolerant in coastal gardens. They were surrounded by Bays, Tan-Bark oak, Yerba Buena, and Holodiscus. They look like they belong in a redwood garden, Oak Woodland, or Evergreen Forest. Pink-flowering currant can be successful in a lawn. This plant looks good enough for a formal landscape. It will survive most shady garden situations in the valley. Those we've planted in shade along Riverside Boulevard at the Old City Cemetery Demonstration Garden are doing beautifully.

                                               Sugar Bush
                                                                                                  Rhus ovata

Sugar Bush, Rhus ovata, is an evergreen shrub that can grow to twelve feet. This native of Southern California and Arizona has large white flower clusters in March-May, large leathery leaves, and reddish berries used to make a lemonade-like drink. Native to dry slopes away from the coast, Santa Barbara County south into Baja, Sugar bush likes sun and little or no water after established. You can use as a screen, hedge or specimen. The plant needs little tidying to look tidy. In areas that are fire prone, water once a month in the summer between plants or wash the foliage off with 15 minutes of sprinklering once every week or two and make sure there are NO weeds near the plants. Sugar bush will still burn but only after everything else has, literally.

Snowflurry Ceanothus is an evergreen 10-foot bush with lush 2-inch leaves and a good white flower show. Not as drought tolerant or cold tolerant as other individuals of this species we have grown. This one is not hardy below 15° F, and expect severe damage at 20 degrees F.<
The Snow Flurry at the Demo-Garden is planted in a shady area along Riverside Boulevard.

                                                                                           Mountain Lilac
                                                                                       Ceanothus Ray Hartman

The Ray Hartman form of mountain lilac is an evergreen shrub to 20'. Flowers are light to medium blue in 6" flower spikes. The leaves are glossy and dark-green. It is very fast to 10-ft in 18 months. ´Ray Hartman' is very drought tolerant. Upright growth in most gardens, no cold damage at 15° F. Deer love the new growth! 'Ray Hartman' has been reliable in most situations including interior heat. The myth of Ceanothus being short lived is primarily spread by incompetent gardeners that insist on drip, summer water and soil amending. Native plants hate all three. Expect a 20-25 year life in most gardens.

Mounding evergreen perennial 4 inches high, 1 foot wide, with pale pink pom-poms on 10 to 14 inch stems. Good low border, in rock gardens, in sea coast gardens and meadows. This plant is native to coastal rock bluffs. At the Demo-Garden it's growing in the shade in an area that gets occasional overspray from nearby irrigated lawn area.

                                                                                           Alum Root
                                                                                       Heuchera micrantha

Evergreen clump with scalloped leaves that grows 1 foot round. 2 foot stalks rise above bearing tiny bell shaped creamy white flowers late spring, early summer. Full sun near the coast, part shade anywhere, quite drought tolerant. Good under redwoods and native oaks. At the garden we have it planted beneath our redwood tree.

Bush Anemone
Carpenteria californica

This perennial evergreen grows to 8' height, 6'+ width. Native growth habits are medium; dry granite ridges and slopes between 1200 and 4000' in Foothill Woodland and Yellow Pine Forest. Needs medium shade in the interior and some water. This is a popular native, due to its delicate, lightly-scented white flowers with yellow centers and evergreen foliage. At the demonstration garden they are planted in moderately shady areas that occasionally receive overspray from nearby lawn areas. Those in the interior part of the garden have toughed it in shaded area without any summer watering what so ever. It is endemic to Fresno County and is a CNPS listed 1B, rare/endangered. It is known from only seven occurrences.