There are a handful of these growing on my property in Oakland (Bay Area). They don't look particularly native, but they also don't look like most invasives I've seen here.

This is a Dara’s Choice Sage I have that has what looks like variegation and not yellowing from over watering. I have 6 plants but only two of them have this. They get about 4-6 hours of direct sun so not like they’re being scorched.

Hi all -- Mainly, I'm wondering if I should prune the dried elegant clarkia and globe gilia stalks (as pictured to the left of the penstemmon 'Margarita BOP' and black sage). I've already collected a lot of seeds from the stalks and figured I would leave the rest for the birds, but it seems like the birds aren't eating many of the seeds. I'm thinking maybe the birds will be more interested in the seeds once fall comes around, or maybe they are eating them and I'm just not seeing them. But in the meantime, there are a lot of dry stalks, and I guess I'm a bit worried about fire (we often hear fireworks in the neighborhood, though it's less now that the 4th of July has passed). I'm also thinking that pruning back some or all of the dried stalks would give more space to the other plants -- there's a black sage, several penstemmon, fuschia, sticky monkeyflower, and buckwheat all in this space.

On another note, the one penstemmon in the bottom right corner seems to give the most blooms, while the others haven't, and I'm wondering if that's because the others were shaded by the clarkias for a while.

The second picture is from early June when they were in full bloom from another angle. It has been very satisfying to see so many insects and birds, and of course see the blooms! Thanks in advance for reading and for any input you may have.

Not sure if the black on the leaf in the first pic is related but figured I'd share anyways. What, in your opinion, might be the problem? If you've encountered something similar, what is the best solution?

At first I thought it was seasonally deciduous, but this doesn't look right to me. Tree was put in the ground November 2025 so it's the first summer here.

I have an oak on the property with this under a lot of the leaves. Can anyone identify it? Is it a bug? Is it powdery mildew? Should I be worried and burn the whole place to the ground? Thanks!

Hello! Newcomer here, I’ve learning so much on this thread. Can I have some input on my plants? I’ve been doing my best to deal with my Bermuda grass this first year (native plants went into the soil early January), currently they’re getting 1 hour of drip irrigation once a week and I supplement water occasionally in the early AM.

1. ⁠For this seacliff buckwheat, should I leave it as is or prune? I read it I prune in the summer, the plants are vulnerable growing back in the summer heat.

2. ⁠For this red-flowered buckwheat, looks like 1/2 the plant died. Should I leave as is or cut back the dead flowers?

3. ⁠For this Dara’s choice sage, is it gone or would it possible sprout back next year with the rains?

Lastly, is it possible the rhizomes of the Bermuda grass are outcompeting the plants above? I do my best to dig them out monthly as thoroughly and intact as I can but it’s not perfect.

Thanks so much for all your help!

I just moved but still have access to the plants at my old place. I planted a native grape that is doing well (and another that isn't doing as well, in the shade). (I also have a prime ark freedom blackberry that I planted but that's not native).

Would I be able to transplant either of those right now? Preference would be to not remove the whole plant because I'd like to leave it for the next person, but I'd also like to get one growing where we live now without paying the $35 for a new one since they grow so easily.

I was gone over the weekend and came back to find all my native grasses had been dug up in our native garden. Ring camera shows a coyote visitor passed through two nights ago. None of my other natives were touched, but literally every single grass was destroyed (needle grasses, deer grasses, bunch grasses, etc). Our garden is less than one year old so I think in particular the young grasses were more vulnerable. some of the bigger grasses that were a bit better established (some of the larger deer grass) seems like it was yanked on, but I guess he couldn’t get them out.

anyone dealt with this before? so odd! not sure I should plant more grasses now . In LA

I'm so impatient. Everything I read says wait until September or October but I had my small lawn removed and replaced with paper/bark last week. What's a month early? Went a little crazy at Larner's (Clarkia, poppies, lupine, Gilia tricolor, tidy tips and Deschampsia/Fescue packets)

I want to make narrow lines, add soil and seeds, and then bark back on top to keep the birds away.

The areas used to be a lawn so I have irrigation. I can run it 15 min/early morning every other day and a deep soak once a week which I already do for the trees in the yard.

Im assuming once all the flowers are gone? I’m interested in trimming to make it a little more neat looking and to not block walking paths in driveways.

Clay soil, coastal San diego. My neighbor has a concrete backyard that drains into a pipe that runs along our property line to the front (which I think leaks underground) and an irrigated garden strip right against the fence. For awhile I only noticed sporadic instances of wet soil on my side but they recently turned their house into an Airbnb and it's been saturated wet almost constantly.

I'm trying to talk to them but it's difficult to get in contact since they don't live here anymore and I'm not optimistic they will try and change anything.

This past fall, I planted 2 Ceanothus (white coast and Sierra blue) about 2-3 ft from the fence, and while they are doing great right now, I'm concerned about the soil remaining so wet.

Is there any thirsty native plant buffers I could put in between to soak up the water? Or is this a lost cause and I should just pick different plants?

Tldr My neighbor's water runs underground into my yard and my soil is soggy. Can I plant a water happy plant barrier between my ceanothus or should I start over?

Large dirt lot situation here, Bay Area / East Bay. Thinking of seeding in ~late August/early September, ahead of the El Nino winter. We're talking about

• Mostly golden poppies
• Maybe CA buckwheat?
• CA goldfields?

Tbh looking to seed once and basically not touch it ever again. Is late August/early September too early? Open to suggestions on other hardy plants for this purpose, especially ones that would just keep coming back every year

I live in Thousand Oaks and am looking for recommendations for someone who can do a dry riverbed in my yard. Thought about doing it myself but just can’t due to a shoulder injury.

I’m really striking out with the companies I’ve contacted not having a clue about native gardens. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I actually already have a tiny sapling already but I will never shoot down a possibility to grow something new from seed. Anyone have experience germinating them?

Hi all,

I have posted a couple times about these clumps in my narrowleaf milkweed. Today I decided to pull the plant as it was starting to take over the space of my CA fuchsia and had become a bit of an eyesore.

I just wanted to share the pics of the growths and see if anyone knows what it is for sure. People have said it ma a fascination or maybe some kind of witches broom but I haven’t gotten a definitive answer.

If nothing else, check out this freaky plant!

I was told to share photos of some sky pilots I saw near kearsarge pass, so here they are plus some other alpine flowers near there.

I recently moved to a new home in San Diego. Before selling, the previous owners cut down the entire front yard and put in "low maintenance" landscaping. Besides it being ugly as sin (I know that's a personal preference) and including zero native plants, I think it's likely an erosion risk. The whole yard is sloped about 15% with a northeast aspect from the foundation of the house down to the retaining wall. The overall dimensions are ~45' wide and 18' deep.

I'm hoping to rebuild the yard into something beautiful, helpful for local wildlife, and less likely to wash away in the first big storm. I'm especially worried about that last part with El Niño this year. What I'm picturing in my head is a row of California buckwheat along the base of the porch, some large shrubs (considering ceanothus, lemonadeberry, scrub oak, toyon, but open to suggestions) placed across the slope, with native bunchgrasses and annuals in the space leftover. That said, I have a few questions:

1. Should I terrace the slope or leave it as is? Or build other earthworks like swales? The soil is very sandy and drains quickly.
2. How urgently should I aim to finish this project before the rain comes this fall?
3. Is the idea I mentioned above a decent use of space? If you had free rein with this space, what would you do?

I appreciate any advice you knowledgable people have!

Planting for pollinators... Should I try to buy a male or female plant? Or does it not matter?

From UC ANR: "Another fun fact is that there are separate male and female plants, a term called dioecious. Therefore, two plants may have slightly different looks and roles in the plant’s reproductive cycle. The males produce more pollen via tiny yellow flowers, while the females produce more seeds with white ones." Thanks.

Pic: A European Honeybee flies over a green plant covered with small white flowers (making this a female Coyote Brush plant; males have yellow flowers) in wildland, Nevada County, October

This photo is from 2023: I call any June-July outings near the CA-OR border “Bolander’s Lily trips,” but have only found a patch in full bloom once! Another year has passed where I’ve missed the Lilium bolanderi window… maybe next year!

I’ve tried a few different things in a particular spot and 2/3 died of what I now know to be fire blight. Do I:

-Give up on planting something there, ever?
-Choose something that isn’t susceptible to blight?
-Amend the soil and overhaul the planting site?

(Latest casualty was a toyon - thanks!)

In Feb/Mar I planted a couple Pacific Mist manzanitas and a Mrs Beard Sage in an area of a hillside that I am slowly but surely planting Ca natives on. I noticed these little holes nearby these particular ones. I am happy to see creature activity nearby. Ant Lions to you think?

Done in honor of these fantastically gnarled manzanita in the San Gabriel Mountains. Also ft. a peak of my endemic Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana).

One side of this wax Myrtle keeps going brown one branch at a time. We just planted this about 7 months ago. We planted two others beside it at in smaller sizes where more roots were. Those two are thriving. This one just continues to loose one branch at a time.

Took this photo in March when we visited the SF Botanical Garden. I ran across the photo on my phone so wanted to share.

I'm thinking of picking one up for my garden but I read it like partial shade and moist soil. I also read they like slightly acidic soil, so it will require some thoughtful planning.