Native plant gardening does not require a large, open space - it can be as easy as placing a small container in a sunny spot.
The easiest way to get started with native plants is to reach out to your local nurseries and ask if they have a native section - many nurseries now do. Alternatively, you can go directly to one of the these native nurseries in San Diego and ask the experts there what plants they would recommend for your specific needs. If you want to go it on your own, good for you!
1) Whether you are planting a single plant in a pot or adding it to a large pollinator garden, the most important thing you need to keep in mind is how much space you have for the plant to grow, how much sun the plant will receive and how much water you intend to provide it.
2) From there you can parse through your plant options by going to plant databases like this native plant search through calscape.org. Here you can narrow down native plants through several filters including size, sun needs, water needs and ease of care.
3) From your filtered options you can pick a few plants you like the look of and choose to start from seed or sapling. It is important to note that usually seeds are a much harder place to start from as many need to be carefully maintained and germinated before planting.
🌼 PRO TIP: Native wildflower seeds can be an easy and rewarding way to start planting native as you simply throw the seed on the soil, lightly push them in and give them a 10 minute soak once a week. However, do keep in mind that many wildflowers are annuals so they will not come back year after year in the same spot. 🌼
4) Once you’ve found a few plants that fit your needs, call a few local nurseries to find out if they have them in stock or what other natives they have that might fit your parameters.
5) Pick up your plants and ask the nursery staff how your particular plant should be planted - with natives it is usually as easy as digging a whole, roughing up the edges and then placing your plant in the center before backfilling. Composts or soil amendments are not usually recomended for native gardening unless you are only growing in a container or the soil in your garden is particularly difficult to grow in.
6) Initially native plants need a good first soak and then to be soaked once a week for about 10-30 mins depending on the plant. As the plant becomes established watering will taper off. Investing in an inexpensive water meter will allow you to easily monitor how wet the soil is and when you see it has dried out you know it is time to water again!
With this simple act you’ve taken a meaningful step in supporting the health of
you and the nature our younger generations will ultimately inherit.
If you want to go a step further and create a full native garden area an important inital step is designing the layout of your plants. BloomCalifornia.org has created beautiful garden design templates with plant suggestions for several different garden sizes and needs. You can find alll of the templates and tips here: https://bloomcalifornia.org/garden-inspiration/
Below are a few of examples of their design templates.
Images courtesy of Bloomcalifornia.org
Balboa Parks California Native Plant Demonstration Garden
Location: 2201 Morely Field Dr., San Diego CA
https://balboapark.org/parks-trails-gardens/california-native-plant-garden-balboa-park/
Paradise Hills Native Garden
Location: 6800 Potomac Street, San Diego, CA, 92139
The Point Loma Native Plant Garden
Location: the entrance to the garden is at the corner of Mendocino Blvd. and Greene Street in Ocean Beach.
The nearest street address is 4444 Greene St. 92107.
The Kumeyaay Garden at USD
Location: The Kumeyaay Garden is located on the north edge of USD campus, just north of the Hahn University Center, overlooking Tecolote Canyon.
PB Beach Garden
Location: 4960 Ocean Blvd. 92109. Small garden with path at the north end of the grassy park.
Research to support native gardening...
Native plants are indigenous plants that have naturally occurred and evolved in a particular ecosystem *1, 2, 3. In North America native plants are widely considered to be plants that naturally occurred and evolved under the conditions of one particular ecosystem since before European contact, around 500 years ago *1, 2, 3, 4. Native plants can be crucial to the success of a restoration project for a variety of reasons, but objectively the most compelling reason to use native plants is their ability to restore the biodiversity of their native ecosystems *5, 6.
Beyond their ability to restore or preserve local species food webs and biodiversity, native plants are a smart choice for the savvy gardener because once they are established in the soil they require less maintenance, less water, and less pesticides than their non-native counterparts (California Native Plant Society, n.d.). In fact, a native garden can use up to 85% less water annually compared to a traditional garden *10. This is due to the fact that native plants have evolved to the specific traits of their native ecosystem so once established they often need little to no water beyond the water they absorb from annual rainfall *10. Moreover, many native plants require very little maintenance beyond a pruning once a year because they self propagate and work together to deter pests *8, 9, 10. Say goodbye to your lawnmower, fertilizers and pesticides!
A lesser known benefit of planting native plants is their ability to help curb ocean pollution. Urban runoff that flows over our cities' human-made, impermeable surfaces and into our waterways is a major contributor to ocean pollution *7. Native plants, with their deep root systems, absorb more water through the soil and act as a physical barrier - effectively impeding urban runoff (littered with oil, pesticides and bacteria) from reaching the ocean below and causing considerable pollution and flooding *7, 8, 9.
*1.Liu et. al. 2014 2.National Park Service, 2001 3. USDA, n.d.4 Oberbauer, T., 2018 5.Narango et al., 2018 6. Burghardt, et al., 2010 7.Soak Up the Rain: What’s the Problem?, 2015, 8. Pokorny, 2023, 9. California Native Plants and Winter Gardening Tips – Flows to Bay, n.d. 10. water.ca.gov
