Sunny pollinator patch

Export list to Excel Print plant labels Print plant signs

Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis) is a widespread, long-lived, warm-season, perennial grass native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Midwest states to Mexico. In California, it is found primarily in arid mountains of San Bernardino County.

Blue Grama accounts for most of the net primary productivity in the shortgrass prairie of the central and southern Great Plains. Blue Grama grows on a wide array of topographic positions, and in a range of well-drained soil types, from fine- to coarse-textured.

Roots generally extend 1 to 1.5 feet from the edge of the plant, and 3 to 6 feet deep. Maximum rooting depth is approximately 6.5 feet. In recent years, Blue Grama has become a popular garden accent grass, due to its green to greyish color and interesting seed heads, which resemble small pennants. 'Blond Ambition" is a popular cultivar.

Clarkia purpurea is a species of wildflower in the Onagraceae (Evening Primrose) family known by the common names Winecup Clarkia, Winecup Fairyfan, and Purple Clarkia. This plant is native to western North America where it is found in a variety of habitats. Within California it is very widespread, occurring all along the coast, in the Coast Ranges, Central Valley and Sierra foothills. There are three subspecies with differences in the flower color and with overlapping ranges. This plant erects a thin reddish stem which may approach a meter in height and has a few lance-shaped leaves. The bowl-shaped flowers have four petals usually one to two centimeters long and in shades of pink, purple, or deep wine red, often with a streak or spot of pink or red in the middle. In the garden it is almost always grown from seed and is included in many commercially available wildflower seed mixes.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), also known as Christmas Berry, is an evergreen shrub in the Rose family (Rosaceae). In the summer it produces bunches of fragrant white flowers. In the winter it develops vibrant clusters of scarlet berries. The flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators. The berries are eaten by many birds, including Mockingbirds, American Robins, and Cedar Waxwings. Mammals including coyotes and bears also eat and disperse the berries. For humans, the berries are edible after cooking, or drying and crushing, in order to break down the small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides. Indigenous People use the berries to make cider, and a granular sugar. 

Toyon is a prominent component of the Coastal Sage Scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted Chaparral, Mixed Evergreen Forest and Oak Woodland habitats. Toyon are beautiful plants and easy to grow. If properly situated, they can grow very quickly, up to 10 feet in three years. They like sun or part shade, though they tend to do better in part shade in the southern, drier part of their geographic range. They can handle a wide variety of soils, including clay, sand and serpentine. They are an excellent hedge plant.

This native bunchgrass, Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) is a popular plant choice for groundcover and lawn replacement applications. It's an attractive, low-water grass that's very easy to grow. Deergrass does best in sandy soil and full sun, but it is versatile enough to tolerate shade and a variety of soil types.

The leaf blades are pale green, and in spring the plant produces tall spikes of yellow flowers. The seeds provide food for birds in summer. Plant this large mounding grass in groups for an impressive display.

Desertbells (Phacelia campanularia) is an annual in the Waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae). Sometimes it is listed as California bluebells; always check the botanical name because there are many species of phacelia available. Desertbells leaves are light gray-green and oval. The bell-shaped flowers are deep blue with white stamens. It blooms from February through April in the desert, providing a much-needed early food source for pollinators. In cooler regions, it blooms from spring through early summer. 

In the wild, it is endemic (limited) to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in California. As an easy-to-grow annual wildflower, however, it is commonly found in native wildflower seed mixes. 

After the rainy season begins in autumn, scatter the seeds onto sandy or rocky soil. Good drainage and full sun is best. Desertbells are beautiful growing in a patch, or mixed with California poppies, golden blazing stars, or creamcups (Platystemon californicus). Allow the flowers to produce and drop seeds for more flowers next year. 

Native to Southern California's coastal sage scrub region, White Sage (Salvia apiana) is one of the state's most important Salvia species. White Sage is fragrant, with silver-white leaves, and clusters of white flowers with lavender streaks. Young leaves start off green and turn white as they get older.

White Sage is deeply rooted in the cultures and lifeways of Indigenous communities of Southern California and northern Baja, the only region this sage naturally occurs in the world. This plant's limited wild populations are under threat from poaching, climate change, and development.

Nursery-grown White Sage is a valuable pollinator plant in the garden. The small white flowers are a favorite of carpenter bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds. In Latin, "apiana" means of or belonging to bees. The blooms are accented by silvery-white foliage. White Sage is a drought-adapted low-water shrub that grows best in full sun. Pruning helps keep it neat and compact.