Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected by Roger Raiche on Inverness Ridge in Marin Co.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Introduced by Native sons Nursery from seedling on their property.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selection from Tranquillon Ridge in santa Barbara, under bishop pines. Introduced by Native sons Nursery.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers shade in coastal sites, and shade in inland sites. Selected from spooner's Mesa (san Diego County) along the Tijuana River estuary near Mexico by Dylan Hannon.

Romanzoffia californica is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name California mistmaiden. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in moist and wet habitat, such as coastal bluffs and mountain forests. Romanzoffia californica grows erect to 40 centimeters tall from a network of hairy brown tubers. Around the base is a number of leaves with rounded, evenly lobed blades on petioles several centimeters long.

Coulter's Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri) is one of the largest and showiest California poppies. Large white petals with a crinkled texture surround yellow stamens, giving this poppy a bright, cheerful appearance. Its flowers, which can be as large as 7 inches across, are attractive to bees and butterflies.

This plant can be challenging to establish, as it can suffer from both too much and too little water. Once established, however, it readily spreads by rhizomes and can soon outgrow its intended area. (Pulling shoots usually suffices to control it.) Plant in full sun in well-draining, sandy soil. Matilija Poppy is a low-water plant that does not need supplemental summer irrigation once established.

Hybrid of Romneya coulteri and Romneya trichocalyx. The Matilija Poppy "White Cloud" variety is similar to Rhomneya coulteri, having a fuzz on the calyx and thinner, narrower leaves. We find this selection to stay a little more compact, have profuse flowers and a slightly longer flowering season. The 6" wide flowers are precision white with a yellow, round center. These bushes spread via rhizomes and can be utilized in a beautiful hedge, if properly controlled. The bushes tend to reach eight feet in height and spread as long as there is room.

Hybrid, random; origin = plant (19__) R. coulteri x R. trichoclayx?; intro Theodore Payne pre-1956 Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Theodore payne.

Romneya trichocalyx is species of flowering plant in the poppy family. This poppy is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in dry canyons in chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities, sometimes in areas recently burned.It is a popular ornamental plant, kept for its large, showy flowers. This is a shrub which may exceed two meters in height, its woody stem growing from a network of rhizomes. The gray-green, waxy-textured leaves are each divided into a few lance-shaped lobes, the blades growing up to 20 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a large, solitary flower with six crinkly white petals each up to 10 centimeters long. At the center of the flower is a cluster of many yellow stamens. The fruit is a bristly capsule 3 or 4 centimeters long containing many tiny seeds. This plant bears the largest flowers of any species native to California, rivaled only by Hibiscus lasiocarpos. It was nominated for the honor of California state flower in 1890, but the California poppy won the title in a landslide.

This plant is very similar to Romney coulteri in both appearance and requirements. This species differs only in having more prominent bristles on the sepals. Most plants sold in nurseries in California will be coulteri; trichocalyx is rarely available. The two species will hybridize and there is at least one named horticultural hybrid known as 'White Cloud'.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selection introduced by suncrest Nurseries.

Rosa minutifolia is a rare species known by the common names Baja rose and small-leafed rose. This is a very spiny, dense shrub native to the chaparral and maritime succulent scrub plant communities of Baja California and barely crossing the border into San Diego County where it's habitat has been almost completely destroyed. It is being propagated at the San Diego Botanic Garden as a conservation measure, and it is grown elsewhere as an ornamental. The branches of the shrub are gray to red-tinted and covered in long and short spines. The shiny toothed leaves are composed of small leaflets only about half a centimeter wide. The blooms are generally bright pink with many yellow-anthered stamens and masses of prickles on the undersides. It is slow growing and individual plants remain fairly compact, unlike other wild roses. Though very drought tolerant, it accepts some summer water and will often bloom in response. It has a very long flowering season; with supplemental water it is essentially year round. It's a good choice for drought tolerant gardens especially in the southern coastal counties.

The Nootka Rose, Rosa nutkana, is a rose which is native to the Pacific Northwest. It takes its name from the Nuu-chah-nulth people, who are commonly though incorrectly known also as the Nootka. In California it is most commonly found near the coast from Sonoma County to Del Norte County. Like other wild roses, it prefers moist areas and will become a large, impenetrable thicket. The spines can be rather dangerous so don't plant near walkways. One plant association in which this rose occurs is the Ponderosa shrub forest.

Woods' Rose (Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana) is a native shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist places, at elevations from 3500-11500 feet.

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is a perennial in the Rose family and is related to raspberries and blackberries. Spreading through underground rhizomes, the thornless canes can create a dense stand that is topped by large, maple-like leaves. In the spring, large white flowers bloom above the leaves. A bright red, edible fruit that resembles a raspberry (or a thimble, as the name suggests), ripens in summer.

Bees and other pollinators are attracted to the flowers, and the leaves are a host plant for many different species of butterflies and moths. Birds and other mammals eat the berries.

Thimbleberries grow in partly-shaded forest openings and on moist woodland canyons or slopes. Use Thimbleberry for erosion control on slopes in a forested garden; near shady creeks or streams; or on the north side of a house. Thimbleberry can be used as a native plant substitute for non-native berries in an edible garden or food forest.

Rubus spectabilis (Salmonberry) is a species in the Rose family native to the west coast of North America from west central Alaska to California. In California it is found primarily along the coast from Santa Cruz County northward, typically in moist areas under tree canopy. It is a shrub growing to 1-4 meter tall, with perennial, not biennial woody stems (unlike other species). It forms large, dense patches given favorable conditions. The leaves are trifoliate, 7-22 centimeter long, the terminal leaflet larger than the two side leaflets. The leaf margins are toothed. The flowers are 2-3 centimeter diameter, with five purple petals; they are produced from early spring to early summer. The fruit, which is edible, matures in late summer to early autumn and resembles a large yellow to orange-red raspberry 1.5-2 centimeter long with many drupelets.

Its spines are less menacing than others in the Rubus genus, making it more suitable for the garden. However, it tendency to spread means that it needs plenty of room. Its deep, rhizomatous root growth makes it a useful plant for bank stabilization

California Coneflower, with the botanical name Rudbeckia californica, is a deciduous perennial species in the Sunflower or Aster Family (Asteraceae). It is a large showy flowering plant, that grows in seeps, meadows and wetlands, at elevations of 400-7,800 feet, in Red Fir Forest and Mountain Meadow habitats from the central Sierra Nevada and in the Klamath Mountains into into southwestern Oregon
The Klamath Coneflower, a former variety of this species named Rudbeckia californica var. intermedia and endemic to northwestern California in the Klamath Mountains, has been reclassified as the species Rudbeckia klamathensis.

California Coneflower grows from a thick rhizome, reaching 3 to 6 feet (1-2 m) tall. It has large leaves that can be up to 1 foot (30 cm) long, and are lance-shaped to oval, smooth-edged or lobed. Most of these large leaves are basal, with a few alternately arranged along the bloom stems.

The yellow flower has an inflorescence that is a usually solitary sunflower-like flower head with a base up to 2.5 inches (6 cm) wide lined with several ray florets, each of which are 0.75 to 2.5 inches (2-6 cm) long. The yellow ray florets extend outwards and then become reflexed, pointing back down along the stem. It blooms in July and August. The disc florets filling the button-shaped to conical to cylindrical center of the head are greenish yellow. The fruits are achenes tipped with a pappus of scales.
California Coneflower prefers partially shaded, cool, and seasonally to always moist garden conditions.

Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in salt marshes and alkali flats, at elevations from 0-300 feet.

Red willow (Salix laevigata) is a fast-growing native tree commonly found along creeks and wetlands throughout California, from sea level to 5,000 feet. It thrives in consistently moist areas and is often used for erosion control, restoration projects, and bioswales.

This mostly deciduous tree has flexible reddish twigs, shiny green leaves with pale undersides, and yellow catkins in spring. Female trees produce cottony seeds that are dispersed by wind. Its variable form includes multiple twisting trunks that often sprawl along creek beds before growing upright.

Red willow is an important habitat tree, providing food for butterflies like the Western tiger swallowtail, mourning cloak, Lorquin’s admiral, and hairstreaks. While not typically used in residential gardens, it is an excellent choice for wetland landscapes

Allen Chickering sage (Salvia 'Allen Chickering') is a profusely blooming mint with aromatic grey-green foliage and whorls of purple flowers. One shrub can perfume the whole garden on a warm, summer afternoon.  It is a popular hybrid of purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) and Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii.) As such, it is a plant of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub in Southern California.

Hummingbirds adore the nectar from the flowers.  The plant also attracts butterflies, bees, moths, and other pollinators. 

Allen Chickering Sage (Salvia 'Allen Chickering') tolerates almost any soil type and, once established, needs no summer water. It is smaller and more compact than many sages.

Bee's bliss sage (Salvia x 'Bee's Bliss') is a fast-growing low plant which is great for slope coverage or as a beautiful and inexpensive ground cover.  It has a beautiful spreading form to a maximum of 2 feet high and 5 feet wide. The leaves are silvery grey-green, the flowers lavender or pink. They bloom in profusion in the spring on long flower stalks and have a pleasant fragrance.

This plant takes full to part sun, prefers well-draining soil and is drought tolerant after it is established, though it tolerates a wide range of garden conditions.  Occasional deep watering in summer is recommended.

This plant is nearly deer proof. It is a favorite of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

Salvia 'Blue and White' is from a cutting by Greg Rubin, most likely of a salvia 'Betsy Clebsch". Unlike the Betsy Clebsch flowers that are variable and can be blue, white or bi-colored on a single plant, the 'Blue and White' have bloomed consistently with bi-colored deep blue and white flowers. It begins flowering in May and continues through the summer and into fall. 'Blue and White' has compact growth to about 3 feet tall and wide. It is a bit more fussy about it's soil then the straight Cleveland sage, as it prefers good drainage and a hot, sunny site. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Garden hybrid introduced by Bob sussman of Matilija Nursery.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Distinguished by its large bluish-purple flowers, celestial blue sage (Salvia ‘Celestial Blue’) attracts many native pollinators to the garden. Celestial blue sage is a hybrid created by Bert Wilson, the founder of Las Pilitas Nursery. It is a cross of Salvia clevelandii, Salvia pachyphylla, and Salvia leucophylla (Cleveland, blue, and purple sage).

Hardy and easy to grow, this low-water shrub is tolerant of coarse, sandy soil and summer heat. It grows in large mounds that can reach 5 ft in width and height. Fragrant gray-green leaves accent the richly colored blooms. The flowers attract hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies, including the Swallowtail. The seeds provide food for songbirds. 

Celestial blue sage does well on dry sunny slopes and in other areas where growing conditions may be challenging for other plants. It can be used for erosion control and as a groundcover

Dara's Choice Sage, botanically known as Salvia 'Dara's Choice', is a hybrid of Sonoma Sage (Salvia sonomensis) and Black Sage (Salvia mellifera). This evergreen plant is semi-deciduous in summer, reaching 1 to 2 feet in height and 3 to 6 feet in width. The small leaves are a rich green color and contrast well with the blue to lavender-blue flowers, blooming in the spring through early summer.

Dara's Choice Sage maintains its dense and solid foliage appearance, even after many years, making it useful to gardeners as a compact spreading ground cover or low mounding shrub. It is fast-growing and adaptable to different soils, from sandy, coarse-grained soil to clay. It prefers sun in coastal sites, and part sun or light afternoon shade in inland sites. Once established, it is drought adapted.

The fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.

It was selected for the garden by horticulturalist Dara Emery, and in 1979 introduced by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden (Introduced by TpF)

Hybrid of salvia apiana X mellifera.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Hybrid between s. clevelandii, s. dorrii, and s. mohavensis.

Salvia hybrid. This sage is very useful in the garden. It is tolerant of heat and needs very little water, making its creeping and groundcover characteristics a good match for rocky hillsides or barren areas. This a slow-growing spreader tha is often found growing near granite rocks, and tougher conditions where other sage varieties have a harder time. The flowers are blueish-purple and are in bloom from spring to early summer, providing butterflies, hummingbirds, and pollinators with a slow-growing field of flowers to visit. The leaves are a gray-green, and fragrant when crushed. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Pozo Blue Sage (Salvia clevelandii x leucophylla 'Pozo Blue') is a small shrub in the Mint family. It is a hybrid that was introduced by Bert Wilson of Las Pilitas Nursery. It is prized for its highly fragrant, gray-green foliage and blue-violet flowers. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees are attracted to the trumpet-shaped flowers and birds eat the seed in late summer through fall. Deer and gophers tend to leave it alone, most likely due to the fragrance.

Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) and Purple Sage (Salvia leucophylla), the parent sages, grow naturally in Chaparral and Coastal Scrub plant communities. Hot, dry sights with excellent drainage are where Pozo Blue Sage will thrive. And yet, Pozo Blue Sage has proven to be adaptable to different types of soil, making it a good choice for a garden. It is tolerant of heat and low water.

Prune back by third in fall or winter for a fresher appearance and more blooms in spring and to prevent woody, leggy growth. Use the leaves for a delicious tea or to make aromatic and healing body care products.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Salvia hybrid. This sage was developed at Rancho santa Ana Botanical Gardens and is most likely a cross between White sage (S. apiana) and Black sage (S. mellifera). Starlight is fast growing shrub to about 4' x 4'. It has silvery green foliage which causes the spring and summer blooming white flowers to stand out and sparkle like stars. It is very attractive to hummingbirds, butterflies and native pollenators. It does best in full sun and only needs occasional to no extra water. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

White sage hybrid, long narrow light green leaves and pale blue to white flowers. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden (from the Verdugo Mts). Introduced by TpF.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

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.

This sage has light purple flowers and is even more aromatic than White sage or a Cleveland sage. Its leaves are similar to white sage but are slightly smaller and darker. It is a very attractive shrub to place along fences and at the back of a garden bed. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. It is thought to be a cross between Salvia apiana and Salvia clevelandii, coming from Rancho Santa Ana (now California Botanic Garden).

Compact White Sage (Salvia apiana var. compacta) is a perennial shrub that is native to Southern California. Having all the attributes of White sage (Salvia apiana) but growing about half the size, with silver-gray foliage and tall flower stems of pollinator attracting white blossoms.

It is heat and drought tolerant, with powerfully fragrant foliage that is deer resistant.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Salvia brandegeei is a herbaceous perennial evergreen shrub in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family that grows to 3-4 feet in its native habitat. For many years, it was thought to be native only to Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. In the 1960s and 1970s six colonies were found in Baja California. It is named after Kate Brandegee, a pioneering field botanist in California and Baja. In cultivation, the plant will reach 4-5 feet tall and up to 7 feet wide. It has dark green scalloped leaves, about 3-4 inches long and 0.5 inch wide. The pale blue or lavender flowers are about 0.5 inch long, in tightly spaced whorls. The violet-gray calyx, combined with the wide open flower lips, make it a very showy flower. It is best used very near the coast (within about 10 miles) in the central or southern part of the state.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Thistle Sage (Salvia carduacea) is a native annual herb in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family that grows in southern and central California, primarily in hot, dry inland areas. It comes closest to the coast in northern Santa Barbara County. It tends to grow in sandy or gravelly places, at elevations from 0-4500 feet. It has a distinctive thistle appearance but is not related to true thistles. It is more closely related to Chia (S. columbariae). It is almost always grown from seed and is sometimes included in desert seed mixes.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden. Introduced by santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Horticultural selection from salvia clevelandii. Powerfully fragrant and incredibly long blooming, Alpine Cleveland sage is also the cold-hardiest variety of its species, tolerating temperatures well below freezing. Due to its long bloom time, the Alpine variety is a particularly good addition to wildlife gardens. Use it as a screen or border shrub. The flower spikes are attractive in cut-flower arrangements. This variety was discovered growing wild on a rocky, south-facing slope of san Diego's Cuyamaca Mountains near the small town of Alpine. Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selection from san Diego County (Alpine).

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Introduced by saratoga Horticultural Foundation.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Originally collected by sean Hogan, parker sanderson, and Bart O'Brien from a coastal terrace south of Erendira in Baja California, Mexico.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden. Introduced by Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and sun or part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Whirly Blue sage is a hybrid of salvia clevelandii and s. leucophylla and sports aromatic grey-green foliage and rich violet flowers that appear on 1 to 2 foot blooming stems. It is a dense growing shrub, 4-5 feet tall, with an even greater spread.
The larger flower whorls and the deeper color of the flowers distinguish 'Whirly Blue" from both salvia 'Allen Chickering' and salvia 'Aromas'. Whirly Blue sage is great for dry, sunny spots and appreciates well-draining soil. Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies enjoy its flowers and we enjoy its leaves in tea. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.

Winnifred Gilman Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman') is a fragrant and vibrant selection of Cleveland Sage, introduced by Strybing Arboretum (now San Francisco Botanic Garden). Native to Southern California's chaparral and coastal sage scrub, it thrives in well-drained soils with minimal water once established.

This small shrub has striking red stems and clusters of blue-purple flowers, blooming in late spring and summer. Its foliage has a sweet, fresh aroma, considered the most fragrant of all California native sages.

Winnifred Gilman Cleveland Sage is a standout choice for drought-tolerant gardens, attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Plant in full sun along the coast or with some afternoon shade inland.

Chia (Salvia columbariae) is a small annual sage with vivid blue-purple flowers  that looks great mixed with California poppy.  The leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant and flower stalks rise about one and a half feet. Flowers emerge in spring. 

Plant from seed in fall, on a sunny slope or in well-drained soil. Seedlings emerge early in the rainy season and grow fast.

Desert sage (Salvia dorrii) is a herbaceous perennial or woody subshrub in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Native to mountain areas in the western United States, it thrives in dry, well-draining soils. The narrow, grey-green leaves emit a minty aroma when handled or crushed. Its mauve to purple, spike-like flower clusters remain on the plant in dried form for several weeks or months after blooming.

This heavy-blooming sage is an excellent choice for desert or high-elevation gardens. Also known as tobacco sage, Dorr's sage, mint sage, or purple sage, it attracts insects and provides valuable color and texture to the landscape.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected for the garden.