Native Plants

Sunday morning I'll set off early. Soon, I'll be rolling down Laguna Canyon Road, then heading out with my pack, a couple of quarts of water and a sandwich. I'll hike up Bommer Ridge and then drop down into Emerald Canyon for the long, slow, beautiful walk all the way to Laguna Beach – then back. During those 10 miles on the trail I'll re-connect with where I live and where I garden, California. In the gardening paradise of California it's easy to forget where we are. Our gardens are hosts to plants from Africa, Asia, South America and Australia.

Thank you for covering the Buck Gully study session ("Overgrown gully targeted," Wednesday). I spoke at the meeting regarding the opportunity to convert the Buck Gully landscape to native plants, specifically coastal sage scrub, consistent with the area's original flora. The city's report states that the area should be planted with native-type species. My point is that the city should make a commitment to the following: Use native plants appropriate for the area.

Steven Gonzales left for home Sunday afternoon with the battle scars and scrapes of a seasoned wildlife expert. For the last three hours, the La Palma resident spent time from his day off pulling weeds and planting native vegetation in the Newport Beach Upper Back Bay. He worked hard but was never alone in his endeavors as his co-workers from the Banana Republic all did their part to clear the mess and help new life grow. Once every quarter the men and women who keep the shirts folded and the shelves stocked at the store in South Coast Plaza choose a charitable event to participate in as a team.

Having just returned from the Great Park's board of directors meeting, I was again reminded of how significant California's native plants can be to our landscapes. Head designer Ken Smith, renowned landscape architect Mia Lehrer, designer Enrique Norton and ecologist Steven Handel anticipate that native selections will make up over 40% of the park's new 60-acre botanical garden. California's native plants finally are making their way into our home gardens as well. This is an appropriate response to the pressures of water, urban runoff, groundwater pollution and green waste.

Newport Beach is getting ready to embark on a roughly $5 million project to clean up the water and bring native plants back to Big Canyon Nature Park. Restoring the area could improve the habitat for numerous species of endangered birds. “Some residents have said they don’t hear the birds singing as often in that area, and one of our goals is to bring the song birds back,” Councilwoman Leslie Daigle said. The 55-acre Big Canyon Creek area between Jamboree Road and Upper Newport Bay is a hodgepodge of different habitats, including tidal wetlands and freshwater marshes.

Irvine Ranch and UC Irvine researchers are undergoing a project that examines the ranch's native plant communities and its potentially threatening, non-native plant species. The research project is the first launched that's part of a five-year, $1-million grant awarded to UCI in November by the Irvine Co. and its chairman, Donald Bren. The researchers will scientifically investigate the ranch's environmental challenges and come up with solutions. Some of the ranch's non-native plants were brought over from the Mediterranean rim by California's early Spanish colonialists.

Coral Wilson Nature lovers admire the beauty and diversity of plants from around the world. But members of the California Native Plant Society say there is nothing more natural than going native -- by including California's native plants in landscaping in their gardens. And just to prove that to nonbelievers, members of the Orange County chapter are inviting people to their homes to enjoy their gardens on Saturday and Sunday. "When people think native, they think brown, dead and ugly," said Barbara Shelton of Corona del Mar. "I want people to see, it can be mixed and it can be beautiful."

The debate between which plants should prevail in gardens, native plants or introduced plants, is a contentious one. Advocates of our native flora will point out such qualities as water conservation, wildlife opportunities, their limited need for fertilizer and reduced maintenance needs. Traditionalists, favoring exotic plants, speak of their year-round good looks, the large diversity of choices, easy availability and the important security of gardening with plants with which they are already familiar.

Commission will host Back Bay cleanup The California Coastal Commission, in partnership with local environmentalists, is sponsoring a cleanup of Upper Newport Bay today. From 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will be preparing the soil for a new batch of native plants. The commission, Orange County and the state's Department of Fish and Game, in cooperation with local environmentalists, have been removing invasive plants. The Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends have taken a lead role in the project.

June Casagrande At first, it seemed like a godsend: City staff had come up with a compromise to please people on both sides of a debate on how to develop Castaways Park. But after talks with two environmental agencies, the idea of using a native grass to create a turf-like picnic area is clearly not the panacea some had hoped for. Community members have squared off over whether the 17-acre park should include a 2.5-acre patch of turf grass where people can picnic, throw Frisbees and fly kites.

COSTA MESA — Councilwoman Wendy Leece remembered when she was on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission and the Fairview Park Wetlands & Riparian Habitat Project first crossed her desk. Costa Mesa City Engineer Ernesto Munoz and Public Services Director Peter Naghavi remembered what Fairview Park used to look like before the project. "There was nothing here," they said. How far Fairview Park has come. Standing at the end of a dirt trail Thursday afternoon with the occasional jogger and bicyclist passing by, city and county officials celebrated the beginning of Phase 2 of the wetlands project, slated to begin in August.

Spring has finally arrived. The sun is shining, and here in Southern California that means gorgeous wildflower blooms. Our state is home to an amazing array of plant diversity, ranging from redwoods to palms, pines to succulents. California is one of the most botanically rich regions in the world. With this amazing diversity comes threats to our native plants, especially through urbanization. As more homes are built, more lawns need to be cared for. More boxwoods, camellias, petunias and geraniums mean less poppies, sages, lupines and oaks.

The debate between which plants should prevail in gardens, native plants or introduced plants, is a contentious one. Advocates of our native flora will point out such qualities as water conservation, wildlife opportunities, their limited need for fertilizer and reduced maintenance needs. Traditionalists, favoring exotic plants, speak of their year-round good looks, the large diversity of choices, easy availability and the important security of gardening with plants with which they are already familiar.

Irvine Ranch and UC Irvine researchers are undergoing a project that examines the ranch's native plant communities and its potentially threatening, non-native plant species. The research project is the first launched that's part of a five-year, $1-million grant awarded to UCI in November by the Irvine Co. and its chairman, Donald Bren. The researchers will scientifically investigate the ranch's environmental challenges and come up with solutions. Some of the ranch's non-native plants were brought over from the Mediterranean rim by California's early Spanish colonialists.

Sunday morning I'll set off early. Soon, I'll be rolling down Laguna Canyon Road, then heading out with my pack, a couple of quarts of water and a sandwich. I'll hike up Bommer Ridge and then drop down into Emerald Canyon for the long, slow, beautiful walk all the way to Laguna Beach – then back. During those 10 miles on the trail I'll re-connect with where I live and where I garden, California. In the gardening paradise of California it's easy to forget where we are. Our gardens are hosts to plants from Africa, Asia, South America and Australia.

I do my best every year about this time to remind local gardeners of the importance of fall gardening. I can't say it much better than I did two years ago in this same column, so here it is again: Sit down. Don't get mad and don't turn the page quite yet. This isn't a misprint. For local gardeners the mantra is "fall is spring. " Those three words form the foundation of successful gardening in Southern California. Forget the calendar for a moment and read on. In Mediterranean climates, from a plant's point-of-view, there are really only two seasons: a cool season and a warm season.

April 23, I was looking at the displays at the big garden show at South Coast Plaza. As I rounded the corner I saw a booth with a nice collection of shrubs, perennials, vines and grasses. I stepped closer. At the front of the display I quickly noticed a large table of plants, separated from the rest of the display. On the table was a prominent sign that read, “California Natives.” Terrific; I was pleased to see many familiar native plants on the table. These native plants were clearly popular, attracting a lot of attention.