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Welcome to Greg's Native Garden
People often ask me what my yard looks like. Well, here’s your chance to sneak a peek. I may even put it on a garden tour one of these days (if they’ll have me). As you can see, my personal taste is quite woodsy. I like living in my own forest. I actually bought this house from my beloved client Dorothy Frisbie, who unfortunately has since passed away. Much of what you see represents her earlier vision. She was an early supporter and benefactor who helped me realize my dream. God bless you, Dorothy! |
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| Visitors are greeted out front with…what? Banks rose and cistus?? Just too pretty to part with. The Ray Hartman ceanothus behind the Banks is a blue harbinger of things to come. |
This area started out as a desert palm oasis, though I would like to get rid of the palms. |
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| As we pass the desert area, we start to transistion into an oak woodland. |
Continuing with the oak woodland along a dry stream that is partly hidden by luxuriant poppies and primrose. |
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| Passing through the gate into the backyard riparian woodland, with lots of sycamores and dogwood along the dry stream, and miniature stone fruits closer to the path. A dry stack wall retains the bank below the house on the left. |
A bridge crosses over a re-circulating stream on the other side of the house. It is located between an herb/pond garden on the right and sage/Manzanita covered slope to the left. |
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| An old ceramic pot creates a focal point filled with Zauschneria in front of a nectarine tree in the middle of the path. |
This is the entrance to the hidden chaparral garden in the very back. |
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| Redbud and Catalina cherry dominate this photo taken in the chaparral garden. |
The path winds its way between stands of Catalina bush mallow with apple blossom-like flowers. |
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| The coast sunflower has yet to set its bright yellow daisies. |
Looking back from the Redbud and wild lilac towards the Catalina bush mallow. |
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| A lovely Frosty Blue Ceanothus in bloom. |
I like to use the blue leaves of Leymus ‘Canyon Prince’ to pick up the blues of the wild lilac and complement the magenta of the Redbud. |
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| The light frothy sky-blue flowers of Ceanothus spinosus or Green-bark lilac. Great combined with the darker blue flowers of other varieties. |
A meadow of Aristida pupurea, or purple three awn grass is rapidly forming in one area anchored by a very rare Catalina mountain mahogany, Cercocarpos traskiae. |
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| A great form of low growing coffeeberry named Little Sur. Good on fire-resistant slopes and can tolerate shade or sun. |
One of my favorite native pines is Pinus muricata, or Bishop pine. It grows on the Channel Islands and is a fast growing, small pine. It’s a good substitute for Japanese black pine. |
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| A closer view of the gigantic Vicki Romo sage, which is a cross between white and Cleveland sage. It has pink flowers and grows to greater than eight feet tall and wide! |
A close up of one of my favorite ornamental native grasses, Leymus ‘Canyon Prince’. It is well behaved, neat, steel-blue in color, has nice flowers, and is a great accent in nearly any garden. |
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This accidental cross between purple sage and black sage was named ‘Calamity Jane’ by Las Pilitas nursery. It is easy, tough, and makes a fragrant, mounding slope cover with lavender flowers. |
The Lavatera ‘Purissima’ makes a great, fast growing high groundcover, covered in purple hibiscus like flowers for most of the year. Great on slopes or covering acreage, if given about water 3-4 times per month. |
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Prostrate “Dara’s Choice’ sage covers this slope in front of ‘Sunset’ Manzanita. Lovely pure blue flowers in Spring. |
Though not native, this unusual lavender in my herb garden has magenta flowers and is known as “Kew Red”. |
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| As you enter the back from the north side of the house, you are greeted by shade gardens that open into the light beyond. |
A close up of my little waterfall on the back slope that my guys put in for me as a surprise when I was away taking care of my ailing mother. |
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| Another shot of the “Kew Red” lavender, apparently developed in England at Kew Gardens. I love the red hue of the Kew! |
One of the prettiest Pacific Coast Iris hybrids I have ever seen. I wait for this one to open up every year. Looks like a tropical water lily to me. |
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I love our native dogwoods. This one is in my shaded riparian forest garden and has cluster of small white flowers and crimson red bark. Often the shapely leaves exhibit fall color before falling. A beautiful shrub and the birds ravish the berries. |
A very pretty little coral bell blooms pink next to the dry stream. What lovely plants these are. |
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Baccharis ‘Pigeon Point’ is one of my favorite slope groundcovers. It is luscious green and fire resistant, and a very good slope stabilizer. |
A pink flowered native morning glory grows over the backyard fence. It will soon be covered in flowers. |
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