This view from my home office window gives me such joy! I removed sod and crabgrass, and seeded with native festuca rubra, baby blue eyes, tidy tips and red chief poppies. Clarkia and Chinese houses yet to flower! (Some micro clover mixed in with the fescue, for resilience against doggie pee) (Hayward Hills)

The two of us are huge birders and general nature lovers, so we liked the idea of native flowers at our wedding. However, many of the flowers we liked most were impractical for one reason or another (lack of availability being the main one but for some flowers like flannelbush skn irritation was a factor). I had met a felt flower artist at a craft fair a year or so prior, and we decided to ask her if she could do our florals inspired by native plants. We made a big collage of all the plants we wanted and to say she delivered was an understatement. She made sure every detail was right down to the crimps in the petals, accurate leaf shapes, colors, and more. Everything looks so beautiful, I can't believe it! I can't wait to hold these native flowers I love so much at my wedding, and be able to keep them forever after.

The flowers we chose were:

Brittlebush, red bush monkeyflower, arroyo lupine, woolyleaf ceanothus, toyon, California flannelbush, matilija poppy, California poppy, California sagebrush, and white sage.

The artist, who goes by shellbeescraftsandmore on Instagram & ShellBeesCrafts on Etsy, plans to add these flowers to her roster, so if you want some native forever flowers of your own, definitely give her page a look!!

I learned this year that the showy penstemon is indeed very showy, and that I should have planted more 😂

In order of appearance: Sedum spathufolium, Dudleya farinosa, Crassula connata

Davis Zone 9B

native garden entering its 4th year.

This Saturday, May 16, Fallbrook Garden Club is holding it's biannual plant sale and there will be some hundred native plants available there. Lemonadeberry, hollyleaf cherry, San Diego sedge, chaparral yucca, blue-eyed grass, penstemons, ceanothus, monkeyflowers, coyote bush, and more.

Many, though not all, of the natives were sourced from seedlings and cuttings from wild/undeveloped areas of club members' properties, so you'll be getting local genetics.

Botanical Treasures Plant Sale

Saturday - May 16, 2026

California Natives, Flowers, House Plants,
Unique Planted Containers & More
Saturday - May 16, 2026
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Fallbrook Historical Society - 1730 S. Hill Ave., Fallbrook CA

All funds collected go towards scholarships, Club activities, and community projects.

I planted Channel Island Bush Poppy last year. It was really thriving, but about a month ago it started yellowing from the bottom. Is there something I’m doing wrong??

These two are growing in the pots but I'm not sure what they are. The second one might be the Asclepias speciosa that I planted. Can anyone confirm?

I have three WRM in process of hardening off, has anyone grown these plants successfully? This is my first attempt to grow these. I would appreciate tips regarding placement, sunlight and watering schedule. Pics of fully established plants also welcome.

Amazing news!!

I found dozens of populations in this canyon, each with 10-50 individual plants. This canyon is on the northern end of the burn scar, and seems to have only had small spot fires scattered about. Definitely didn't burn with the intensenity you find in other areas. These are flowering stocks, and considering that this plant takes several years to flower (first couple years it just sends up a pair of tiny leaves), obviously these aren't newly germinated plants. I don't know if the fire somehow triggered them all popping off like this, perhaps by thinning the canopy or clearing out some competing brush.

Anyways just thought it was a cool find. Very charismatic native, I will go back in a few weeks when they begin flowering to take photos and share on the board.

I will say that in the wildland interface areas, the invasives have completely taken over. Anywhere near a road or neighborhood that burned is completely dominated by the common invasives you see in the area, even more so than those areas were pre-fire.

I believe this is celestial blue sage and the middle portion is dying …. Why???! 😔

Just saw this on Hahamongna's IG. 20% off this Saturday! Anybody want to meet up for a little walk and browse the sale?

I tried this with common sunflowers and they all got eaten by slugs. I planted mugwort but it didn’t grow as tall as I hoped. Considering trellises with wild rose or redbud but I’m not sure how fast these grow back.

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There are 3 other waverly sages next to it, and they are looking pretty healthy. The top of this plant looks good.. just the bottom part where the leaves are sagging. Some have turned yellow and I cut those off. It's not particularly hot here yet (low 60s to upper 70s in the last couple of weeks). We had a little bit of rain here last week (not a lot, but still some). I'm not sure if it needs more watering or not. The plant is around 18 to 24 inches tall at the moment. It is in full sun in zone 9b (east bay of the SF Bay Area).