Thursday, May 14, 2009

My Favorite Natives

Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'

Romneya coulteri or Matilija Poppy

Oenothera or Evening Primrose
and
Aquilegia or Columbine

All of these natives are blooming right now in both of my gardens, much to my delight. They are all easy plants once established, and drought tolerant of course. The colors are spectacular and the local birds and bees love their presence as much as I do.

12 comments:

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Native plants can be so pretty, no wonder we like to have a few in our gardens.

Unknown said...

Lovely blooms! That blue is gorgeous!

Dirt Princess said...

The primrose grows wild every where here. It is EXTREMELY drought tolerant.

"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane said...

Lovely to see! That 'Ray Hartman' is quite a guy!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I've grown 'Ray Hartman' here and was surprised at how big and how many flowers it had. The bees must love your garden now with all those native flowers blooming.

Susie said...

Lovely blog & photos. I'll keep checking in.

F Cameron said...

We just returned from France and I saw the ceanothus everywhere! The best display was in the garden at the Rodin Museum. I came back to find out about the shrub. I don't know if it will grow here in North Carolina, but I'd love to try it.

Cameron

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Ceanothus's blue color is so pure and innocent! My three bushes were damaged badly by the winter winds and snow falling from the roof...

Barbara E said...

Love your native plant pictures. Although my garden has many non-natives, natives are my passion. I put in 3 new Ray Hartman ceanothus last year outside my fence. Hope they bloom as nicely as yours.

Emerson said...

Beautiful! these are all such tough and elegant plants! I believe that particular Evening Primrose is Oenothera speciosa which is actually native to the Eastern US. No less wonderful in my eyes though!

ann said...

May I ask a question? I was at the Fullerton Arboretum this weekend and loved the mass plantings of the Matilija Poppy all in bloom. They were easily five feet tall. Do yours remain green all year or do they die back after blooming and do they need to be pruned back down to ground level? I live in Costa Mesa and have the typical small lot and would love to try these along the back fence if they remain green year round. Love coming to your blog to see what's blooming in your garden!

Sheila said...

Hi Ann, I usually cut back my matilija poppies after they bloom. In some locations they die back in the late summer because of lack of water, but always come back the following year. In other spots where they get water all year round they stay green but look straggly so I cut them back to keep them dense. I would say they are more of an accent plant than a foundation plant,if that helps!