Native Plants for Coastal Gardens
Southern California coastal garden conditions are relatively dry (usually less than 15 inches/year) with erratic, unpredictable winter rains, the presence of salt spray, daily breezes and summertime fog, and little chance of freezing temperatures. Plant communities include coastal strand, coastal sage scrub and chaparral. The following list includes plants that can accept winds and salt spray.
Plant Name
Perennial |
Common Name
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Achillea millefolium ‘Calistoga’ ‘Island Pink’ Agave shawii Ambronia latifolia A. maritima A. umbellate Artemisia pycnocephala ‘David’s Choice’ Armeria maritima var. californica Aster chilensis ‘Point St. George’ Coreopsis gigantea C. maritima Dudleya brittonii D. ‘Frank Reinelt’ D. pulverulenta D. virens ssp. hassei Erigeron glaucus Erigeron ‘W.R.’ Eriogonum. latifolium Eriophyllum nevinii ‘Canyon Silver’ E. staechadifolium Festuca rubra ‘Jughandle’ F. rubra ‘Patrick’s Point’ Fragaria chiloensis F. chiloensis ‘Aulon’ Galvezia speciosa ‘Firecracker’ Grindelia camporum G. stricta var. platyphylla Iris douglasiana Juncus patens and cultivars
Lessingia filaginifolia ‘Silver Carpet’
Leymus condensatus ‘Canyon Prince’
Lupinus arboreus
Monardella crispa M. villosa
Shrubs and TreesArtemisia californica A. californica ‘Canyon Gray’ A. californica ‘Montara’ Atriplex lentiformis ssp. breweri Baccharis pilularis and cultivars Ceanothus gloriosus C. gloriosus ‘Anchor Bay’ C. gloriosus ‘Heart’s Desire’ C. griseus C. griseus ‘Louis Edmunds’ C. griseus var. horizontalis C. griseus var. horizontalis ‘Yankee Point’ C. hearstiorum C. maritimus C. maritimus ‘Frosty Dawn’ C. maritimus ‘Point Sierra’ C. maritimus ‘Popcorn’ C. thyrsiflorus C. thyrsiflorus ‘Snow Flurry’ C. thyrsiflorus var. repens ‘Taylor’s Blue’ Cercocarpus betuloides Encelia californica E. californica ‘El Dorado’ Eriogonum arborescens E. cinereum E. fasciculatum ‘Dana Point’ E. giganteum E. grande var. rubescens E. latifolium Garrya elliptica G. elliptica ‘James Roof’ Heteromeles arbutifolia H. arbutifolia var. cerina ‘Davis Gold’ Isocoma arborea Lavatera assurgentiflora Lavatera ‘Purisima’ Lepechinia calycina ‘Rocky Point’ Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. asplenifolius Myrica californica Pinus contorta ssp. contorta P. radiata P. torreyana Prunus ilicifolia var. lyonii Rhus integrifolia
R. lentii |
yarrow Calistoga yarrow Island Pink yarrow Shaw’s agave yellow sand-verbena red sand-verbena common sand-verbena David’s Choice sagewort sea pink Point St. George aster tree coreopsis sea dahlia Britton’s live forever Frank Reinelt dudleya chalk live dudleya dudleya seaside daisy Wayne Roderick seaside daisy coast buckwheat Catalina silver lace SBBG introduction seaside wooly sunflower Jughandle red fescue Patrick’s Point red fescue beach strawberry Aulon beach strawberry Firecracker bush snapdragon giant gum-plant gum-plant Douglas iris common rush Silver Carpet California aster Canyon Prince giant wild rye bush lupine curl-leaf mint coyote mint
sagebrush Canyon Gray sagebrush Montara sagebrush Brewer’s quail bush coyote brush California lilac Anchor Bay California lilac Heart’s Desire California lilac California lilac Louis Edmunds California lilac Carmel creeper Yankee Point Carmel creeper California lilac maritime ceanothus Frosty Dawn ceanothus Point Sierra ceanothus Popcorn ceanothus California lilac Snow Flurry ceanothus Taylor’s Blue ceanothus mountain mahogany bush sunflower El Dorado bush sunflower Santa Cruz Island buckwheat ashyleaf buckwheat Dana Point buckwheat St. Catherine’s lace red buckwheat coast buckwheat coast silk tassel James Roof silk tassel toyon Davis Gold toyon bladder pod tree mallow Purisima tree mallow Rocky Point pitcher sage fern leaf Catalina ironwood California wax myrtle lodge pole pine Monterey pine Torrey pine Catalina cherry lemonade berry pink flowering sumac |
References Bornstein, Carol, David Fross and Bart O’Brien. 2005. California Native Plants for the Garden. Los Olivos, CA: Cachuma Press.
Brinkmann-Busi, Angelika. “Native Plants of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Suitable for Gardening Use.” http://www.sccnps.org/local-plants-suitable-for-gardening. Nice list of plants for coastal gardens.
Las Pilitas website, search for coastal sage scrub or coastal strand (if you are very close to the beach), http://www.laspilitas.com/comhabit/california_communities.html
Lowry, Judith Larner. 1997. “Native Plants for Coastal Gardens.” In Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Occasional Publications, No. 2. Symposium Proceedings. Out of the Wild and Into the Garden II. Ed.. by Bart O’Brien, Lorrae Fuentes and Lydia Newcombe. Pp. 104-111.
Perry, Bob. 1992. Landscape Plants for Western Regions. San Dimas, CA: Land Design Publishing. “Coastal Regions” p. 20.
Perry, Bob. 1989. Trees and Shrubs for Dry California Landscapes. San Dimas, CA: Land Design Publishing. “Plants tolerant of saline soils” p. 32. “Plants tolerant of salt spray” p. 33. (includes many non-natives)
Schmidt, Marjorie G. 1980. Growing California Native Plants. Berkeley, CA: UC. Press. “Native Plants for Coastal Areas.” P. 237-8
Schumacher, Fred H. 1939. “Use of California Shrubs in the Garden Design.” in An Illustrated Manual of California Shrubs. by Howard E. McMinn. San Francisco: J.W. Stacey, Inc. pp. 649-674.