🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Mar4.235405.17341@morrow.stanford.edu> GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan) writes:
>How do you get rural homeowners to think in terms of natives when
>landscaping?  Anyone have any ideas?

Drought and fire are good motivators, since natives are both
drought and fire resistant.  I have a "Darwinian" garden in which
plants I like that survive without much watering or care are
welcome to stay, all others die (as they ought to) when the rain
stops :-)  This heavily favors natives and keeps me from working too
hard in the garden.

Also note that some houses survived the Oakland fire last year
because their native landscaping was more fire resistant than most
"standard" exotics.

But seriously, I believe that a garden composed of natives is
cheaper to maintain (even if the plants are initially more
expensive and harder to find) than a garden of exotics.  Best of
all, you can forget about installing, maintaining, and paying water
bills for sprinklers.

There are lots of natives which have been "improved" through breeding to
be more amenable to landscaping.  Info is available from the Saratoga
Horticultural Society (Not sure of the name, but SURE it's in Saratoga,
CA), and there's also a booklet published free by the Santa Clara Valley
Water District.  The SCV's free booklet is oriented mainly towards water
conservation and wildlife support uses of natives, and the Horticultural
Society's booklet is mainly for homeowners.

Locally (Bay Area / Penninsula), some areas prohibit landscaping with
exotics (parts of Portola Valley).  As a result, most local nursuries
have a small collection of natives for sale.  The Yerba Buena Nursery on
Skyline Bld (415)851-1668 in Woodside has a superb collection of natives
suitable for landscaping, but it's at the end of a long, windy dirt
road.