The Plants
In 2021 we removed our front and back lawns and replaced them with over 100 species of native California plants to create 2381 square feet of cheerful, drought-tolerant wildlife habitat. Our garden is a joyful, fragrant experiment, tranquil and buzzing with life. This small but mighty landscape provides food and shelter for hundreds of native plants, birds, insects, wildlife, fungi, and microorganisms.
Here’s an approximate list of what’s living in the garden now (updated April 2026):
Abronia villosa var. auritum (Sand Verbena)
Abutilon palmeri (Palmer’s Indian Mallow)
Achillea millefolium (White Yarrow)
Agave shawii (Shaw’s Agave)
Arctostaphylos manzanita 'Byrd Hill' (Byrd Hill Manzanita)
Arctostaphylos tomentosa ssp. Crustacea (Brittle Leaf Manzanita)
Artemisia californica 'Canyon Grey' (Canyon Grey Sagebrush)
Artemisia californica (California Sagebrush)
Artemisia tridentata (Big Sagebrush)
Asclepias californica (California Milkweed)
Atriplex lentiformis ssp. Lentiformis (Quail Bush or Big Saltbush)
Atriplex polycarpa (Cattle Saltbush)
Baccharis sarothroides 'Centennial' (Centennial Desert Broom)
Baileya multiradata var. multiradiata (Desert Marigold)
Berberis nevinii (Nevin’s Barberry)
Boechera californica (California Rockcress)
Boechera pulchra (Prince’s Rockcress, Beautiful Rockcress)
Calliandra californica (Baja Fairy Duster)
Calocedrus decurrens (Incense Cedar)
Carpenteria californica (Bush Anemone)
Castilleja exserta (Owl’s Clover)
Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman' (Ray Hartman Ceanothus)
Ceanothus arboreus (Catalina or Felt-Leaf Ceanothus)
Ceanothus cuneatus var. rigidus 'Snowball' (Snowball Ceanothus)
Ceanothus hearstorium (Hearst’s Ceanothus)
Ceanothus papillosus (Wartleaf Ceanothus)
Cercis occidentalis (Western Redbud)
Chilopsis linearis ssp. Arcuata (Desert Willow)
Circium occidentale (Western Red Thistle)
Clarkia emoena (Farewell-to-Spring)
Clarkia unguiculata (Elegant Clarkia)
Clematis pauciflora (Ropevine)
Clinopodium douglasii (Yerba Buena)
Coreopsis gigantea (Giant Coreopsis)
Cupressus arizonica ssp. Arizonica (Arizona Cypress)
Datura wrightii (Sacred Datura)
Dudleya brittoni (Britton’s Dudleya)
Dudleya edulis (Fingertips, San Diego Dudleya)
Encelia californica (California Bush Sunflower / Brittlebush)
Encelia farinosa (Incienso)
Epilobium 'Catalina' (Catalina Fuchsia)
Epilobium ‘Everett’s Choice’ (Everett’s Choice Fuchsia)
Epilobium canum (California Fuchsia)
Eriogonum cinerium (Ashy-Leaf Buckwheat)
Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Theodore Payne' (Theodore Payne Buckwheat)
Eriogonum fasciculatum 'Warriner Lytle' (Warriner Lytle Buckwheat)
Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum (California Buckwheat)
Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum (Saint Catherine’s Lace)
Eriogonum umbellatum 'Shasta Sulfur' (Sulfur Buckwheat)
Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy)
Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy) ‘Carmine King’
Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy) ‘Mahogany Red’
Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy) ‘Purple Gleam’
Euphorbia xantii (Baja spurge)
Fallugia paradoxa (Apache Plume)
Galvezia speciosa (Bush Snapdragon)
Gambelia juncea (Cedros Island Bush Snapdragon)
Gilia capitata (Globe Gilia)
Heteromeles arbutifolia (Toyon)
Hyptis emory (Desert Lavender)
Justicia californica ‘Tecate Gold’ (Chuparosa)
Lasthenia californica (Goldfields)
Layia platyglossa (Tidy Tips)
Lepechinia fragrans (Fragrant Pitcher Sage)
Lonicera hispidula (Pink Honeysuckle)
Lupinus nanus (Sky Lupine)
Lupinus succulentus (Arroyo Lupine)
Malacothamnus fasciculatus (Chaparral Bush Mallow)
Monardella villosa ssp. villosa (Coyote Mint)
Nemophila (Five Spot)
Nemophilia menziesii (Baby Blue Eyes)
Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Margarita BOP’ (Margarita BOP Foothill Penstemon)
Penstemon speciosus (Showy Penstemon)
Phacelia campanularia (Bell-Flowered Phacelia)
Phacelia tanacetifolia (Lacy Phacelia)
Pinus torreyana (Torrey Pine)
Prunus ilicifolia ssp. Lyonii (Catalina Cherry)
Quercus durata (Leather Oak)
Rhamnus californica 'Eve Case' (Eve Case Coffeeberry)
Rhus integrifolia (Lemonade Berry)
Rhus integrifolia (Sugar Bush)
Ribes aureum (Golden Currant)
Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum ‘Claremont’ (Claremont Pink Flowering Currant)
Ribes viburnifolium (Evergreen Currant, Catalina Perfume)
Romneya coulteri (Matilija Poppy)
Rosa californica (California Wild Rose)
Salvia 'Celestial Blue' (Celestial Blue Sage)
Salvia ‘Desperado’ (Desperado Sage)
Salvia ‘Green Carpet’ (Green Carpet Sage)
Salvia ‘Shirley’s Creeper’ (Shirley’s Creeper Sage)
Salvia apiana (White Sage)
Salvia brandegeei 'Pacific Blue' (Pacific Blue Sage)
Salvia clevelandii (Allen Chickering)
Salvia clevelandii (Aromas Sage)
Salvia clevelandii (Cleveland Sage)
Salvia clevelandii (Winnifred Gilman Sage)
Salvia columbariae (Chia)
Salvia leucophylla 'Amethyst Bluff'’ (Amethyst Bluff Sage)
Salvia leucophylla ‘Bee’s Bliss’ (Bee’s Bliss Sage)
Salvia leucophylla 'Figueroa' (Figueroa Sage)
Salvia leucophylla ‘Point Sal’ (Point Sal Sage)
Salvia mellifera 'Terra Seca' (Black Sage)
Salvia munzii 'Emerald Cascade' (Munz’s Sage)
Salvia spathacea ‘Avis Keedy’ (Hummingbird Sage)
Salvia spathacea (Hummingbird Sage)
Sambucus nigra ssp. Cerulea (Blue Elderberry, Mexican Elderberry)
Solanum xanti ‘Mountain Pride’ (Mountain Pride Blue Witch)
Solidago velutina ssp. californica (California Goldenrod)
Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus (Common Snowberry)
Trichostema lanatum (Wooly Blue Curls)
Venegasia carpesioides (Canyon Sunflower)
We also planted Mediterranean herbs like oregano, thyme, and rosemary, as well as fruit trees, including pomegranate, persimmon, Meyer lemon, satsuma tangerine, kumquat, and pineapple guava. A mature orange tree was here before we were. I planted germander sage, a Burbank spineless cactus, an acacia tree, a red lantana, and a silver-leaved Australian perennial I saw at the Huntington Library before committing to a CA native scheme. We also installed raised vegetable beds for chili peppers and tomatoes, and pots for cactii and succulents.
Contact us
…if you’d like to talk native plants. We’re not landscape designers, but I sometimes do informal CA native-plant coaching, based on our experiences creating and maintaining the garden.
Books
I’m a novelist and Edgar Award finalist. My new book, Live From the Afterlife, comes out with Knopf on 6-15-26. Pre-order it if you like literary thrillers about ghosts, brave teenagers, and art. It’s book 2 of Riot Act (Knopf, 2024), which People magazine called “a pulse-pounding mix of rebellion and drama,” and Booklist says is a “must-read about freedom of expression and the power of art in the fight against tyranny.” Learn more about my books on my author website, SarahLariviere.com.
