Here Are The Best Native Plants For Palo Alto Gardens

PALO ALTO, CA — Planting season, as Palo Alto gardeners know, is officially upon us. And before you dig out those dusty trowels and gloves, take note of the plants that naturally grow in the area. We’re talking about native plants, which grew here long before Europeans started building settlements. They’re the foundation of the region’s biodiversity, and provide key food sources and shelter to birds.

Fortunately the folks at the National Audubon Society have done all the hard work to ensure gardeners have what they need to find the best native plants. The group has a database that includes perennials, shrubs, grasses, succulents, trees, vines and evergreens. Each entry also details what types of birds the plants attract.

The database allows users to filter results by plant type, resources and bird species they attract.
Regional Audubon experts hand-select the “best results” for each. In Palo Alto, some of the best flowers to grow this season include the California Figwort, California Rose and Blue Elderberry.

Here’s a roundup of some other great local options:

• California Sage
  • Also known as Chia Sage, Golden Chia, Desert Chia, or simply Chia, this annual herb grows to 2 feet in height. From March to June, it produces fragrant, pale blue to purple flowers that are popular with bees and butterflies. This plant tolerates poor soil and full sun, growing best in dry, well-drained soils.
  • Birds they attract: Sparrows, finches and cardinals
• California Christmas-berry
  • Also known as Toyon, California Holly, and Hollywood, this evergreen shrub grows in large bushes that can grow up to 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. It produces showy white flowers in the summer and large quantities of bright red berries in the winter. Birds feed on these berries, however they are toxic to humans in large amounts. This plant is drought tolerant and can grow in full sun to partial shade, and in poor, dry, well-drained soil.
  • Birds they attract: Orioles, woodpeckers and nuthatches
• California Laurel
  • Also known at California Bay Laurel, Oregon Myrtle, and Pepperwood, this evergreen, perennial tree has a sharp, peppery fragrance, especially when its foliage is crushed. It can grow up to 60 feet high and 30 feet wide with large, spreading branches, and a dense crown. It produces white or cream-colored flowers March through May, followed by avocado-like fruit that ripen from green to dark purple. It is drought tolerant and prefers partial shade and moist soils.
  • Birds they attract: Chickadees, Grosbeaks and Titmice

These plants are key resources for birds and are relatively easy to grow. Perhaps just as importantly, many are available at local native plant nurseries, which the organization also lists. Here are some near Palo Alto:

• Baylands Nursery
  965 Weeks Street in East Palo Alto
• Middlebrook Gardens Nursery
  76 Race Street in San Jose

Americans spent a record $47.8 billion on lawn and garden retail sales in 2017, according to the National Gardening Survey. The average household spent more than $500 on gardening. And while older adults accounted for 35 percent of all gardeners, millennials were getting their hands and knees dirty at all-time high levels. Adults 18-34 accounted for 29 percent of all gardeners, the survey found.

Among the recent trends — more people are investing in raised beds as opposed to digging holes, and they’re spending money on apps rather than glossy gardening books.

—Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.