I am kind of obsessed about CA native plants. Maybe my first Plant ID class at Merritt College was CA Natives taught by Judy Thomas. It really opened my eyes to the world of plants. It forced me to look at nature, not something I learned as a child. Judy included all kinds of useful tidbits about the plants, beyond how to put them in your garden, such as which plants are good “toilet-paper” plants, useful when your out in the woods, especially for women. There were 3 but I only ever remembered CA Hazelnut (Cornus cornuta californica) and Thimbleberry (Rhubus parviflorus); and “One Leaf per Chicken” regarding the CA Bay (Umbellularia californica) and how to identify the cones of a Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) by looking for the little mouse tails.
This set of posts will be mostly concerned with the plants I am using in my gardens at Dreamfarm or Rosemount Roads. However, I’m sure other native plant related topics will come up.