Pictured is the chess blossom (Sidalcea malviflora). (Presenter)
The North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will hold its annual “Fall Native Plant Sale” on September 23 from 9am-4pm by appointment only and on September 24 from 10am-3pm, no appointment necessary.
The California Native Plant Society’s native plant nursery, run entirely by volunteers, is located at 5851 Myrtle Ave., Eureka, a property of the Freshwater Farms Reserve managed by the North Coast Regional Land Trust. Parking is available in the main parking lot for Freshwater Farms Trail.
Fall is an excellent time to plant perennials, allowing them to establish roots through the fall and winter rains and giving them time to store energy for spring growth and flowering. The California Native Plant Society’s Native Plant Nursery has a wide selection of native bulbs, ferns, grasses, perennials for shade and sun, shrubs and trees for your garden available at affordable prices. To offer more native plant gardening options, the California Native Plant Society has been joined by Beresford Bulbs, Samara Restoration, Brant Landscaping, Bob Vogt Trees and Lost Foods Nursery.
There will also be an opportunity to explore the California Native Plant Society’s on-site demonstration garden to showcase what is possible when gardening exclusively with native plants or to learn about the possibilities of adding to an existing garden. Knowledgeable consultants will be willing to answer questions and make suggestions on plants that would work well in a particular location.
Are you looking for natives for your pollinator garden? Check out the checkers or Douglas fir spirea in bloom now. Spiraea also provides good cover for birds and small mammals.
Do you want to create a butterfly or hummingbird garden? You may be interested in bleeding hearts or dill sedges, which are also deer resistant.
If you like succulents, the California Native Plant Society has native Dudleya farinosa (deceptive lettuce) and Sedum spathulifolium (yellow stonecrop), a host plant for the variegated fritillary butterfly.
Some of the plants now thriving at the California Native Plant Society arboretum are Oregon gum weed, coastal goldenrod, which hosts many butterflies and moths, several species of finch, and California coastal daisy, which is a good deer-resistant ground cover that attracts Pollinators, and native to asters, whose flowers attract many beneficial insects and are a host plant for northern checker plant, field crescent, and pearl crescent butterflies, they are also deer resistant.
If you like the unusual, the California Native Plant Society has the California Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia), which is the mascot of the California Native Plant Society chapter.
Many of us are discovering that it makes sense to support pollinators, birds, and native mammals by planting the native plants they need for food and nesting. All gardens require some maintenance, but an established native plant garden reduces the amount of water and care needed to keep them thriving while providing a productive natural environment.
Go to the California Native Plant Society website at https://northcoastcnpsnursery.org/sale/ and follow the links to register for a sale appointment on September 23 and to view the inventory of plants for sale. For more information about native plants suitable for local gardens, visit the gardening section of the North Coast Branch website at northcoastcnps.org.
Please leave dogs at home as dogs are not allowed at Freshwater Farms Reserve. Cash and checks are preferred at sales, although credit cards will be accepted. Please bring your own boxes to your purchased plants.