Looking for THE BOOK (or website or whatever)

[Anonymous]

First, sorry about not posting my email, but I am doing this from work.

Here is my background and question. I have recently moved onto five acres in the Sierra Foothills Loomis, near Sacramento. Right now the property is a mess. About 1/2 of it is riparian, but totally overgrown by Himalia sp berries. The other areas of the property are covered with an assortment of native oaks live, Valley, Blue. and other native trees buckeye, willow, cottonwood, but the ground is mainly covered with exotic, invasive, stickery grasses there are a few natives here and there.

So, I want to landscape the area around the house first, then move on to restoring the rest of the property. The problem is all of the books I can find on native plants seem to focus on why to use natives or how to use natives. I already understand that.

What I want is a book, like a regular gardening book, that lists native plants, what their cultural needs are, what shape/size they are, how much sun they need, and what they look like over the four seasons. Does anyone know of such a book?</p>

[Anonymous]

I'm eagerly awaiting the book that Bart O'Brien/Carol Bernstein/David Fross are writing about California native plants.

In the meantime, I'd recommend Glenn Keator's books:

Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of California

and

Complete Garden Guide to the Native Shrubs of California

Also, if you can find an out-of-print book by Lenz & Dourley called 'California Native Trees and Shrubs', grab it.

Here's some websites worth exploring - some have great pictures, others great info, others just good catalogs to order:

http://www.larnerseeds.com/ &lt;send for a catalog>

http://www.laspilitas.com/

http://www.matilijanursery.com/

http://www.ssseeds.com/

http://www.theodorepayne.org/

http://www.treeoflifenursery.com/

http://www.nativeson.com/home2.html

http://www.montereybaynsy.com/ &lt;&lt;good photos>>

http://www.albrightseed.com/catalog_file.htm bulk seed for grasses, wildflower mixes and shrubs; download the PDF catalog.

If anyone knows of any other good sources, let me know!

And of course, your local CNPS sale in the fall is a no-miss event.

You might also look for a library at one of the botanic gardens nearby and browse the books to see what looks good. I just buy everything I can find, as each book offers something different. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden book store is excellent, for example, but a bit of a drive for you!

If you're into gardening for wildlife, there's a few good books out there, but none for California specifically. The 'Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest' you can find it on Amazon is full of useful stuff, and the plant lists are not totally out to lunch for northern california - just cross reference against the more local species with CNPS.

Trish

[Anonymous]

Thanks Trish!

You definately gave me lots of material to look over.

Don</p>