Used in native plantings specifically for erosion-control and fire suppressant landscapes, blue flax is an advantageous perennial. Linum lewisii has been known to compete successfully with spotted knapweed, an invasive colonizer and noxious weed of North America.

Linum lewisii is closely related and similar to the cultivated flax, as both are used medicinally and consumed for health benefits. Caution should always be taken as the seeds, unless treated correctly, contain poisonous cyanogenic compounds.

Click here to find out our current availability of Linum lewisii

Its common names, white sagebrush and silver wormwood, can make this species appear to be something it’s not. For example the name white sagebrush is confusing as there is a plant in the genus, Salvia, commonly referred to as white sage. Both plants are used in ceremonial smudge sticks by Native American tribes, but are unrelated and belong in different plant families. The common name wormwood is closely associated with a specific species, Artemisa absinthium, which is used in making absinthe, a highly alcoholic distilled beverage, thought to contain psychoactive chemicals. Because of this, most people refrain from calling all Artemisias wormwood, as it has a dark and negative connotation. Personally I prefer the binomial name, because it reduces confusion and is informative.  The name, Artemisia ludoviciana, not only accurately tells where it belongs in the plant kingdom it also divulges some of it’s history. Artemisia is a genus in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, and ludoviciana is latin for Louisiana, where this species was first described.  

The common names also refer to the range of colors of the leaves from pale green to whitish gray which is caused by  a soft layer of trichomes (minute hair). Because of these trichomes along with the production of certain chemicals, A. ludoviciana is able to deter most herbivores. However, one species of grasshopper, Hypochlora alba, has evolved along with A. ludoviciana and is the only organism that can survive soley by eating this particular plant.  This grasshopper does eat other plants along with other species of Artemisia, although if given only A. ludoviciana it will endure.  It seems that the layer of trichomes fails to impede Hypochlora alba’s digestive tract as it would other predators.

A. ludoviciana is a perennial shrub growing between 1-3 ft. tall, the lower leaves are tri-lobed at the tips.  The non showy flowers are yellow and arranged in a nodding inflorescense.  The species can be found growing in a variety of environments from rocky dry soil to wet areas near water, depending on the subspecies.  The flowers are in bloom from late summer to early fall.

Fred E. Dunham @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Yucca whipplei is native to southern California, northwestern Arizona, and Mexico on the Baja California Peninsula. The plant for most of its life is a mound of sharply tipped leaves that stick out in every direction. After about seven years the plant uses all of its energy in the production of flowers and setting seed, and then dies.  This yucca creates a grand exit at the end of it’s life, with a flowering stalk that rises 3-9 feet tall. Because of this spectacular inflorescence, it is commonly referred to as Our Lord’s Candle.  Another common name which refers to the sharpness of the leaves is Spanish bayonet.

One common characteristic of yucca plants, is their symbiosis with yucca moths.  Most yuccas are pollinated by moths, but usually a few species partake.  In the case of Yucca whipplei, it is only pollinated by one species of moth, Tegeticula maculata.  There are other moths who mill around and drink the nectar along with the occasional hummingbird, although both are not the pollinators. It is this one species of moth who has evolved a very close relationship with Yucca whipplei.

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

Tegeticula maculata has a special set of appendages called the maxillary palpi, unique to the females of this species. With this device the female moth is able to collect pollen from the stamen of the yucca flowers in the form of pollinia.  The moth collects from multiple flowers and smashes the pollinia together to form a giant pollen ball.  The moth flies to another Yucca whipplei, and this time visits the female parts of the flower. It chooses to lay an egg in the ovary, where the larva along with the seeds will develop. Finally the moth fertilizes the flower by repeatedly smashing the pollen ball onto the stigma. In the fall, the seeds are released and the larva makes its way to the ground where it develops a cocoon out of silk and sand. The following spring the moth crawls out of its cocoon just in time to pollinate the next blooming Y. whipplei.  There is an artist, Erika Beyer, out of Eugene, Oregon who depicts this relationship in a stunning watercolor painting.

Yucca whipplei has been used for many different uses throughout its relationship with humans. The fibers from the leaves were used to make anything from shoes to fishing line.  While the flowers, flowering stalk and crown, are edible after preparing correctly.

Similar to other yuccas, Our Lord’s Candle is a great choice for the xeric garden, as it has adapted to life on dry chaparral hills. Plant in a sunny spot in the garden, preferably on a south facing slope in rocky soil. Although this plant dies after blooming, over its lifetime it produces offshoots which will continue on living after the main plants demise.  We have many bareroot Yucca whipplei still available.

Viola glabella

The heart-shaped foliage stay close to the soil only reaching a few inches in height. Cute yellow flowers dapple the greenery with a bilateral symmetry.  The lower petal acts as a landing pad, equipped with delicate pollination guide lines leading to the nectar spur. The fruit is an oblong three chambered dehiscent pod-opening when ripe-which release seeds resembling miniature speckled eggs.

Cynoglossum grande is one of the first to bloom in summer, making it an early season hummingbird favorite.  The distinct white ring of appendages surrounding the mouth of the corolla could have evolved to make the flowers appear more inviting to pollinators.

Pacific hound’s tongue displays an overt dispersal tactic. The fruit which can be up to a foursome of nutlets, have evolved hooklike appendages on the seed coat.  These tiny hooks grab a hold of anything nearby, especially the fur of an animal, or the trousers of an explorer.  This may be why we see it on the valley floor as well as at 9000 ft. in the Sierras.

We only have a few Cynoglossum grande in containers at the moment.  As it is one of our new favorites, there will be more to come soon!

With snow-white buds the shape of droplets, the common name, snowdrop bush, is spot-on.  The scientific name, Styrax redivivus, is not as easy to translate at first glance.  Styrax takes its roots from a Semitic word meaning resin producing plant.  The resin found in the bark of the genus Styrax has long been used in incense and perfumes.  Found within the resin’s chemical makeup is a hydrocarbon, styrene that is used in producing Styrofoam.   Redivivus has latin roots and means to restore or bring back to life.  This could be referring to it’s early spring flowers.

Preferring partial shade, and it’s feet to be dry, it is uncommonly found in chaparral woodlands of California.  When stumbled upon it is a sight to be seen, especially in the spring.

We have a limited amount of large containers available, and more coming soon!  

An underused specimen in cultivation, B. piluaris is a simple, although valuable addition, as it can tolerate drought once established and is more deer resistant than most plants.  In the garden, coyote bush can be used as a hedge, or in areas that are prone to erosion.  It should be pruned back periodically simulating fires/grazing that would occur naturally  in the wild.   It has an extensive root system with the tap root growing up to 10 ft long, as well as forming many outward-growing roots.  When planting, plant further apart then normal as the underground growth is much greater than that above ground.

In an excerpt from the book, Gardening with a Wild Heart: Restoring California’s Native Landscapes at Home, Judith Larner Lowry eloquently describes the benefits Baccharis pilularis provides it’s environment.  These  include, but aren’t limited to: habitat for birds, and other small animals; cover for native perennials to establish themselves; nectar for many insects. She finishes her excerpt by stating, “It is to coyote bush that I turn to when discouraged or in need of a reminder of all that is available to learn in my own back yard”

A truly easy to grow, and well loved shrub.  We have a limited number of Baccharis pilularis available in containers

Trillium is a very long lived genus, with some species known to live for multiple decades.  In the wild most trillium species take 7-10 years to produce flowers from seed.  Many species are endangered/protected, which could be related to the length of time it takes the plant to reproduce sexually, because of this some states make picking trillium flowers illegal.  Trillium seed is mainly dispersed by ants who transport the seeds to their home in order to consume part of the seed coat, to read more in depth about this, visit the Botany Blog.  As larger versions of ants, we harvest all of our seed in the wild and then grow the plants for 3-4 years.  Last year we dug the 3 year crop and our rhizomes were considerably smaller than our current 4 year crop,which should be (crossing our fingers) full of bloomers!

Check out what we still have available.

We love Fritillarias!  Especially this one, because of it’s modest beauty and easy temperament. We sell this species in containers throughout the year and as bulbs starting in the fall.  If planting bulbs, it is best to plant this time of year, although they can overwinter in cold storage until the time of planting before summer warmth sets in.

Checker lily or sometimes called chocolate lily begin rising from the soil near the end of winter and can reach over 2 ft. (60 cm.) tall.  The leaves on flower producing individuals are linear and slender in slight whorls climbing the flower stalk.  These leaves differ greatly from the large basal leaves of the plants that aren’t mature enough to produce flowers.  Flowers open between April and May.  The mottled maroon/yellow tepals nod elegantly, until after pollination when the fruit begins to form, straightening out the flower stalk.

The coloring of the tepals of Fritillaria affinis can vary depending on sunlight, moisture, and elevation.  The Oregon Flora Project has a great site with photos exihibiting the variation of the “checkered” flowers.

Fritillaria affinis is also sometimes called, “rice root fritillary”, referring to it’s nature to reproduce vegetatively through bulbs and many bulblets, which look similar to fat grains of rice.  The indigenous people, native to the regions where  checker lily occurs, consumed the bulbs as an important starch in their diet.  They would dig the bulbs in the early spring before they started to produce leaves or in the fall after the return to dormancy.