New Plant Lists Help Homeowners Create A Beautiful, Sustainable Garden
Deciding to undertake a landscape makeover involves many choices. Choosing your new landscape plants is one of your most enjoyable tasks. But walking into your local nursery can present so many choices that it’s overwhelming. What plants work best in the San Diego climate regions, and which ones use water efficiently?
San Diego County Water Authority Senior Water Resources Specialist Debby Dunn created two convenient plant lists homeowners can use to help them choose plants that will thrive and look beautiful in your new landscape with minimal irrigation.
Nifty 50 Plant List Gets A Makeover
The Nifty 50 is all new with update plant choices and helpful information. Photo: Water Authority
The Nifty 50 Plant list has helped San Diegans pick good plants for our climate for many years. It was recently updated with new choices. “Not only do the style of plants change over time, like many things do, but some plants become less hearty due to pests and disease,” said Dunn.
“Feedback from local nurseries and state mandates regarding non-functional turf led Water Authority staff to update the list. We focused on low- and very low-water plants. Half of the plants on the new list are native, and 98% invite pollinators.”
The Nifty 50 list offers care tips and a checklist to help you make the right choices for your project. Photo: Water Authority
The Nifty 50 list includes a 10-step checklist for plant selection and care tips to help your new plants thrive.
Happy 100 Plant List Addresses Commercial Designs
Superb Grevillea is featured on the Happy 100 list. It’s a great choice for year-round, eye-catching flowers with lush, evergreen foliage. It grows quickly in well-draining soils. Good for cut flowers, and attracts birds, bees and hummingbirds. Photo: Water Authority
The State of California has new regulations banning commercial turf grass in areas where it is ornamental or “nonfunctional.” To help commercial landscapers adhere to the new guidelines, Dunn and the Water Authority staff created a new, more comprehensive plant list called the Happy 100 Plant List.
The list actually contains 103 low and very low-water using plants, with specific information about each plant. These plant choices are well suited to landscapes for homeowner association common areas, public parks, and commercial buildings.
Bonus List For Black Thumbs: The Sturdy 30
Beautiful Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) is a “Sturdy 30” list choice. The evergreen shrub has soft green/gray to silvery fragrant foliage with spring flowers. Its flowers and seeds attract birds, bees,
butterflies, and hummingbirds. Photo: Water Authority
To help gardeners who need easygoing plants that will tolerate a little neglect, Dunn created a special list from the Happy 100 named the “Sturdy 30.” By sorting the online Happy 100 database, the 30 suggested plants sort into their own list.
The Happy 100 plant database can be sorted by plant common name, plant botanic name, light requirements, size at maturity, bloom color and bloom season, and which plants are native to California. Pruning and maintenance information helps homeowners care for their plants as they mature.
Prioritizing Pollinators In Your Landscaping
Prioritizing pollinators with your plant choices, such as Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), provides healthy habitat. Photo: Water Authority
Numerous plants support the life cycle of butterflies, including the threatened monarch butterfly. Plant several in the garden to help the larvae and caterpillars as well as the full-grown, nectar-seeking adults. The Happy 100 notes which plant choices attract pollinators and which pollinators favor each plant choice.
Choosing pollinator-friendly plants allows checks and balances in a garden. You can attract insects and creatures, which will help maintain the health of a garden without pesticides.
“Lush, water-wise, pollinating plants in our landscapes cool and clean the air, invite and feed pollinators, enhance the beauty of our homes and businesses, and lift our spirits. Consider adding a few (dozen) to your landscape today,” recommended Dunn.
Dunn has worked with thousands of people seeking gardening advice and realized they need detailed plant lists to help create water-wise, year-round blooming gardens that would fit their visual preferences and maintenance needs. Dunn sought input from dozens of local landscape professionals in the nursery and design field, ultimately making a list that anyone can use and enjoy the results.
The Nifty 50 Plant List
The Happy 100 Plant List
