Your consummate scout to the spectacular US Pacific seacoast aboriginal plants that thrive from the misty redwood forests to the sun - bake chaparral Alfred Hawthorne of the West Coast
The Pacific Coast of North America host some of the most diverse and salient industrial plant biotic community on Earth .
It includes fog - shrouded groves of coast redwoods that tower 300 infantry above the wood floor , drouth - accommodate chaparral that cloaks California ’s hills in ash grey and light-green , wild flower hayfield that paint total versant in spring and rugged coastal plants that fly high in salt nebuliser and invariant wind .
Penstemon palmeriby Stan Shebs is licensed underCC BY-SA 3.0
Wit this variety , there is no doubt that the region pop the question gardeners an unequalled pallet of native plants .
This is a solid ground shape by the Pacific Ocean , where Mediterranean climates create conditions found nowhere else in North America . Wet , mild wintertime give agency to farsighted , ironical summers .
Coastal fog put up life - giving wet during the driest months . Microclimates change dramatically within mile , from nerveless , moist coastal area to spicy , ironical inland valleys .
Penstemon palmeriby Stan Shebs is licensed underCC BY-SA 3.0
If you ’re gardening anywhere from British Columbia to Baja California , you have accession to plant that have evolve to flourish in these unique conditions . These are plants that can endure months without pelting , that observe the return of winter moisture , and that have adapted to everything from coastal fog to interior heat .
Featured prototype : Penstemon palmeriby Stan Shebs is certify under CC BY - SA 3.0
See also : The ultimate guide to gardening with native plants : why position count
Understanding the Pacific Coast Growing Region
Climate Zones and Characteristics
USDA Hardiness Zones : 6a-11(with important microclimate variation )
Coastal Northern California / Oregon / Washington :
Coastal Southern California :
Inland Valleys ( Central Valley , Inland Southern California ):
Mountain Regions ( Sierra Nevada , Cascades , Coast Ranges ):
Regional Ecosystems
Redwood Forest
Coastal Sage Scrub
Chaparral
Oak Woodland
Coastal Prairie
Alpine and Subalpine
Penstemon palmeriby Stan Shebs is licensed underCC BY-SA 3.0
US Pacific Coast Native Plants: Iconic Native Trees
Giant Forest Trees (100+ feet mature)
Coast Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens )
Giant Sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum )
Douglas Fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii )
Large Canopy Trees (50-100 feet mature)
Coast Live Oak ( Quercus agrifolia )
Valley Oak ( Quercus order Lobata )
Monterey Pine ( Pinus radiata )
Sequoia sempervirensby Sverrir Mirdsson is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Monterey Cypress ( Cupressus macrocarpa )
Medium Trees (25-50 feet mature)
California Bay Laurel ( Umbellularia californica )
Madrone ( Arbutus menziesii )
California Black Walnut ( Juglans californica )
Umbellularia californicabyConsultaplantasis licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Western Redbud ( Cercis occidentalis )
Pacific Coast Native Shrubs
Large Shrubs (6+ feet mature)
Toyon ( Heteromeles arbutifolia )
Manzanita ( Arctostaphylos specie )
Ceanothus ( California Lilac )
Fremontodendron ( Flannel Bush )
Medium Shrubs (3-6 feet mature)
California Sage ( Artemisia californica )
Coffeeberry ( Frangula californica )
Salvia ( Native Sages )
Mimulus aurantiacus ssp. australis, Southern Bush Monkeyflower byhortulusis licensed under CC BY 2.0
Monkey Flower ( Mimulus species )
Small Shrubs and Subshrubs (Under 3 feet)
Woolly Blue Curls ( Trichostema lanatum )
Bush Anemone ( Carpenteria californica )
Coyote Brush ( Baccharis pilularis )
Eschscholzia californica, California Poppy by✿ nicolas_gent ✿is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
US Pacific Coast Native Plants: Wildflowers and Perennials
Spring Wildflower Spectaculars
California Poppy ( Eschscholzia californica )
Lupine ( Lupinus specie )
Clarkia ( Farewell - to - springiness )
Epilobium canumby Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Goldfields ( Lasthenia californica )
Summer-Blooming Perennials
Penstemon ( Beard Tongue )
Sticky Monkeyflower ( Diplacus aurantiacus )
California Fuchsia ( Epilobium canum )
Festuca Californica byCountryMouse13is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Wild Ginger ( Asarum caudatum )
Fall-Blooming Natives
Asters ( Symphyotrichum species )
Goldenrod ( Solidago metal money )
US Pacific Coast Native Plants: Native Grasses
California Fescue ( Festuca californica )
Purple Needlegrass ( Stipa pulchra )
Deergrass ( Muhlenbergia rigens )
Pacific Reed Grass ( Calamagrostis nutkaensis )
Regional Plant Combinations
Redwood Forest Understory Garden
Canopy : Coast Redwood , Douglas FirUnderstory : California Bay Laurel , Western AzaleaShrubs : Salmonberry , Thimbleberry , HuckleberryPerennials : Wild Ginger , Redwood Sorrel , TrilliumFerns : Sword Fern , Lady Fern , Five - finger’s breadth Fern
Mediterranean Climate Garden
Trees : Coast Live Oak , Madrone , Western RedbudShrubs : Manzanita , Ceanothus , ToyonPerennials : California Poppy , Penstemon , Sticky MonkeyflowerGrasses : California Fescue , Purple NeedlegrassAccent : Agave , aboriginal bulbs
Coastal Garden
Trees : Monterey Cypress , Monterey PineShrubs : Coyote Brush , Coastal Sage , CoffeeberryPerennials : Seaside Daisy , Beach Strawberry , California FuchsiaGrasses : Pacific Reed Grass , Salt GrassGroundcover : Ice industrial plant alternatives , Beach Primrose
Chaparral Garden
Trees : California Black Walnut , Interior Live OakShrubs : Fremontodendron , Woolly Blue Curls , Mountain LilacPerennials : California Sage , Penstemon , MonkeyflowerAccent works : Yucca , Dudleya succulentsSeasonal : Wildflower annuals
Hummingbird Paradise
tree diagram : Western Redbud , Flowering CurrantShrubs : Salvia species , Ribes metal money , Monkey FlowerPerennials : California Fuchsia , Penstemon , Cardinal FlowerVines : Honeysuckle speciesSeasonal : Jewelweed , Bee Balm
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Martin Cole has been an avid plant buff and nurseryman for more than 20 year and loves to talk and write about horticulture . In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year contender . He is a member of the National dahlia Society .
He antecedently lived in London and Sydney , Australia , where he accept a sheepskin grade in Horticultural study and is now base in North Berwick in Scotland . He founded GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012 . The internet site is aimed at everybody who loves plant or has been bitten by the gardening bug and wants to lie with more .
garden Step by Step has beencited by Thompson and Morgan , the UK ’s largest mail order flora retail merchant , as a website that publishes skilful gardening content .
