If you're the type of gardener who likes surprises and doesn't insist that plants stay in their assigned places, or if you have lots of patience and like the idea of getting many plants for the price of one, then here are a few native plants to play around with.
Annuals such as globe gilia provide a burst of color in the spring. Last year I let one 4-inch pot of globe gilia go to seed in my mulched garden. This year, I had so many globe gilia plants that I was pulling them up to pot up and give away. The tiny flowers form 1-inch spheres of blue atop a 2-foot stem clothed in fresh green ferny foliage.
California poppy is another carefree native. Once you have let it reseed freely, you can cut back the whole plant when it starts looking rank, and it will sprout anew from the deep taproot. I cut a bloomed-out poppy about an inch high, so that the old stems do not interfere with the new growth. With a little summer water, this plant will continue to bloom through summer and fall.
Its Brobdingnagian relative, matilija poppy, has a reputation for being hard to establish, but once established, the plants may propagate themselves around the garden with underground stems. The 6-foot (or more) stems have fragrant white flowers 6 to 12 inches wide.
Another fragrant plant, hummingbird sage, spreads more slowly from the mother plant. Starting with one small plant in a container, a year later I had one big plant and more than 10 small plants. The leaves, when rubbed, have a fruity aroma, and the flowering stalk sports magenta flowers. It's a lovely groundcover for part shade and does well in containers. You can let the plant form a slowly expanding colony, or divide it each winter.
If you want a robust shade plant that spreads fairly quickly, try mugwort. It spreads by underground rhizomes, forming a dense stand 2 to 4 feet high or more that is not easily contained. The coarsely serrated dark green leaves have a strong fragrance that is said to bring on vivid dreams. Like matilija poppy, mugwort looks best when cut to the ground in winter.
In many ways the opposite of mugwort, California buckwheat likes full sun, has a fine texture, and is a well-behaved, neat shrub usually 2-4 feet high. But when its arching branches touch the ground, they root easily, making this plant a good choice for erosion control. The rooted branches can be left in place or relocated.
Grasses, with their extensive root systems, also excel on slopes. Red fescue, a delicate bunchgrass, reseeds prolifically and can outcompete other plants.
Many more native plants are easy to propagate (or propagate themselves). If you're interested in more of these kinds of plants, as a rule of thumb, annuals, grasses, groundcovers, and erosion-control plants are good bets.
© 2007 Tanya Kucak