Your Native California Garden in Summer – by me, Bob Sussman 7/8/26
(and as I am adding to this on a weekly basis you can always email with questions: matilijanurseryweb@gmail.com and/or call the nursery and I’ll be happy to answer questions. The number is 805-523-8604.
From the second half of winter through spring our California native gardens can be as beautiful as any and better than any for those of us that have a strong appreciation to the natural landscape. But, but, but, when summer hits most (but not all ) of our California native go to seed and start their sleeping process. If you plan your garden with a lot of summer flowering natives the problem goes away and you can actually have two beautiful but different native gardens in the same spot. Here are two photos from the same garden- same location in with the summer garden first followed by the the winter/spring native garden. My garden.
I’ll be adding to this article at least weekly with our California native plants that you can plant out in summer and some maintenance for your winter/spring natives.
In the next few days I’ll be adding what California native can be successfully planted in summer and will bloom and feed the flying things!
I’ll start the list of our California natives you can plant in summer and just keep adding a few every few days as time permits.
In the lower and spreading category are the California fuchsia. The most common one you’ll see on our hot hillsides is the hoary fuchsia sometimes referred to as Epilobium canum v. cana. Of the two that grow in our region these are mostly in full sun and have the narrow leaf. They can be H 2-1/2 feet x W 3’+. Flowers are from mid-summer through very early winter. Here’s a picture feeding a hummingbird from a hillside above our nursery.
Other very similar California species that live here and/or do well here are the California fuchsia or Epilobium canum, E. ‘Catalina’ -from Catalina and can get a foot or so taller. We also grow ‘Wayne’s Silver’ – wider silvery leaves and tends to be more dense, from N. Calif. but does just fine here with a picture taken years ago at the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden.
