Fulton nursery a go-to spot for native plants

The showy lady’s slipper (Cypripedium reginae) that grows east of the Rockies is a large wild orchid that reaches up to 30 inches tall, with 3- to 4-inch-long, slipperlike flowers of rose pink. They don’t grow around here. But their distant cousins do, and they look very different.

Our Sonoma County summer fog calls forth these plants where the redwoods grow tall and human activity is at a minimum. In these conditions, the forest floor may be sprinkled with them. The jewel-like pink fairy slippers (Calypso bulbosa) grow only 2 to 4 inches tall and produce 1- to 2-inch “slippers” that only fairy feet could fit.

Why such a difference among woodland orchids? You might think that our mild climate and rich woodland soils would yield orchids even larger than those back east where winter locks up the soil in ice for nearly half the year.

The answer is our summer drought, where it rarely rains from June to October. Plants native to our Mediterranean climate, as it’s called, have evolved to deal with the dry season. Some, like the California fuchsia (Zauschneria californica) have amped up drought tolerance to astonishing levels, blooming furiously in late summer despite not having a drink for months. Some simply shut down their green, vegetative parts and turn dry and brown, sending their roots to sleep until rain returns, or overwinter as seeds fallen to the ground.

Some, like the redwoods, use their needles to comb the wet summer fog for droplets of water that keep the forest soils moist and, incidentally, keep the exquisitely lovely little rose-pink, yellow and purple fairy slippers alive. For their part, the fairy slippers have downsized so they don’t have to use very much moisture to keep going through the summer.

These strategies for enduring summer drought are what make native plants so valuable for gardeners and landscapers. Their maintenance is low; their water use is minimal. And, because they’re at home here, they look good when other plants, those native to wet summer areas, well, croak.

There’s another reason why natives are so valuable in our home gardens and landscapes. They have co-evolved over the eons on the Northern California coast along with all the other plants and animals that create Sonoma County’s diverse ecosystems — the interconnected webs of life suited to this very rare climate. Not only are the denizens of our distinct regions, from the oceanside and the cool West County to the warm inland valleys north to the mountains of Geyserville and Cloverdale, nourished by their ecosystems, but they contribute to their systems’ overall health through all the connections within it.

While calypso is a lovely flower to find growing wild, it’s not for sale due to its reluctance to be propagated and its picky choice of habitat. If you discover it, admire it, but don’t pick it, and for goodness’ sake, don’t dig it up thinking you’ll transplant it at home. All you’ll do, in all likelihood, is kill it.

If you do decide to use native plants in your garden, we have great resources in our region. Chief among them is the California Flora Nursery at 2990 Somers St. in Fulton (www.calfloranursery.com). It’s one of the Bay Area’s oldest California native plant nurseries. Josh Williams is the owner, and he’s an avid native plant gardener.

Williams provides information about a native’s natural habitat: its favored temperature range, sun exposure, soil preferences and need for moisture. This is important, because some natives do need some supplemental summer water. For example, Oregon saxifrage (Saxifraga oregana) is a rock garden superstar native to boggy places in California and Oregon and needs a spray from the hose from time to time during the hot weather. To take advantage of Calflora’s encyclopedic information on natives, visit its website.

There you’ll find access to information on cultivating natives, ground covers, grasses, perennials, shrubs, trees, plus plants for select purposes such as hedgerows, planting under oaks, native wildflowers and much more.

Williams describes his vision of Calflora Nursery as a source for strengthening the natural ecologies of Sonoma County and its environs.

“We hope our plants are reestablishing ecosystems in areas where the natural ecology has been lost,” Williams said. “By planting natives, whether in small gardens or damaged wild areas, our customers are helping to reconnect habitats and support local fauna. California has a remarkable diversity of native bees and butterflies, all of which depend on native plant species to survive. Natives can outcompete invasive, fire-prone species, such as broom, help to stabilize our hillside, and provide the sense of place, which makes Sonoma County our home.”

Williams says you can see Calflora native plants helping the land heal in local parks and open spaces, like the entrance to Jenner Headlands Preserve and Shiloh Regional Park. “And you’re likely to find the plants we grow in home gardens, as well as on agricultural properties, where they are used to support pollinators and restore water courses. When people live with native plants and they see the abundance of butterflies and birds that are drawn to our local flora, they tend to get a better appreciation for our wild areas and feel more strongly about protecting them.”

At Calflora, the vast majority of plants are propagated onsite from seeds and cuttings. “Our diversity of offerings is, I think, one of our best assets,” Williams says. “But our bestselling plants are coffeeberry (Frangula californica), coyote mint (Monardella villosa), yerba buena (Clinopodium douglasii), yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.).

Williams’ personal favorite natives include manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita). “The sinuous, burnished-red trunks make this evergreen shrub a year-round favorite, adding an upright, architectural effect in the garden. Winter brings clusters of lantern-shaped flowers, which are an important nectar source for hummingbirds and bees.”

He also likes California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) and says that “while a grass may seem like an unlikely choice for a favorite, this perennial bunchgrass was once widespread throughout our area before invasive annual grasses were introduced. The deep roots play an important role in soil stabilization, helping to prevent soil runoff during heavy rains.”

Like many who grow it, he’s got a soft spot for California fuchsia (Epilobium canum, formerly known as Zauschneria californica). “In late summer and fall, the California fuchsia produces over-the-top displays of trumpet-shaped, red-orange flowers, designed by nature to feed hummingbirds. Few natives can match its late season appeal, adding a pop of color before the onset of winter.”

Another source of valuable information is the California Native Plant Society (www.cnps.org), and its Milo Baker chapter based here in Santa Rosa. In its own words, its purpose is: “We’re on a mission to save California’s native plants and places using both head and heart. We bring together science, education, conservation, and gardening know-how to power the native plant movement.”

The Milo Baker chapter lists dozens of useful Sonoma natives, as does the society’s main website that covers most of California. The main website, for instance, describes 13 different well-behaved native grasses with slender leaves that complement large-leaved food and ornamental plants. To this Sonoma County resident, many of them look very familiar.

Jeff Cox is a Kenwood-based garden and food writer. Reach him at jeffcox@sonic.net.