Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Las Pilitas Nursery in Santa Margarita and Escondido, California, has an article, Simple erosion control for a hillside or garden slope, that offers advice and native plants for such a situation.   At the end of article are lists of recommended plants.  Some of these are herbs (wildflowers) and some are woody plants that are generally low-growing groundcovers.  Not all the plants on the list are native to San Mateo County but here are some of those that are shown to occur in San Mateo County or adjacent counties:

Artemisia californica (Coastal sagebrush) is evergreen and especially useful for erosion control.  Bay Natives in San Francisco has several varieties available.

Salvia sonomensis (Creeping sage).  Here is more information from Yerba Buena Nursery near Woodside, CA and Bay Natives in San Francisco.

Ceanothus griseus (Carmel ceanothus).  Here is more information from Yerba Buena Nursery about the cultivar 'Yankee Point'. 

Baccharis pilularis (Coyotebrush) is evergreen and deer resistant.  Here is information about the cultivar 'Pigeon Point' from Yerba Buena Nursery.  Bay Natives in San Francisco also has several varieties.

Eriogonum umbellatum (Sulphur-flower buckwheat).  Yerba Buena Nursery has several varieties.

You can also check our California-Northern Recommended list for more possibilities.  You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to limit the number of species on the list by, for instance, choosing "Herb" from the General Appearance slot.  To check to see if the plants do occur in San Mateo County, open the species page on the list and then scroll down the page to the Additional Resources area and click on the USDA link.   On the USDA Plant page click on the state of California and you will find a county distribution map.

Here are a few examples from that list:

Collinsia heterophylla (Purple chinese houses).  Here is  more information from Bay Natives.

Eschscholzia californica (California poppy).  Here is more information from Yerba Buena Nursery.

Layia platyglossa (Coastal tidytips).  Here is more information from University of Oklahoma Department of Botany and Microbiology.

Lupinus albifrons (Silver lupine).  Here is more information from Yerba Buena Nursery.

Yerba Buena Nursery near Woodside and Bay Natives in San Francisco are two nurseries that specialize in native California plants in your area.   You can find additional nurseries that specialize in native plants near you by consulting our National Suppliers Directory.