Native Plants

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Monday - August 27, 2012

From: Sacramento, CA
Region: California
Topic: Plant Lists
Title: Plants for flowerbed beside pool in Sacramento, CA
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

70 foot long 2 ft flower bed running along north side of pool. Gets morning and afternoon sun with late shade on west end and hot sun on east end as sun sets. Need something to help with shooting seeds from FoxGlove plant behind fence and plants that will work along our narrow flowerbed.

ANSWER:

Assuming that you mean Digitalis purpurea (Foxglove), a European native, I can't find any information that says that they "shoot" their seeds. However, they do produce lots of seeds and they are considered invasive by the California Invasive Plant Council. You can read about methods for controlling foxglove on the California Invasive Plant Council website.

You can search for plants for your flower bed in our California-Northern Recommended list by using the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to limit the choices under Light Requirement to "Sun - 6 or more hours." All of the plants on the list are commerically available plants native to northern California and suitable for planned landscapes. Here are a few from that list:

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick). Here are more photos and information from Las Pilitas Nursery.

Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow). Here are more photos and information from Las Pilitas Nursery.

Lupinus albifrons (Silver lupine). Here are more photos and information from Las Pilitas Nursery.

Muhlenbergia rigens (Deergrass). Here are more photos and information from Las Pilitas Nursery.

Epilobium canum ssp. canum (Hummingbird trumpet). Here are more photos and information from Las Pilitas Nursery.

Aquilegia formosa (Western columbine). Here are more photos from CalPhotos.

Camassia quamash (Small camas). Here is more information from Washington Native Plant Society.

Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod). Here is more information from the Robert W. Freckman Herbarium at the University of Wisconsin.

From the Image Gallery

Kinnikinnick
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

Common yarrow
Achillea millefolium

Silver lupine
Lupinus albifrons

Deergrass
Muhlenbergia rigens

Hummingbird trumpet
Epilobium canum ssp. canum

Western columbine
Aquilegia formosa

Small camas
Camassia quamash

Canada goldenrod
Solidago canadensis