A wildflower show is part of the upcoming California Native Plant Society sale on April 15 and 16 at Skyline Park in Napa. Shown here are Smooth Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides) on Missimer Preserve in Napa.
Mackenzie Gilliam/Land Trust
A Swallotail butterfly visits a Salvia Bees Bliss plant. The Napa chapter of the California Native Plant Society will have more than 1,500 native plants for sale at its upcoming sale on April 15 and 16 in Napa.
It may have rained, but we still need to cultivate water-wise gardens, and gardeners can find inspiration -- and plants -- at the California Native Plant Society Sale and Wildflower Show on April 15 and 16 at Skyline Park in Napa.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 15, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Sunday, April 16, at Skyline Park located at 2201 Imola Ave., Napa.
Native species will save water and provide habitat for our native bees, butterflies, other beneficial insects, birds and small mammals.
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The Napa chapter of the California Native Plant Society will have more than 1,500 hard-to-find drought-tolerant native plants for shade or sun for sale ready for planting now while the ground is still moist.
Experts will be on hand to answer questions and make recommendations. The adjacent Martha Walker Garden will be open to see many of these plants identified in a landscape setting. The rich diversity of California’s native ground covers, grasses, shrubs, vines and trees. All proceeds benefit the maintenance, improvement and educational programs of the Martha Walker California Native Habitat Garden in Skyline Park, maintained by the Napa Chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
The Wildflower Show will display more than 100 Napa County wildflowers. This is sure to be a banner year for wildflowers, so this will be an opportunity to learn the names of the plants you see on walks or drives around the county. Wildflower walks will take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Admission to the park is free during the sale.
Napa Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing information on native plants. They offer gardening and habitat workshops for chapter members and for the public.
Their mission is to promote the natural beauty of California’s native plants through education, science, advocacy, horticulture and land stewardship, with a focus on the critical roles of native plants in the ecology of native fauna, as well as the health and recreation of society.
A Swallotail butterfly visits a Salvia Bees Bliss plant. The Napa chapter of the California Native Plant Society will have more than 1,500 native plants for sale at its upcoming sale on April 15 and 16 in Napa.
California native plants for drought-tolerant gardens
Salvia clevelandii
George Oxford Miller
Ribes speciosum (Fuchsia Flowering Gooseberry)
California Native Plant Society
Verbena lilacina De La Mina, native to Baja California
George Oxford Miller
Rhamnus californica (Coffeeberry)
California Native Plant Society
A Swallotail butterfly visits a Salvia Bees Bliss plant. The Napa chapter of the California Native Plant Society will have more than 1,500 native plants for sale at its upcoming sale on April 15 and 16 in Napa.
California Native Plant Society
Mimulus (Monkey flower)
California Native Plant Society
Penstemon heteromeles and Mimulus aurantiacus
California Native Plant Society
frangula califronica
George Oxford Miller/California Native Plant Society
Island buckwheat (eriogonum var. grande)
California Native Plant Society
Diplacus aurantiacus
George Oxford Miller
Epilobium canum (California fucshia)
California Native Plant Society
Ceanothus griseus Yankee Point
George Oxford Miller
Aster chilensis
California Native Plant Society
California poppies stand guard next to the main gate of the Martha Walker California Native Habitat Garden at Skyline Park.
Jorgen Gulliksen
Golden Fairy Lantern (Calochortus amabilis) with Fremont's Star Lily (Toxicoscordion fremontii) in background on Wragg Ridge Preserve.
A wildflower show is part of the upcoming California Native Plant Society sale on April 15 and 16 at Skyline Park in Napa. Shown here are Smooth Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides) on Missimer Preserve in Napa.
Spring WIldflowers on Land Trust of Napa County Preserves
Golden Fairy Lantern (Calochortus amabilis) with Fremont's Star Lily (Toxicoscordion fremontii) in background on Wragg Ridge Preserve.
Mike Palladini.
Narrow-leaved Monkeyflower (Diplacus angustatus) on Dunn Wildlake Preserve.
Mike Palladini/ Land Trust
Birds Eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor) amid California goldfields (Lasthenia californica) on Missimer Preserve.
Mackenzie Gilliam
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) on Aetna Springs Preserve.
Mike Palladini/ Land Trust
Cream Cups, California Poppies, Birds Eye Gilia and California Goldfields on Missimer Preserve
Mike Palladini/Land Trust
A wildflower show is part of the upcoming California Native Plant Society sale on April 15 and 16 at Skyline Park in Napa. Shown here are Smooth Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides) on Missimer Preserve in Napa.
Mackenzie Gilliam/Land Trust
Sweet scented Phacelia (Phacelia suaveolens) on Dunn Wildlake Preserve.
Mike Palladini/Land Trust
Sky Lupine (Lupinus nanus) on Wantrup Preserve.
Mike Palladini/Land Trust
Nodding Harmonia (Harmonia nutans) within Morning Snow (Linanthus dichotomus) on Dunn Wildlake Preserve.
Mike Palladini/Land Trust
Sickle-leaved Onion (Allium falcifolium) on Missimer Preserve.
Mackenzie Gilliam/Land Trust
Achillea "Coronation Gold" is a large mounding yarrow with mustard yellow flower heads over gray-green foliage growing 30–36 inches high and wide.
Plant in full to partial sun in well-draining soil. Very drought tolerant. Cut spent blooms for continued blooming throughout summer into fall.
Other varieties of yarrow are smaller with white, red (Paprika), and pink flowers. All are deer resistant.
Often overlooked in our natural landscapes, the most common native milkweed blooms in late spring-early summer after the grasslands have turned brown. In Napa County, there are four additional species that are also attractive and late spring blooming.
Milkweed provides an important food source to the larvae of the Monarch butterfly that pupates on or near the plants. Alkaloids contained in the plants protect the butterflies making them unpalatable to predators.
The narrow-leaved milkweed (above) may be a rewarding addition to a drought tolerant garden, requiring plentiful moisture during winter and spring but preferring to be summer dry in full sun. The plants produce several stems 1-3 feet tall with flowers developing in clusters at the tips.
Bees and other insects also make use of the nectar and hummingbirds may use the floss of the seed pods to line their nests. Unlikely to be bothered by deer.
This perennial grows quickly, spreading by rhizomes to form dense clumps 16–40 inches tall. It grows in sun or light shade in almost any soil and is drought tolerant.
It attracts butterflies, bees, and birds. Performs best with occasional summer water. Blooms in summer into fall.
Whatever you call it, Fremontodendron is a spectacular spring/early summer blooming plant for wide open sunny spaces.
This native evergreen shrub is a sun worshiper, although it will tolerate some partial shade. Plant in a super sunny spot on rocky/arid soils with great drainage, or on a slope or mound.
If you live with clay soil, amend your soil to provide good drainage. Once established, it wants no summer water.
The thick leaves have a leathery/velvety texture and are reminiscent of flannel. The hairs on the leaves and young shoots can cause skin irritation, and you should be careful not to breathe them in while working around the plant.
The large and showy flowers range in colors from apricot to yellow to burnt orange.
Lilac Verbena is an evergreen perennial that grows to look like a small shrub, forming a 2-3 foot mound. The foliage is delicately dissected from which slender stalks emerge with purple, star-shaped flower clusters.
The plants can bloom most of the year with a peak in spring and summer. Drought tolerant with some summer water.
Attracts bees and butterflies. Shear spent flowers and water to encourage another blooming.
Blue-eyed grass is a member of the iris family found in many plant communities in the coastal ranges. Star shaped blue flowers appear from February through May, and may continue to bloom if given some summer water.
The foliage grows 6-10 inches high. It is a Bay Area native and does well in containers and meadows, in sun or light shade.
The dried foliage can be cut back after the seeds have fallen to self-sow and spread throughout your meadow planting.
Sometimes referred to as Hummingbird Trumpet, California Fuschia, is a perennial sub-shrub, 6–10 inches high, that blooms in late summer and early autumn.
The bright scarlet, orange-red, or salmon colored blooms are trumpet-shaped hummingbird magnets. The foliage can be green, blue-green, or gray-green, depending on species.
It likes well-drained soil, full sun, and needs little water once established. Goes dormant in winter and should be cut back to encourage lush growth the next year.
The Napa Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will hold its annual fall sale on Oct. 10-11 at Skyline Park, 2201 Imola Ave., Napa.
More than a thousand hard-to-find native plants will be available for sale at Skyline Park Social Hall. All proceeds benefit the maintenance, improvement, and educational programs of the Martha Walker California Native Habitat Garden in Skyline Park, which will be open during the sale.
Here is a preview of some of the plants that will be available.
Achillea "Coronation Gold" is a large mounding yarrow with mustard yellow flower heads over gray-green foliage growing 30–36 inches high and wide.
Plant in full to partial sun in well-draining soil. Very drought tolerant. Cut spent blooms for continued blooming throughout summer into fall.
Other varieties of yarrow are smaller with white, red (Paprika), and pink flowers. All are deer resistant.
Submitted
Often overlooked in our natural landscapes, the most common native milkweed blooms in late spring-early summer after the grasslands have turned brown. In Napa County, there are four additional species that are also attractive and late spring blooming.
Milkweed provides an important food source to the larvae of the Monarch butterfly that pupates on or near the plants. Alkaloids contained in the plants protect the butterflies making them unpalatable to predators.
The narrow-leaved milkweed (above) may be a rewarding addition to a drought tolerant garden, requiring plentiful moisture during winter and spring but preferring to be summer dry in full sun. The plants produce several stems 1-3 feet tall with flowers developing in clusters at the tips.
Bees and other insects also make use of the nectar and hummingbirds may use the floss of the seed pods to line their nests. Unlikely to be bothered by deer.
Submitted
This perennial grows quickly, spreading by rhizomes to form dense clumps 16–40 inches tall. It grows in sun or light shade in almost any soil and is drought tolerant.
It attracts butterflies, bees, and birds. Performs best with occasional summer water. Blooms in summer into fall.
Submitted
Whatever you call it, Fremontodendron is a spectacular spring/early summer blooming plant for wide open sunny spaces.
This native evergreen shrub is a sun worshiper, although it will tolerate some partial shade. Plant in a super sunny spot on rocky/arid soils with great drainage, or on a slope or mound.
If you live with clay soil, amend your soil to provide good drainage. Once established, it wants no summer water.
The thick leaves have a leathery/velvety texture and are reminiscent of flannel. The hairs on the leaves and young shoots can cause skin irritation, and you should be careful not to breathe them in while working around the plant.
The large and showy flowers range in colors from apricot to yellow to burnt orange.
Submitted
Lilac Verbena is an evergreen perennial that grows to look like a small shrub, forming a 2-3 foot mound. The foliage is delicately dissected from which slender stalks emerge with purple, star-shaped flower clusters.
The plants can bloom most of the year with a peak in spring and summer. Drought tolerant with some summer water.
Attracts bees and butterflies. Shear spent flowers and water to encourage another blooming.
Submitted
Blue-eyed grass is a member of the iris family found in many plant communities in the coastal ranges. Star shaped blue flowers appear from February through May, and may continue to bloom if given some summer water.
The foliage grows 6-10 inches high. It is a Bay Area native and does well in containers and meadows, in sun or light shade.
The dried foliage can be cut back after the seeds have fallen to self-sow and spread throughout your meadow planting.
Submitted
Sometimes referred to as Hummingbird Trumpet, California Fuschia, is a perennial sub-shrub, 6–10 inches high, that blooms in late summer and early autumn.
The bright scarlet, orange-red, or salmon colored blooms are trumpet-shaped hummingbird magnets. The foliage can be green, blue-green, or gray-green, depending on species.
It likes well-drained soil, full sun, and needs little water once established. Goes dormant in winter and should be cut back to encourage lush growth the next year.
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Related to this story
A wildflower show is part of the upcoming California Native Plant Society sale on April 15 and 16 at Skyline Park in Napa. Shown here are Smooth Tidy Tips (Layia chrysanthemoides) on Missimer Preserve in Napa.
A Swallotail butterfly visits a Salvia Bees Bliss plant. The Napa chapter of the California Native Plant Society will have more than 1,500 native plants for sale at its upcoming sale on April 15 and 16 in Napa.