Thanks 5birdy - it's fairly random. We planted 8 Toyon in the front, back, and far back (woods behind a fence) of our property.

It's a big property - that was uncared for for many years, and we had to rip out tons of invasive ivy in (roots as thick as my wrist) the front and back and rampant figs and morning glory in the far back. It's a toss up as to which of the three is more miserable to deal with. The last invasive (which we are still working on) is a very, sturdy crop of Bermuda grass in the back yard lawn.

Oddly its the Toyon that have grown the quickest that seem most affected. I will talk with Theo Payne... I am there at least once a month, great resource.

I would dearly love to visit that place but it's a rough "commute" of probably 3 hours each way. It must seem totally overwhelming to clean up the previous plants. What other plants did you select? Be sure to take photos of the restoration! It's also fun to see different stages of the new plants. Toyon is definitely on my wish list for the next sections. I'd enjoy seeing your new plants :)

Another tip if feasible is to go out in the yard in a light rain and observe the water patterns. I had Sunset manzanitas dying - was sure it was some kind of fungus blight - but when I went during rain discovered their spot was low and water was pooling around them. (apparently they hate wet feet). Two of the 5 survived and are gorgeous. Finally had the nerve to try more in the yard this year.

That sounds great, we have planted a lot almost all from 1 gallon plants except for a meyer lemon tree and a couple of Roy Hartmans Ceanonthus plants.

It's a big long property with lots to plant and this is from memory but here goes ( I was heavily influenced by Topanga Canyon which I commute through every weekday)

Doing pretty well so far - given the rain and all

5 Austin Griffiths Manzanita (three front, two in the back yard)

1 Louis Edmunds Manzanita (front)

7 Santa Cruz Buckwheat (front and back)

4 Hybrid Island Buckwheat (front and back yard)

Lots of California Buckwheat (left hand side of backyard)

Lots of San MIguel Buckwheat (left hand side of backyard)

5 or 6? Celestial Sage (front and back) yard

3 Dara's choice sage (front)

4 White Sage (back yard)2

2 Cleaveland Sage Right side yard

6 Margarita BOP ( front yard along a wall ) and back yard

2 Concha Ceanothus back yard (ok only one is doing well, the other one looks kind of sad and they are near each other - but from different nurseries)

2 Howard McMinn Manzanita (backyard)

Tons of red New England flax, in the front and back

3 Ray Hartman Ceanontus (back woods)

3 Siempre Blue Ceanothus (Right Side yard)

1 Ceanothus Arborues (right side yard)

3 Blue Blossom Ceanothus (right side yard)

1 Meyer Lemon Tree (left hand side of backyard)

Jury out

Three Big Berry Corgi Manzanita (one died when a dog keep peeing on it in the front and the two are just kind of hanging out looking sad - I suspect they don't like clay. THey didn't come from a local source which may be the problem.

The aforementioned Toyon all around the property including the woods, some are doing well, some not so much

One redshanks (front yard) I think it's just a really slow grower but it hasn't grown much if at all in 2 months.

Yikes, that is a long list, no wonder I am tired of planting...

The toyon may have black spot, which is a fungus. Toyon is related to the rose family. Black spot IPM

mml mml you must be exhausted! That is a VERY impressive list of plants (makes me want to go and look each one up) and you must be an experienced gardener to undertake such a big project on your own. How on earth did you know what each plant was called as you commuted through Topanga Canyon? I literally dove into this learning a few plants gradually by studying books and scouring the web for images/info and then *surprise* when the shipment arrives and I really have no idea what they will turn out like. Your yard will be like having your very own botanic garden!

Hmm. The answer is that I was not at all experienced, but since it took so long to remove all the ivy covering the house and the grounds and cull out the invasive figs and pull out the morning glory.. we had a whole year to plan. And the people at Thomas Payne were very patient in answering my questions and I stalked Las Pilatas's web site for quite some time. My husband is very good with a chainsaw and since we spent all our money on interior renovations, replacing the roof, and trimming massive dangerous pines it really it was do it ourselves or live with it... as it was which I couldn't stand. We filled 4 20 yard dumpsters with dead trees and ivy and built up mulch and buried trash in a space of six months. The local dumpster rental guys stopped asking us if we really wanted one that big when I called. Good times. And yes the neighbors all think we are nuts...

If I were your neighbor I'd think you were geniuses! Can't wait to see your yard. I'm a bit upset since some of the new sages I tried this year are already biting the dust - with same plants nearby surviving - so once again the mystery continues. I'm working on our weed infested outer large yard, which is where I'd love to try the toyons and more ceanothus and buckwheats so I'll stalk Las Pilitas with your list LOL!