Number two in a series of CA native plants that I have in my garden. My house is in the Crescenta Valley which is northwest of Pasadena and has the typical climate of the inland valleys surrounding LA, although we are about 1000 feet higher elevation than Pasadena, Burbank or Glendale which surround us so our winters can be a little colder at night than those areas. Our entire valley is made of alluvial runoff from the surrounding mountains, the soil is sandy, rocky and very fast draining.

Dendromecon harfordii or Island Bush Poppy

This is my CA native superstar. Even non gardeners ask me about this plant. It's in the middle of its spring flowering but it has some flowers on it almost all year long. It is in full sun on the middle of a slope that gets no supplemental water. This was a one gallon twig about 8" high that was planted 4 years ago. It is now about 4' tall and 4' wide but will get much bigger. I had one lower down my driveway that grew to be about 8' tall and wide in 8 years that I had to remove because it was blocking our view of the street when we backed out. Theodore Payne Society had one that was about 15' tall and wide. If you have the room this is one native you can plant front and center. The flowers are a clear, intense yellow and the foliage is a bluish gray. It's relatively fast growing but the branches are quite brittle.