Helen Popper 
California Native Gardening 
A Month-by-Month Guide

This is the first month-by-month guide to gardening with native plants in a state that follows a unique, nontraditional seasonal rhythm. Beginning in October, when much of California leaves the dry season behind and prepares for its own green ‘spring, ‘ Helen Popper provides detailed, calendar-based information for both beginning and experienced native gardeners. Each month’s chapter lists gardening tasks, including repeated tasks and those specific to each season. Popper offers planting and design ideas, and explains core gardening techniques such as pruning, mulching, and propagating. She tells how to use native plants in traditional garden styles, including Japanese, herb, and formal gardens, and recommends places for viewing natives. An essential year-round companion, this beautifully written and illustrated book nurtures the twin delights of seeing wild plants in the garden and garden plants in the wild.

Table of Content

Introduction – California Local

October – Change in the Air

November – Spring Is Here

December – Green Tidings

January – A Happy, Wet New Year

February – Clean and Weed

March – Spring Anew

April – Flowers

May – Collect Your Seeds

June – The Wise Water Balancing Act

July – Mist and Tinder

August – Siesta Time

September – Plan for Fall

Using Natives in Many Garden Styles


Cutting Times

Places to See Natives

Good Friends on the Bookshelf

Acknowledgments

Plant Index

General Index

About the author

Helen Popper is Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University.